Sunday, August 29, 2010

5 Reasons Jacksonville State Might Upset Ole Miss

Recently, self proclaimed famous Ole Miss alumni Kyle Buffalino, apparently on hiatus from his normal job as a stand-in for “the Situation” on Jersey Shore, gave his predictions for the Ole Miss upcoming season. How one becomes a famous Ole Miss alumni for doing nothing more than filming drunken love scenes with Snookie is a topic for another day, but Buffalino, apparently exhausted from that endeavor could offer nothing more than this in regards to Ole Miss first game opponent, Jacksonville State: “I had to Wikipedia Jacksonville State to make sure it was in Florida. Turns out it is in Alabama. Ole Miss shouldn’t have any trouble beating teams that I know this little about.”

We decided to help Mr. Buffalino a little bit. First off, next time you want to know where Jacksonville State is, go ask Florida State. The Gamecocks led FSU in Doak Campbell Stadium with 53 seconds to go. Their players know where Jacksonville State is located. Of course, since Ole Miss has way more tradition than FSU, I’m sure Mr. Buffalino isn’t worried about that. Buffalino’s comments aside, most fans probably realize Jax State and Ole Miss have a lot in common. For instance, neither has won an SEC title since 1963, of course Jacksonville State is not in the SEC.

Not to be outdone, another journalist (Jon) appeared on the website “Saturday Down South” penning an article: “5 Things You Need to Know About Jacksonville State versus Ole Miss”. His 5 minutes spent on researh didn’t really offer any insight into the game itself so we decided to contribute.

It was a tougher assignment than we anticipated. Gamecockillustrated.com knows about Jacksonville State, but it was somewhat hard to find out what is going on with Mississippi. We mean in a conference steeped in tradition, they have changed: 1) their fight song; 2) their flag; 3) their banner and who knows what else. Thus, at the risk of offending someone (and Lord knows we wouldn’t want to do that) we will refer to the school formerly known as the University of Mississippi Rebels as the Magnolia State Hound Dogs. So, as a service to Mr. Buffalino and the good folks at SDS, here is some real insight into the game:

5 Reasons why Jacksonville State might upset the Magnolia State Hound Dogs:

1. The Hound Dogs’ Best Running Back Plays For Jacksonville State. Yes, the best running back for the school f/k/a as Ole Miss has ever had, Darius “Tig” Barksdale now plays for Jacksonville State. Of course, Tig is only third string for JSU behind junior Calvin Middleton a converted fullback that would just as soon run over an opponent than by him. Calvin is complimented in the Gamecock backfield by Jamal Young, who at 5-7, 170, is worthy of the title toughest player pound for pound in college football. September 4th is also likely to be the coming out party for former North Mississippi Offensive Player of the Year, Richard Freelon, who redshirted last year for the Cocks. But don’t worry Rebs (I mean Hound Dogs), Tig will get a few carries and may have a message to deliver to the Ole Miss administration.

2. When You Have 3 Quarterbacks, You Really Have 0. Here we are 5 days before the season, and Magnolia State doesn’t know who its quarterback is. Of course, Masoli’s Oregon parole papers may not be finalized, but still it seems a little scary that the Hound Dogs haven’t named a #1 five days before the season. In contrast, JSU has a clear #1, Marques “Cool Hand” Ivory. Ivory apprenticed behind Ryan Perrilloux for the last two years, and JSU players will tell you there is not much difference between the two.

3. Magnolia State Will Not Be Able to Pass on the Gamecocks. Let’s face it, assuming he is released on time and is permitted to leave Oregon on Saturdays, Masoli is still not going to be ready. Ole Miss had a good quarterback last year, but like Elvis, he has left the building. This puts the Hound Dogs in a bind because JSU has two outstanding cornerbacks in T.J. Heath, a Pre-Season FCS, All American and A.J. “Awesome Jet” Davis a junior cornerback with 4.4 speed.

4. The Red Bandit Defense Will Bring the Heat. With Davis and Heath shutting down the Ole Miss receivers, JSU can load the box to stop the run and pressure the quarterback. Watch out for pressure up the middle from Tim McGee, a recent transfer to JSU who was rated the #3 JUCO Defensive Tackle in the Country. On the edge, the Gamecocks have three playmakers, Rodney “Big Texas” Garrott, Kevin Dix and Monte Lewis. Garrott’s body control and combination of speed and power make him essentially unblockable. Whoever the Hound Dogs' quarterback is will surely get to know JSU Defensive End, Kevin Dix. Dix, is a 6-3, 260 pound specimen that actually returned punts earlier in his collegiate career. Finally, watch out for Monte Lewis. Lewis came to JSU weighing about 220. He is now up to 280 and is the best athlete on the team. Assuming cable TV has reached the Magnolia State, you will see him on Sundays in a couple of years.

5. The Student Can’t Beat the Teacher. The Gamecocks are led by Jack Crowe- he has seen it all in 30 plus years of coaching. We didn’t know this, but some reporter from Little Rock just texted Gamecockillustrated.com and informed us that Nutt used to work for Crowe. Crowe knows what Nutt will do before Nutt knows what Nutt will do. Advantage Jacksonville State.

We hear the Hound Dogs’ fans are wearing all white for the game. What an original idea! Word is that they might also try some crazy new interactive things with the fans called “the Wave.” In any event, lets hope the white flag doesn’t mean surrender. The Gamecocks are looking for a game. We will see you September 4th.

49 comments:

  1. "Hound dogs"???? When you can't even get the nickname of the team you're playing against right, everything else you have to say loses any shred of credibility.

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  2. What does a Hound Dog have to do with Ole Miss? Tig was a safety because he never could break into the rotation at Ole Miss at RB, although I do wish him the best. Who is Kyle Buffalino and why do you care what he thinks? How do you break down a game but only talk about the players on one team? You mentioned one guy on your team that might play in the NFL. We lost 7 last year to the NFL, and 6 the year before. We have about 9 or so that are projected to play at the next level on the team right now. Nice talking about your loss to FSU. I remember our loss in the Cotton Bowl, oh year we won...2 years in a row. Oh and we had a better record than you the past 2 years and we played teams to go to real bowl games, not teams like Eastern Kentucky

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  3. It's hard to take any work seriously that contains so many grammatical errors. Learn to proofread. Oh wait...you're from Alabama... Nevermind.

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  4. I respect your enthusiasm for your team. It's hilarious that you think you can talk down to us.

    We had high hopes for Tig, but it just didn't work out. There isn't any ill will here, though. Best of luck in every game except during the one scheduled for this weekend.

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  5. "a Pre-Season FCS, All American"

    ha, just about every player on our team could be an All-American in the FCS.

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  6. The "MSHD"....has a nice ring to it...lol

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  7. This is so retarded I can't describe it.

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  8. GREAT ARTICLE! The Mrs. must have put some hot sauce in your eggs this morning. Keep articles like this comming! WHUP OLE MISS!

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  9. I dont even think we need a QB to beat this team.
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    This article says "Assuming cable TV has reached the Magnolia State, you will see him on Sundays in a couple of years."

    hahahaha. dude. YOU ARE IN JACKSONVILLE, ALABAMA. JACKSONVILLE, ALABAMA.

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  10. why dont you brag some more about the time you "almost" beat Florida St. when they had the worst team they've had in 20 years. hahaha

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  11. "Tig... The best running back that Ole Miss has ever had." **I stopped reading this article at this sentence. It is plainly obvious that ever who wrote this article has absolutely no clue of the team they will be playing this Saturday. Sunday morning, however, there want be any doubt. Good luck Jacksonville State, your going to need it

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  12. You are what we call a "scrapper". Its nice to have some emotion, but it really doesnt hold up. I hope not too many of your players get injured Saturday. Speed Kills

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  13. Yall are going to need all the luck in the world. Tig the best running back ole miss has ever had. He hasn't been on a practice field in 2 years, he is out of shape and Nutt repeatedly talked of how poor his conditioning was. Go back and look at the Ole Miss running back history. we will run a basic offense and starters will be pulled at the half as the Rebels route the chickens!

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  14. This column proves you can't "fix" stupid. OM will beat you like you owe them money...

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  15. Now that's funny I don't care who you are.

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  16. What a joke! Your blog is pointless, and un-newsworthy. Your defense will be gassed by the middle of the second quarter. I predict a 38-6 pounding.

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  17. My suggestion would be for Jacksonville State to borrow Alabama's road uniforms and hope Magnolia State doesn't recognize the difference.

    Otherwise, I think it's going to be a long day for JSU.

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  18. Come back and say something about the Rebels Saturday evening, around 6:30, I'm sure whatever you have to say won't be as long as the pathetic article you have posted here. I'll be back then, will you?

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  19. Is this guy for real? C'mon, the best thing you've ever done is "almost" beat Florida State?

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  20. We hear the Hound Dogs’ fans are wearing all white for the game. What an original idea!

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    It's Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State are the bulldogs and are having a white out Saturday. Dumbass

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  21. You have lost your mind

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  22. Ole Miss, as almost every sports fan in Mississippi knows has a "superiority complex." They win more "Preseason National Championships" than any other team in the SEC. Their last one, was midway back in time to the Civil War. If we are lucky, the last Rebel to have been alive when Ole Miss won their last National Championship will be dead in 5 years, so we can all live in peace and they can stop trumpeting that "this is the year when we win the national championship," before their first game. They do have a very solid defense, so be ready for a low scoring game.

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  23. Tig was in practise as a safety. He was not a rb.

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  24. This is one of the most humorous articles I've ever read. You didn't compare the two teams to make your argument. Instead, you changed the name of our mascot, referenced your LOSS to FSU, and talked about our former strong safety that happens to be your 3rd string tailback. Are you serious? Forget about the absurd game prediction; do you really consider yourself an actual journalist? I mean, this is laughable.

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  25. It's pretty sad when a red background with white type ISN'T the most compelling reason not to read your site. Know your place; you should be excited if JSU scores.

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  26. We're not journalist. If we were, we'd do this for money. We didn't indicate that this would be a comparison. And there's not really a prediction.

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  27. We got the "wear white" info from your website.
    http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082710aaa.html

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  28. you said we had a good qb last year. haha, not really. ps- you may have 24 brain cells (for Alabama natives, that's not very many). Do yourself a favor and be sure to tour a real college campus Saturday. Stop by the grove, it will be 10 times more enjoyable then anything during your JSU tenure even that loss against Flordia state.

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  29. You are right about us wearing white. Thanks for letting us know.

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  30. I was at the SELU game last year and started feeling sorry for them after half time. These little teams get carted off to the big schools so thier athletic department gets a big payday and it's really sad.

    The only reason JSU had a punchers chance last year was because they had a SEC caliber QB. Remember the kid that got booted from LSU. Our front 7 is rated in the top 3 in the nation by multiple sources. I would be suprised if you have any rushing yards at the end of the game.

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  31. Are you high? This is the dumbest read EVER. Tig is the best RB...lol, are you serious? He was not even able to get close to RB here. Have you seen the RBs that have come out of Ole Miss and you think he is the best ever? I hope your QB brings a pillow, he is going to be on his back many times. But hey, I have to respect you getting behind the home team. GL the rest of the season in the OVC.

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  32. I do find the attacks on the author and the article very funny. There are two primary points of attack that stick out:

    (1) Getting the mascot wrong.

    Apparently the stories about the Mississippi educational system are accurate. Reading comprehension is weak - it was explained early in the article.

    (2) Some Ole Miss fans are too stupid to know the difference in an officially sanctioned news outlet, and a blog.

    It is a blog. You Mississippi folks are taking this seriously? Apparently the operation of Blogger software and interfaces are beyond your comprehension...they are designed so that anyone can do it. Kudos on figuring out how to use the submission form though...

    In reading the blog post, what I took away was this: The author of this blog post recently saw/read/heard an Ole Miss sports pundit make comments about Jacksonville State that were unflattering - if not totally offensive. In response, the blogger made a rather tongue in cheek post adding levity to the situation from a Gamecock perspective.

    The "lets see where you are at 6:30 pm blah blah" comments from Ole Miss fans smack of misplaced bravado and beer fueled ignorance.

    I won't make a prediction on the football game. I know that the likely outcome is, however the game must be played...

    but I will say this...

    ...JSU's band is going to embarrass the Ole Miss band. The JSU Marching Southerners will make the Ole Miss band look really, really inferior. Don't leave the stands when they take the field...they are worth the price of a ticket by themselves.

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  33. Figures you would talk smack about your band!

    Ole Miss Rebels will be knocking your team around so much that by halftime they will wish they were in the band..

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  34. I would love nothing more than to see JSU beat tsun. State fans are able go grasp the thought behind the post, and appreciate it for what it is. Good luck on Saturday! Nice job webs, flock to the FCS school's blog and talk smack. Get all of that out of your system during the first 5 games, before you start your 7 game skid.

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  35. Funny that an Ole Miss fan makes a joke involving a pillow... hahaha. Probably an ex-player, still using his pillow and alarm clock he stole.

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  36. Some of the UM posters should consider decaf next time....

    I am an alumnus of JSU and have fine friends at lovely UM and can only expect that the hospitality will be in its usual fine form. Yes, we are a FCS school, and are limited to scholarships, etc but we play with heart and will do our best against a powerful SEC team in its home stadium.

    Should be a wonderful day.

    GO Gamecocks!

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  37. I am talking smack about JSU's band - and it is not "my" band. I ran across this blog linked from the Ole Miss scout board.

    But to be honest, talking smack about the band is really more relevant in life, and your response is the response of someone without any ground to stand on.

    What I mean is this: while I enjoy football, music is much more important in the grand scheme of things. How many high school football players go on to play college ball compared to band? How many football scholarships are there compared to music scholarships? How many members are there in the band compared to the football team? How long in life will a player continue to play football v/s play music? Does your church play football on Sunday morning? Do you attend football concerts and recitals? Do your tv shows and films include football and are there academy awards for "Best Football Score?"

    Don't get me wrong, I love football, but your university's music program is far more relevant in everyday life than your football team. Being beat down at halftime says more about your institution than being beaten for 4 quarters.

    ...and you are gonna get beat-down at halftime.

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  38. Wow. Clearly Mississippi fans have a tremendous inferiority complex. Blog was obviously tongue in cheek. And right in the UM has abandoned more traditions than the Situation has abandoned "grenades." Lord help UM when they get to the SEC if they get their knickers in such a was over JSU. And, they should be embarrassed by even taking Masoli.

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  39. I'm an SEC fan from another school that stubled onto this blog from a message board. Wow. Just....wow. Does OM fan really not know how simple-minded they appear in these comments?

    This is JSU(!) and this is probably their game of the season. They get to dream a little. The fact that Rebel fan is taking this blog this seriously and clearly not understanding it for what it is is just a little sad. I pity them a little. The idiotic response makes one wonder if they have a little closeted fear about this game.

    Oh, and I'm not that politically correct myself, but anyone who uses the "r" word today as an insult of another person's intelligence makes a much bigger statement about their own IQ. Some of us have children that are challenged. You're clearly too dimwitted to be offended by, but nonetheless, someone needs to tell you to grow up. And I'd put money on my son in a game of Trivial Pursuit against any of you OM geniuses.

    Pathetic. Sad. Disgusting. Here's one SEC fan that will be pulling for the miracle Saturday.

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  40. Where are all the hater Ole Miss fans now?

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  41. Congrats Gamecocks! Take that OM Hound Dogs, or whoever they are now! (from another "SEC School" fan!)

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  42. Come back and eat your crow hound dog fans!!

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  43. They don't need to eat crow...the Crowe already bit them!

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  44. hahahahahahaahahhahaahaa

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  45. One poster earlier said sarcastically Jacksonville, Alabama twice. Jacksonville Alabama is a nice college town. Is Oxford Mississippi really that much bigger? JSU-around 10,000 students, Ole Miss somewhere around 15,000. JSU is in a county with 100K plus - is Ole Miss? I felt like after last year's performance at Florida State we had a good shot at Ole Miss. Coach Crowe is elevating the program to where JSU feels like they can compete and win. I feel like our University is just as good as yours!

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  46. that number nine was popping out everywhere making tackles...who the hell is this guy...Jason horton woooo some serious

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  47. Awesome commercial for JSU during the telecast. Makes me wish I had gone there. I knew it was a good school, my high school coach went there. I know it must be a pretty campus being near Gadsden, with the hills and all. And, it's silly for anyone in Mississippi to be critical of any other state, much less Alabama. As a native born son of Bama, (now living in Memephis) I've seen first hand just how pitiful the state south of here is. Mississippi really is the worst state in the union; there's a reason it's last in everything. A JSU degree is one to be proud of, it's a good school and a great college experience, I'm sure. Oxford is just a podunk town in a poor state whose inhabitants have no idea of the world outside their state's borders. Go to Hell, Ole Miss, go to Hell!

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