Rogers has record day for State
Sophomore quarterback Will Rogers broke several Mississippi State and SEC offensive records last Saturday as he led the Bulldogs past Kentucky, 31-17. Rogers was 36-of-39 for 344 yards and one TD as he completed passes to a dozen different receivers. The Bulldogs (5-3, 3-2) will travel to Arkansas (5-3, 1-3) this week.
Ole Miss was ambushed on the Plains, 31-20, as the Tigers, led by quarterback Bo Nix, roared with four first half scores. A former Mississippi High School Mr. Football in Neshoba Central’s Jarquez Hunter caught a Nix pass for one of the Tiger touchdowns. Ole Miss (6-2, 3-2) will host former Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze and his Liberty Flames (7-2) on Saturday morning.
The Associated Press Top 25 has seven SEC schools listed. Georgia is the unanimous choice at No.1 with Alabama coming in at third. Auburn moved up to No. 12 while Texas A&M follows the Tigers at No. 13. Ole Miss fell to No. 15 while Kentucky dropped to No. 18. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will begin releasing rankings of Top 25 teams this Tuesday. The committee will meet each Tuesday in November. The final selections will be released on Sunday, Dec. 5.
The top four teams will play in the National semifinals on Dec. 31. Those two winners will play in the championship game in Indianapolis on Jan. 10.
Southern Mississippi (1-7, 0-4) fell to Middle Tennessee, 35-10. The Eagles will try to rebound this Saturday at 2 p.m. as they host North Texas (2-6, 1-3). The Golden Eagles officially accepted the invite from the Sun Belt Conference and will become a member no later than July 1, 2023.
SWAC
Jackson State edged past Mississippi Valley, 28-19, to stay atop the SWAC Eastern Division. The Tigers (7-1, 5-0) will host Texas Southern while Valley (2-6, 1-4) will travel to Alabama A&M. Southern University downed Alcorn in Baton Rogue, 38-35. The Braves (5-3, 4-1) are one game back of Prairie View (6-1, 5-0) in the West race. This week the Braves travel to Bethune Cookman.
Small college
Delta State tripped Shorter, 14-13, while Mississippi College fell to West Florida, 63-28, in Gulf South Conference play. Delta State (4-5, 2-4) will host Mississippi College (3-5, 2-4) on Saturday at 2 p.m. Millsaps won over Sewanee, 42-32, while Belhaven fell, 29-0, to undefeated Mary Hardin-Baylor. This week Millsaps (2-6, 2-3) will play at Hendrix while Belhaven (5-3, 4-3) will host McMurry at 1 p.m.
JUCO playoffs
East Mississippi went undefeated for the fifth time under Coach Buddy Stephens to win the North Division and will host South runner-up Hinds (7-2) this Saturday. In the South Division, Jones (8-1) will host North runner-up Northwest (7-2). Both games will kick off at 2 p.m.
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame announced their 2022 Class that will be inducted next July: A couple of pro baseball players in Barry Lyons and David Dellucci; a pro football player in Eric Moulds; a college coach in Bob Tyler and a high school coach in Willis Wright; a PGA golfer, in Jeff Gallagher Jr.; a college basketball coach in Kermit Davis Sr.; and a two time All-American swimmer in Maggie Bowen-Hanna.
DaleMcKee is a Waynesboro resident who has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973. Listen to Dale’s Brouhaha Sports Show with Marshall Wood on Tuesday and Friday at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. To listen online, go to wabo105.com and click listen live. This week’s guest is Bill Blackwell of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.