The moment Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State fans have been waiting for since Croom was hired last Saturday finally came on Saturday. Croom, the first African-American football coach of an SEC school, coached his first game. Before an overflow crowd of maroon-clad State faithful at Scott Field, Croom led the Bulldogs to a 28-7 victory over Tulane. Not exactly a big upset, but when your team has won a total of eight games over the last three seasons, any win is a big one for a Bulldog fans.
The historic game attracted a media horde, including ESPN, which broadcast the game on ESPN2. There were also lots of out-of-state reporters on hand (do you think the Los Angeles Times has ever covered a game in Starkville before?) and most of them had good things to say about Croom and MSU, including the New Orleans Times Picayune, the Boston Globe and USA Today. Enjoy it now, because things get a lot tougher for the Bulldogs starting on Saturday when Auburn comes to town.
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