The National Football League playoffs begin this weekend. The top seed in the AFC Baltimore and the NFC top seed San Francisco will sit out the first round because they have the best overall records in their leagues. In the NFC, Dallas (2) will host Green Bay (7) on Sunday afternoon while that night Detroit (3) will entertain the L.A. Rams (6). Then on Monday, the wild-card weekend concludes with Tampa Bay (4) hosting Philadelphia (5). In the AFC, Houston (4) hosts Cleveland (5) on Saturday afternoon while that night Kansas City (3) welcomes Miami (6). The final AFC game will be played on Sunday afternoon when Buffalo (2) hosts Pittsburgh (7).
Ole Miss finally fell for the first time this year as they lost to No. 5 Tennessee, 90-64, Saturday night in Knoxville. The Rebels (13-1, 0-1) will host Florida on Wednesday and will entertain Vanderbilt on Saturday at noon this week. The Lady Rebels (11-4, 1-1) lost to No. 7 LSU, 84-73, this past Sunday before the largest home crowd in Lady Rebel history (9,100). Last Thursday, the Lady Rebels took a road win over Alabama. Ole Miss will host Auburn on Thursday before heading to Starkville this Sunday for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
Southern Mississippi downed No. 19 James Madison (14-1) this past Saturday in Hattiesburg, 81-71. It was the Golden Eagles' first win over a top 20 ranked team since their win over No. 19 Arkansas in November of 2000. The Eagles’ Andre Curbelo accomplished a feat last Thursday in a 79-73 win over Georgia State that hadn’t been done in 43 years by a Southern Miss player. Curbelo recorded a triple-double with 13 points, 11 assists and ten rebounds becoming the first player to do so since Ronald Jackson. The Eagles (8-7, 2-1) hit the road to Monroe on Thursday and then travel to Troy this Saturday afternoon. The Lady Eagles lost road contests this week to Coastal Carolina and Old Dominion. USM (7-6, 0-3) will host James Madison and South Alabama this week.
Mississippi State (11-3, 0-2) lost a tough one this past Saturday to open SEC play at South Carolina, 68-62. The Bulldogs will host Tennessee on Wednesday and host Alabama Saturday night. The Lady Bulldogs (13-4, 0-2) lost at No. 1 South Carolina, 85-66, on Sunday and lost at home to Vandy earlier in the week. The ladies will travel to Arkansas on Thursday before returning on Sunday for a showdown with Ole Miss.
Football News
Southern Mississippi announced this past week that James Madison and Marshall will round out their eight-game Sun Belt Conference schedule. The Eagles will play their Western Division teams in Arkansas State, Louisiana and South Alabama at home while traveling to ULM, Texas State and Troy. The Eagles will travel to James Madison in their initial meeting while Marshall will visit Hattiesburg in their first meeting since 2018. The Eagles will open the 2024 season at Kentucky (Aug. 31) and follow with home games against SE Louisiana and South Florida before finishing up non-conference play at Jacksonville State.
Odds & Ends
Ole Miss lost a key part of their offense this past week as All-SEC running back Quinshon Judkins, who rushed for 2,725 yards and scored 31 touchdowns, decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Judkins will have two years of eligibility left.
West Point running back Kahnen Daniels was selected as Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year. Daniels will enroll early at Florida.
Mississippi State received good news last week as Starkville native Braylon Burnside has decided to be a Bulldog. He committed in Orlando, Florida, during the US Armour All-American game.
Nick Saban and Alabama dipped into the Mississippi High School ranks once again as 4-star running back Daniel Hill of Meridian committed to the Crimson Tide over the weekend in San Antonio at the All-American Bowl.
Dale has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973. Listen to Dale and Marshall Wood on the Brouhaha Sports Show each Tuesday at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world, go to Google Chrome, go to wabo105.com and click listen live. You may also go to The Brouhaha on YouTube and listen to archived shows.
