With their first 135ish passes you can see a significant difference between Henig and Carroll. I believe this bodes well for the next three years of Mississippi State football. The statistics are especially significant because Carroll is a true freshman in a difficult system while Henig had years of preparation.
Click graphic to ENLARGE!
ESPN’s Ivan Maisel has written a nice piece on what I think is the major reason State has seemed to turn the corner. I want to give Croom the credit for getting Carroll and having him in a position to be able to contribute so early on. But, Carroll has taken his opportunity and not looked back. He is now firmly entrenched in the starting QB roll for the foreseeable future. This is a very good thing for Bulldog fans.
The Ivan Maisel article can be found: here.
His stats range from average (75-for-137, 54.7 percent, 702 yards) to below average (107.42 rating) to stunningly good — Carroll already has set the school record for consecutive passes without an interception at 137 and counting.
MSU @ WVU
WVU wins 41-24 as they pull away in the second half. The Mountaineer offense is too fast and the Bulldog defense has been swiss cheese lately. Now, if White doesn’t play then the game could easily go either way. I’m betting that he plays, though.
Vandy @ South Carolina
South Carolina blows out Vandy 44-10.
Florida @ Kentucky
Andre Woodson and the Wildcats are the real deal as they keep up the momentum and squeak out a win at home, 28-24.
Auburn @ LSU
The old Auburn is back but it still won’t be enough. LSU wins 42-21.
Tennessee @ Bama
Ainge and Foster make Bama look silly. Tennessee goes up big early and never looks back. 31-17, Rocky Top.
Piggies @ Rebels
Jones + McFadden = alot of crying in Oxford. Razorbacks win 24-10.
Ivan Maisel of ESPN is also predicting that Mississippi State will go bowling. However, he also predicts that State will take on Texas A&M in a rematch of the famous Snow Bowl in which Mississippi State barely won. You can read the predictions here.
Mississippi State battled Tennessee at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday, October 13. The bulldogs, lead by freshman QB Wesley Carroll, came out with a balanced attack of running and passing. The successful passing game is unusual due to the nonexistent Bulldog passing game of recent years.
With the score tied at 14-14 just before the half, Sylvester Croom tried to run the clock down to head into the locker room. This ultra conservative play-calling led to a field goal by Tennessee with 0:02 left.
In the second half the play-calling fell into a lull of pounding it up the middle. Tennessee took advantage of their halftime adjustments as well as a key “penalty” to keep their momentum going.
Ultimately, Tennessee had what it took to hold off a solid effort by the Bulldogs.
Positives:
1) Carroll: He showed incredible leadership, poise, grit, and pure skill. His passes were well thrown and on target. Carroll has the talent to be a special QB at Mississippi State.
2) Burks: He showed that he is a big playmaker as long as plays are called that get him the ball.
3) Competitive: In the progression of a team from the depths of mediocrity to a winning program, a team has to become competitive again. MSU is finally competitive again. They can win on any given weekend.
Negatives:
1) Play-calling: The play-calling was superb in the first half. Croom and co. were running options, pitches, passes, runs, etc. to keep the defense on their heels. With that play-calling came success. At some point the play-calling because stale and predictable.
2) Game management: Croom’s management of the game at the end of the first half was so bad it doesn’t deserve anymore words.
Stats Summary:
Pass: Ainge 22-36, 259, 2TD, 1INT - Carroll 18-33, 203 2TD
Rush: Foster 21-139, 1TD - Dixon 26-108, 1TD
Rec: Taylor 11-186, 1TD - Burks 5-79, 1TD
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According to Gregg Ellis of the Daily Journal, Tupelo QB Chris Garrett has committed to Mississippi State University. Scout.com lists his measurables as 6-4.5 and 220 pounds. The big news here is that Coach Croom now has the commitment of a star QB which is a position that MSU traditionally fails to recruit. Important to this story is the timing of the Garrett commitment. He is the first member of the 2009 class to commit to Croom and the Mississippi State football program. Now, Croom can use this huge news to build a top recruiting class.
ESPN writer Ron Higgins recently wrote an article in which he predicts Mississippi State will earn its way into a bowl game. You can read his article here. If his prediction is accurate it means Mississippi State will upset at least one more opponent in addition to Ole Miss.
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