Jackson Free Press

There has not been too much to be happy about this season from the big schools in college football. In fact, after three weeks, a lot has been downright ugly.

In Oxford, someone needs to let Houston Nutt know that having a huge offensive line doesn't work if they can't block. We are not talking about poor pass blocking out of huge offensive linemen. We are talking about poor run and pass blocking. A line that size should at least make holes in the running game.

The Rebels' offense is terrible, and it starts with the line. It was telling in the 30-7 beat down Mississippi took to Vanderbilt. Yes, that Vanderbilt, folks.

Dan Mullen, when you get a turnover at near midfield against one of the best defenses in the country only down by 10, you don't pull your starting quarterback for a guy who at that point had thrown zero passes all night long.

Mullen pulled Chris Relf for Tyler Russell in the fourth quarter with about 10 minutes to go and down 10 points after an interception by Jonathan Banks. Russell had to face a defense that has eight to 10 future pros without any time to adjust to game speed. Mississippi State still had a chance to win the game when Mullen made his head-scratching move. Either dance with the girl who brought you to the dance, or name Russell the starter.

As for the other big teams, Southern Miss found a way to lose to Marshall. and Alcorn State finally got their first win against a terrible Mississippi Valley State team. Speaking of Valley, the Delta Devils have scored a grand total of 23 points while giving up 119 in three games.

The lone bright spot is Jackson State at 3-0. In a year when the Tigers could have folded after being told they can't play in the SWAC title game, they have come out fighting. JSU might not finish undefeated, but they have not rolled over. Major credit for this has to go to head coach Rick Comegy, the oft-maligned coach. He's done a great job of keeping this team focused with nothing to play for but pride. And that is a hard thing to do with 18- to 22-year-old men.

Previous Comments

ID

165059

Comment

Glad you recognize JSU has stumbled to an undefeated season so far, Bryan. They play my school on ESPNU this Thursday night and will probably win again.

Author

Walt

Date

2011-09-24T10:56:28-06:00