Tuesday, September 4, 2018 |
From Key Field to MSU-Meridian: Service members benefit from tuition program | |
A program offering free college tuition for members of the military is paying off for two local women. Service members Nicole Hickmon and Carrie Tucker, both from Decatur, are getting help with their studies at MSU-Meridian through the MSU Bulldog Free Tuition Program. Both women are planning to graduate in December. The program, which started this year, offers free tuition for Mississippi National Guard service members enrolled full-time at MSU. Hickmon and Tucker are serving with the 186th Air Refueling Wing at Key Field Air National Guard Base in Meridian. Kristi Dearing, coordinator of academic advising and transfer partnerships at MSU-Meridian, said once the news broke, she got calls from a lot of people wanting to enroll at the school. Dearing said before school started a few weeks ago, she got a call from a student who was attending the University of Southern Mississippi and wanted to transfer to MSU-Meridian because of the program. | |
Famous types: Timeless typewriters, from Hemingway to Hanks at Mississippi State | |
Sarah McCullough felt the impact as she helped carefully unpack them. Nine typewriters, all of great significance. Nine typewriters, mechanical memoirs, in their way, of literary giants and entertainment icons. As layers of protective wrap came off and the vintage carriages were revealed, it was natural to picture Ernest Hemingway, George Bernard Shaw or Maya Angelou leaning over their machines, fingers striking the keys. Or a teenaged John Lennon, perhaps experimenting with lyrics. It was natural to wonder, what was typed on these? "William Gantt, chair of the Southern Literary Trail, and I unpacked Tennessee Williams' typewriter. It gave us chills," said McCullough who is coordinator of Cultural Heritage Projects for Mississippi State University's Mitchell Memorial Library. | |
How to Teach White Kids About Race | |
When Margaret Hagerman was trying to recruit white affluent families as subjects for the research she was doing on race, one prospective interviewee told her, "I can try to connect you with my colleague at work who is black. She might be more helpful." To Hagerman, that response was helpful in itself. She is a sociologist at Mississippi State, and her new book, White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America, summarizes the two years of research she did talking to and observing upper-middle-class white families in an unidentified Midwestern city and its suburbs. To examine how white children learn about race, she followed 36 of them between the ages of 10 and 13, interviewing them as well as watching them do homework, play video games, and otherwise go about their days. These kids and their parents display a range of beliefs about race. | |
It's an Autonomous Car World, You're Just Walking in It | |
In heavily populated urban areas, autonomous vehicles (AVs) will face a major challenge: pedestrians. Most AVs are programmed to be very cautious, a trend that's likely to continue following the fatal crash of an Uber self-driving vehicle in Arizona, which struck a woman crossing the street. That's great; you don't want these cars careening through intersections. But you also don't want them at a complete standstill for long periods of time as pedestrians run against lights or wander into crosswalks while staring at their phones. Shuchisnigdha Deb, a researcher at Mississippi State University's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, told Bloomberg that "there should be proper education programs to make people familiar with these vehicles, the ways to interact with them and to use them." | |
State's first-ever 'Little Free Garden' sprouts in Ocean Springs | |
It's a community garden planted by residents who want to share with their neighbors and hope that their neighbors will do the same. Mississippi's first-ever Little Free Garden has popped up in Ocean Springs. Planted by Gary and Katie Bachman in a 2x4 space, it will eventually grow herbs. The idea is one that has been sprouting around the country, said the Bachmans. "There's a couple in Florida. There's a couple in California, but this is the first one in the state of Mississippi. That's pretty cool," Gary said. Little Free Garden is similar to the Little Free Libraries that are scattered throughout cities, including many here on the Gulf Coast. The idea behind the garden is for people to plant something, give something, take something, leave something. Gary is a research professor at Mississippi State University Extension. He specializes in ornamental horticulture and hosts Southern Gardening. He said it was his wife Katie who spotted the idea first. | |
Economist to address 'What's Wrong with College Sports and How to Fix It' | |
The Institute for the Humanities kicks off its fall lecture series at Mississippi State on Tuesday with a world-renowned sports economist who has published extensively on Major League Baseball and college athletics. Sports author and economist Andrew Zimbalist will give a 4 p.m. presentation in the McComas Hall Theater titled, "What's Wrong with College Sports and How to Fix It." The lecture is free and open to the public. Sponsors include MSU's College of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute for the Humanities, as well as the College of Business's Department of Finance and Economics and the College of Education's Department of Kinesiology. Julia Osman, director of the Institute for the Humanities, said Zimbalist has published widely on sports at the professional and collegiate levels. | |
Parks and recreation department looking to increase involvement in baseball | |
The city of Starkville will look to add another sports coordinator position to its parks department as it seeks greater involvement with organizing baseball. Aldermen will decide on the matter at Tuesday's meeting, but it drew some discussion during a Friday afternoon work session at City Hall. Parks and Recreation Director Gerry Logan said Starkville Baseball Association -- a nonprofit that has managed baseball youth baseball in the city for several years -- will continue to assist in running the baseball program in an advisory role. "They're going to be around, but we're going to run the program," he said. "They're going to be support and we're going to take on all aspects of that operation." | |
Tropical Storm Gordon could bring rain, wind to Golden Triangle | |
Tropical Storm Gordon officially formed near the Florida Keys on Monday and is expected to develop into a Category One hurricane by the time it makes landfall on Gulf Coast sometime Tuesday night. While forecasters are saying the Golden Triangle could receive up to an inch of rain and wind gusts of 20-30 mph, the impact for the area is expected to be minimal. Thomas Winesett, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Jackson, said on Monday afternoon there is still a chance the storm could strengthen into a hurricane as it passes over the Gulf of Mexico. "The Golden Triangle area is far enough north of the track that the impact won't be as great as compared to Jackson or the coast," Winesett said. "The current track brings it to make landfall along the central coast Tuesday night then moving northwest up through Arkansas. But it just depends how far the heavy rain threat can extend, so you can probably expect about an inch or less of rain." | |
Gordon strengthens overnight as it heads toward the Coast | |
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service In New Orleans say Tropical Storm Gordon strengthened slightly overnight as it heads toward the Gulf Coast. Hanccok, Harrison and Jackson counties remain under a hurricane warning. "The only real change that happened Monday night was that the storm strengthened a bit and it now has winds of about 60 mph," NWS meteorologist Phil Grigsby said. "It continues to move to the north-northwest." And what does "north-northwest" mean for people in South Mississippi? Well, there's a reason famed Weather Channel personality Jim Cantore has been spotted on the Coast. "The eye of the storm is expected to hit Harrison County sometime Tuesday night," Grigsby said. "But it's not really an 'eye' because the storm still doesn't have a well-defined center because it's not a well-designed system." | |
Mississippi lawmakers figure out road funding: Analysis | |
When Mississippi lawmakers met in special session to deal with transportation funding, they agreed relatively quickly on issues that had been tangled in arguments for months or years. They voted to create a state lottery, over objections of Baptist and Pentecostal groups that usually hold considerable influence in conservative politics. They agreed cities and counties will receive a portion of sales tax revenue the state collects when people shop online. They also agreed that taxes the state collects on sports betting in casinos will be used, until 2028, to help pay for highways and bridges. | |
Chris McDaniel Embraces Trump's Trade Agenda, Criticizes 'Free Trade' 'Capitalists' | |
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel endorsed President Donald Trump's trade agenda Wednesday, taking aim at opponent Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and "the capitalists who've been championing so-called 'free trade.'" "President Trump won in 2016 because he promised to upset the current world order and trading system that threatens America's economy and security on the global stage," McDaniel said in a press statement. Key to Trump's trade agenda is a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which is a pact between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Earlier this week, Trump announced an agreement with Mexico; talks with Canada remained underway Friday. "We've been saying it for decades -- America doesn't produce enough on the world stage any more," McDaniel said. "And now we have a president committed to reverse that trend." As a supporter of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz during the 2016 Republican primaries, criticized Trump for taking "protectionist positions" on trade and supporting tariffs. | |
Black Mississippi Mayors Endorse Mike Espy at Civil Rights Museum | |
Nearly a dozen black mayors from cities and towns throughout Mississippi took the stage Thursday afternoon at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum to endorse Mike Espy in his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat Thad Cochran vacated in March. Espy would make history as only the 11th African American U.S. senator in history and the first from Mississippi since Reconstruction. Espy told the mayors that he believes they have the hardest political job in the United States, but it is also one, because of their proximity to the people, that yields an aggregate understanding of the problems Mississippi faces. He promised to stand with not only the mayors in attendance, but all mayors across the state. "Whether you're white or black or whatever religion, whatever sexual orientation, I'm going to be there using whatever I can do within my spirit and the official stature of my office to help them to do better for their cities and better for all the citizens of Mississippi -- and I hope I've proven that," Espy said. | |
Road Ahead: The House Is Back, Looking for Deals on Spending and Farm Bill | |
Most of the cameras will be focused on President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, but he's far from the only attraction this week on Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee's week of confirmation hearings with Judge Brett Kavanaugh and outside witnesses kicks off Tuesday morning, but House members are arriving back in Washington, D.C., this week after more than a month back in their districts. Their Senate counterparts worked through August, though attendance was at times lacking, particularly when the chamber was in session on Mondays. Regardless of what's actually on the floors of the two chambers this week, the work on the real legislative priorities for the coming weeks is underway behind the scenes. Leaders want to complete as many fiscal 2019 spending bills as possible, hoping to mitigate the size and scope of the continuing resolution that will likely be needed this year. | |
Congress' Chief Tech Watchdog Is Not Happy With Google | |
There are plenty of lawmakers who know next to nothing about technology. Senator Mark Warner isn't one of them. Long before the Virginia Democrat was sworn into the Senate in 2009, Warner built a career in the venture capital and telecom industries. That background has served the senator well since news broke that Facebook, Google, and Twitter all enabled foreign influence campaigns during the 2016 election. Warner, who acts as vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has driven much of the conversation around what to do with these giants' unimaginable and unchecked power. Warner wants badly to work with the tech industry titans, but they haven't made it easy. | |
Commissioner Al Rankins visits Southern Miss as part of listening tour | |
State allocations, faculty salaries and prior work experience were some of the topics discussed with Al Rankins, Mississippi commissioner of higher education, who stopped by the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg Friday. Rankins is on a listening tour of universities around the state. Rankins met with students, faculty, staff and administrators, which was preceded by a similar gathering on Southern's Gulf Park campus Thursday. "I'm here today as part of a state tour, where I'm visiting all eight of our universities and our medical center," he told the audience of about 30. "I want to hear your views and find out what I can do to better serve you." The commissioner embarked on his listening tour shortly after he took office July 1. | |
USM expects to feel impact of Tropical Storm Gordon | |
The University of Southern Mississippi is warning students of the potential impact Tropical Storm Gordon could have on the Hattiesburg and Gulf Coast campuses. The storm is expected to produce heavy rain and possible flooding late Tuesday. University officials are monitoring weather conditions and are in contact with local emergency management agencies on the Gulf Coast and Hattiesburg, according to a USM news release. If necessary, Southern Miss will activate the Eagle Alert system to alert students and staff of severe weather, school closures or cancellation of classes. You can check your contact information for Eagle Alerts at USM.edu to ensure that you receive alerts. he storm could bring flooding to the Hattiesburg campus, and some streets may become impassable and hazardous. Drivers on the Gulf Park campus should be aware of potential flooding on Halstead Road at the entrance of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs. | |
Mississippi gets $4M to boost minorities in STEM fields | |
The National Science Foundation just gave a $4 million boost to a Jackson State University-led effort among Mississippi institutions of higher learning to recruit and train minorities for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson announced the funding last week. "For nearly a quarter of a century, the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation has played a significant role in educating minority students in STEM," Martha Tchounwou of JSU, the statewide program manager, said. Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Hinds Community College, Mississippi State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Tougaloo College, University of Mississippi and University of Southern Mississippi are the other members of the alliance. | |
UM and Parchman educator weighs in on Mississippi's high number of inmate deaths in August | |
With a recent uptick in the number of inmate deaths in August, many people are left questioning the circumstances, opening up a larger discussion about what it means to be imprisoned in Mississippi. One of the people in the discussion is Dr. Patrick Alexander, associate professor of English and African-American studies at the University of Mississippi. Alexander is the co-founder and co-director of the Prison-to-College Pipeline program, which works in conjunction with the University, Mississippi College, and the Mississippi Humanities Council to provide higher education at Mississippi State Penitentiary, Parchman and at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl. A total of 15 people died in Mississippi prisons in the month of August, which Alexander admitted is a sad statistic. However, he said, it seems to be an opportunity to acknowledge the humanity of those in such an impersonal place and be intentionally reflective as a state. | |
Oxford author David Sansing discusses 'The Other Mississippi' in new book | |
Following a 50-year academic career, Mississippi historian and former University of Mississippi history professor David Sansing has written a new book. The book, titled "The Other Mississippi," is a compilation of articles, essays, speeches and lectures given throughout Sansing's career. "There are 27 articles in the book, and all of them are something I have done before. Some of them are 40 or 50 years old, and some of them I worked on last week," Sansing said. The book aims to identify the complexities of Mississippi's history and the stereotypes that those outside the state have of those who live here. According to Sansing, the "other Mississippi" is the portion of the state, and its history, that most people don't know, even some Mississippians. Sansing also writes about the state's history, including the Mississippi State/Ole Miss athletic rivalry. | |
New parking app launched to help with Tuscaloosa game days | |
A new software company has launched a smartphone app intended to make game-day parking an easier experience. Clutch! is a peer-to-peer game-day parking app that launched in Alabama last month. With it, users can find privately held parking spaces that are for rent on game days. Through the app, fans looking for parking are connected with sellers offering space near event venues. This allows them to reserve parking in advance and pay through the Clutch! App. Clutch!, which began in Birmingham, has selected Tuscaloosa as the company's first campus location for football games at the University of Alabama in the 2018 season, which will focus on offering parking within a two-mile radius of each campus stadium. Sellers with available space can now begin to list their spots in the app. | |
Low ACT score? No problem: LSU to increase opportunities for all students with 'holistic admissions' | |
LSU is relaxing a generation-old policy of automatically rejecting applicants who score too low on the standardized entrance exams like the ACT. Instead, the state's flagship university will be placing more emphasis on recommendation letters, personal essays and activities outside academia. Though the first in Louisiana to eject hard minimums, LSU is joining a national "holistic admissions" wave that diminishes the importance of tests like the ACT and SAT. "We're doing a more profile approach where we're not going to disqualify for the ACT, but we're asking the student for more information from the get-go," said LSU Vice President Jason Droddy, who handles strategic communications and is executive director of policy. Droddy couldn't remember who said it first, but he agreed with the concept of better understanding what a student seeking admission "did over four years rather than how he or she did over four hours" needed to take the tests. | |
U. of Florida confident in safeguards as sexual assaults roil campuses | |
University of Florida president Kent Fuchs said he feels proper procedures are in place to report incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault on campus. Both issues have come to the forefront in what has been a summer of scandal in college athletics. Chief among those scandals was at Ohio State University, where current Buckeyes and former UF football coach Urban Meyer was suspended three games for not effectively monitoring domestic violence accusations involving one of his staff assistants, Zach Smith. "We all have to be diligent, making sure that we are managing and responding so we all learn from what happens elsewhere," Fuchs said. Fuchs said he and Title IX coordinator Russell Froman met with senior staff, including UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin, late last week to discuss how accusations of domestic violence and sexual assault should be handled. | |
U. of Florida suspends Delta Chi fraternity | |
The University of Florida has suspended a fraternity for an alcohol-related hazing incident during the spring semester. The Delta Chi Fraternity at UF has been under a "limited activity directive" since February, UF spokesman Steve Orlando wrote in an email Monday. UF's Greek Conduct Committee found the Delta Chi brothers "participated in a coordinated effort to cover up their actions and put a new member's life in jeopardy, as he was hospitalized in critical condition," Orlando wrote. UF has 26 fraternities with more than 2,500 members and 17 sororities with more than 4,000 members. That's about 12.5 percent of UF's 52,000 students. | |
U. of South Carolina to sell students Narcan without prescription on campus | |
University of South Carolina students can now buy a "lifesaving" drug on campus that can help reverse the effects of opioid overdose, the university announced Friday. The drug, naloxone --- sold under the brand name Narcan --- will be available to all students without a prescription at the Center for Health and Well-Being pharmacy, the university said in a tweet. Price of the drug varies depending on a student's insurance coverage, but without insurance it would cost about $125, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said in a text message. The university is applying for a grant that would make the drug free to students, Stensland said. "As you know, there is much concern nationally about the opioid crisis," Stensland said. "Although opioid overdose is not widespread at USC, we wanted to be proactive, because no community is immune. Currently all law enforcement and health services staff have access to Narcan and are trained in administering it." | |
U. of Kentucky's Sigma Chi fraternity suspended for a year after violating university policy | |
UK's Sigma Chi fraternity was suspended for a year over the weekend after a university investigation found that the chapter violated university policy. "After an investigation that included cooperation from the international organization and the local chapter, the chapter accepted responsibility and the University of Kentucky's Hearing Board has placed them on a one-year suspension effective immediately," UK spokesperson Jay Blanton wrote in an email. Blanton did not state the exact violations and wrote that he did not "have any other details or comment beyond that at this time." According to the UK Interfraternity Council's recruitment booklet, Sigma Chi had 100 members this year. | |
Trump wants to hold rally for Ted Cruz in largest stadium in Texas -- that's Kyle Field | |
President Donald Trump may be coming to Aggieland after tweeting on Friday that he wanted to hold a rally for former political opponent Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump said in the tweet that he wants to hold a "major rally" in October for Cruz "in the biggest stadium in Texas we can find." Texas A&M's Kyle Field holds that designation, with an official capacity of 102,995. AT&T Stadium comes in second at 100,000, including field seats. Nationally, Kyle Field ranks fourth, behind Michigan Stadium, Beaver Stadium, and Ohio Stadium. "I will be doing a major rally for Senator Ted Cruz in October. I'm picking the biggest stadium in Texas we can find. As you know, Ted has my complete and total Endorsement. His opponent is a disaster for Texas -- weak on Second Amendment, Crime, Borders, Military, and Vets!" Trump tweeted around 11 a.m. Friday. Although the likelihood of Trump's Cruz rally being held in Aggieland is unknown, the internet has been predictably abuzz in the last few hours speculating about the odds: | |
Today's College Students Aren't Who You Think They Are | |
The popular culture tells us that college "kids" are recent high school graduates, living on campus, taking art history, drinking too much on weekends, and (hopefully) graduating four years later. But these days that narrative of the residential, collegiate experience is way off, says Alexandria Walton Radford, who heads up postsecondary education research at RTI International, a think tank in North Carolina. What we see on movie screens and news sites, she says, is skewed to match the perceptions of the elite: journalists, researchers, policymakers. Today's college student is decidedly nontraditional -- and has been for a while. "This isn't a new phenomenon," Radford says. "We've been looking at this since 1996." | |
Co-author discusses new book criticizing prevailing ideas in society and higher education | |
More than 30 years ago, Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind became a cultural phenomenon with its critique of American higher education as dominated by trendy concepts rather than ideas truly tested by time. This academic year arrives with a new critique of American higher education and American society, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure (Penguin Random House). You may recognize the title from a much discussed Atlantic article by the authors (discussed below). The book discusses what its authors see as an unwillingness by college students to engage in ideas with which they disagree. And while some of the blame in the book goes to students and academic leaders, much of it is placed on parents and society that the authors argue are not preparing students for challenges to their ideas and challenges in life. | |
Confederate Statue Should Return to UNC Campus, Chancellor Says, but at a Different Location | |
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill should move Silent Sam, the controversial Confederate statue toppled by protesters this month, to a different spot on the campus, said Carol L. Folt, the university's chancellor, in a written statement on Friday. This week the UNC system's Board of Governors gave the Chapel Hill campus's Board of Trustees a November 15 deadline to present a proposal for the future of Silent Sam, which is currently in storage. The Board of Governors would have the authority to make the final decision about the restoration of Silent Sam. Many on the campus were concerned that the statue could be returned to a spot at the campus entrance that it had occupied since 1913. Last week a member of the Board of Governors said that a state law requires Silent Sam to be restored within 90 days of its removal. Folt did not say if she agreed with that interpretation of the state law. | |
Understanding ACT, SAT can help boost success | |
Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: It is difficult to have a conversation about high school and academic outcomes without venturing down the road of standardized testing. Furthermore, high-stakes, standardized testing maintains a dominant role in evaluating not only the secondary institution but the efficacy of its programs based on student scores. What many parents and students may not understand, however, is the difference between the primary, two options, the ACT and the SAT. The answer to unpacking the similarities and differences has changed since SAT modified their examination after March of 2016. Now both tests only score correct answers; therefore, there is no penalty for a wrong answer. | |
Nothing uncertain about war risks for Mississippi troops | |
Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: The stock market is in a secular bull market and has years to run, says one respected analyst. A major trading firm, on the other hand, warns the end of the bull run is near. A recession looms says a Bloomberg.com headline. FED Chairman Jerome Powell says the economy is likely to continue booming for at least another three years. CNBC says trade conflicts and tariffs won't hurt the economy. The White House Council of Economic Advisors warns tariffs will hurt economic growth. Whether it's the trade war with China, potential peace with North Korea, detente with Russia, or peace in the Middle East, the arguments fly on both sides by respectable forecasters. It seems the only thing certain these days is uncertainty. | |
Eight weeks until Mississippi selects two senators | |
Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: Mike Espy's path back to Congress isn't easy, but it isn't impossible, either. It's September, meaning a short eight weeks remain until Mississippi voters -- those who participate and those who stay home -- will join to select two people to send to the U.S. Senate. It's very rare to select both senators on the same day, but that's how things have shaped up. Attracting the most ink, interest and intrigue is the contest to serve the two years remaining in the six-year term of former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired in April. It is a special election and has special rules. |
SPORTS
Nick Fitzgerald resumes starting role at Mississippi State | |
Nick Fitzgerald's one-game suspension for a violation of team policy was more severe than it appeared on the surface. Mississippi State's starting quarterback and team captain was demoted to the scout team last week as the Bulldogs prepared for the season opener against Stephen F. Austin while his backup, Keytaon Thompson, took all of the first-team reps. "Nick handled it extremely well," said MSU coach Joe Moorhead. "He was sent down to the scout team for a week so he worked to give our defense a very good look. He was very mature during the week during meetings and on the field. On game day, he was a vocal presence on the sideline and a great resource for K.T. being out there in just his second start." With MSU preparing for its first true road game against a Power 5 opponent in a decade this weekend at Kansas State, Fitzgerald returned to the top of the depth chart when the Bulldogs started practice on Sunday. | |
Kansas State Wildcats vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs: Kickoff time, TV, game preview | |
This is the game Kansas State football fans -- and apparently some players -- have been looking forward to all summer. The Wildcats will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium a week after surviving their opener against South Dakota, an opponent some K-State players admitted they overlooked with a ranked foe up next on the schedule. The No. 18 Bulldogs are the first ranked nonconference opponent to come to town since Auburn in 2014 and the second since Southern California in 2002. It should be an electric atmosphere in Manhattan. This is without a doubt K-State's biggest nonconference game of the season. | |
Mississippi State's offensive numbers offer room for improvement | |
The first game of the Joe Moorhead era was a statistical anomaly. The No. 18 Mississippi State football team ended the first full week of the season 12th in the nation in yards per attempt (11.7) and 24th in quarterback rating (190.98) after a 398-yard, five-touchdown effort in a 63-6 victory against Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium. MSU did it by completing 15 of 34 passes (44.1 percent). The man behind most of those attempts, Keytaon Thompson, won't shoulder the load when MSU visits Kansas State (1-0) at 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPNU), but it gives him something to improve going forward. The gravity of Saturday's game isn't lost on Moorhead. It is more than his first road game as MSU's coach. It also is more than a shot at MSU's first road win against a Power 5 conference opponent since 1995. It's Moorhead's chance to battle against a coaching legend. | |
Joe Moorhead talks running backs at Mississippi State football press conference | |
With his first head coaching victory at Mississippi State under his belt, Joe Moorhead stepped up to the podium Monday afternoon to address the media. Moorhead takes the No. 18 Bulldogs on the road in search of MSU's first power 5 non-conference road win since 1995. Manhattan, Kansas, won't be the easiest place to get that done. Moorhead said Bill Snyder's Wildcats are tough, smart and disciplined. Much of Monday's press conference didn't deal with this week's opponent, though. Moorhead talked about his team's weekly schedule, in-game player rotations and post-touchdown dunk contests. Yes, you read that right. Here's a breakdown of what he had to say on those topics. | |
MSU Notebook: Bulldogs showcase deep backfield | |
Aeris Williams rushed for 1,107 yards last season but found himself on the sidelines to start Mississippi State's season this past Saturday. Instead it was sophomore Kylin Hill who earned the nod and played the entire first quarter in the Bulldogs' backfield before Williams entered the game on the first drive of the second quarter. "We'll really ride the guy with the hot hand," said MSU coach Joe Moorhead. "You go into it with a planned rotation and based on how the game's going and who is playing well, the rotation could ebb or flow one way or the other." Hill had 50 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and also caught a 53-yard score on the opening play of the game. Williams had a 27-yard TD grab but only rushed twice for 15 yards. | |
Zakirah McGillivary scores two goals to push Mississippi State women's soccer team to 6-0 | |
Intimidated isn't a word you would expect Zakirah McGillivary to use to describe her mentality. Despite being 5-foot-5, the Mississippi State freshman forward is always looking to attack. It doesn't matter if she doesn't have the ball, either, because she is coming to get it so she can take it the other way and wreak havoc. But McGillivary didn't play that way when she first arrived at MSU. "My first couple of training sessions I was messing up a lot," McGillivary said. "I was super scared to screw up. (MSU coach) Tom (Anagnost) is hard on us, but it is a good thing he is hard on us because we always want to keep the standard very high. We want to make the program history greater each season." The native of Brooklyn, New York, is one of 13 first-year players in the program. But she has played with the poise and presence of a much older player, as evidenced by her three game-winning goals. Last week, McGillivary was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week. | |
College football betting in the Deep South: A Saturday in Biloxi | |
At the Imperial Palace Casino's new sports book, each sport has its own betting sheet, and the sheets, stacked neatly in baskets for prospective bettors with corresponding labels: NFL, college football, MLB, golf, tennis, NASCAR. One basket is different. It is labeled not by sport but by conference, the three letters recognizable to anyone 'round here, as they might say: S-E-C. "They don't have these in Vegas," says George Cole, the Imperial Palace's sports book director. "SEC football -- it's where the action is here." Welcome to legalized sports betting in the Deep South, where gambling on sports has been an illegal tradition stretching back, at least in Biloxi, nearly a century. It has emerged from the shadows. |
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