Blame 9-11 on Dead Indians

[121Josey]

I blame the 2001 MSU Implosion on 9-11. State went 17 days without playing a game.

State played Memphis on Labor Day Monday (9/3) 30-10.
State had a bye week the following weekend.
The BYU game after 9/11 was moved to the final weekend. BYU - a high-altitude team - didn't have to play in the southern humidity in early September. Plus the officials didn't call them for holding the whole game in November. ( ^DWS 38-41 )
State after the long interruption loses to USCe ^DWS 14-16
State gets destroyed in 3 quarters @ the Swamp 0-52
State loses @ AU 14-16
State loses to Troy ^DWS 9-21.

State realistically could have started 6-1 or at least 5-2 had it not been for 9-11.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

I blame it on us being a bad team.

 

[patdog]

I do too. People always seem to point to the 2001 South Carolina game as the time MSU football fell off the cliff. That's not when it happened. It happened in Baton Rouge in 2000, when we blew 2 14-point leads to lose in OT to LSU.

 

[jakldawg]

That season is a textbook example of confirmation bias.

We weren't a bad team!!!
We had a pre-season ranking (red flag #1)
We almost beat USC in an emotional home game!
We almost beat Auburn!
We beat UK!
We played Alabama close!
We almost beat Arkansas!
We handed those over-rated dweebs at BYU their asses for 3 1/2 quarters!
We beat Ole Miss! Take that, Eli!

See, we weren't bad, as long as you don't consider the revenge throttling by Florida, our annual skull 17'ing by LSU, and the most obvious sign that something wasn't right, the Troy debacle.
There was a veneer of respectability about the 2001 season. The 2002 season was when reality set in. For some.

 

[NCDawg.sixpack]

We also blew games at South Carolina and Arkansas at home in 2000- especially Arkansas, which had nothing. The Arkansas game is when I lost all faith in Jackie Sherrill's coaching ability. We were in almost field goal range to win the game in regulation at LSU, but Sherrill opted to play for OT.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

It took me a couple of years, but I now view 2001 as more of a continuation of 2000 with worse luck than the start of a really bad team. We were two plays and some crooked refs away from going to a bowl game that year, specifically, the blocked punt at Auburn and the late-game Matt Jones big run at Arkansas. The 2002 season was a different kind of awful. We weren't two plays away from bowling, but more like 200 plays.

 

[00Dawg]

Don't forget the early whistle when Norwood flipped over the pile and landed on his feet. There was no one between him and the goal line.

 

[RocketDawg]

I kinda think our downfall started when we lost to Troy State during the tornado game. I think that was in 2000.

 

[DuNing]

nm

nm

 

[121Josey]

It took me a couple of years, but I now view 2001 as more of a continuation of 2000 with worse luck than the start of a really bad team. We were two plays and some crooked refs away from going to a bowl game that year, specifically, the blocked punt at Auburn and the late-game Matt Jones big run at Arkansas. The 2002 season was a different kind of awful. We weren't two plays away from bowling, but more like 200 plays.

Don't remind me about the Matt Jones magic run @ Ark. I was there and still have nightmares about Mario Haggan melting at his feet.

Add to the above we were having our way @ Bama for three quarters. I was also there and remember Eli Gold repeating over and over that "State is running at will." Unfortunately, Könning managed to put together a quarter of read-option magic to turn the tide (pun intended).

 

[121Josey]

The 2001 team was not good, not bad - just average. Average should have been good enough for a bowl. The disappointing parts were all the close loses. It was like a reversal of 1999. 17in' Indian yen-yang stuff.

I'm afraid the 2013 offense is heading the way of the 2001 offense.

 

[HD6]

Man, you really don't know anything about anything do you? You think we lost to Troy in the same year we won 8 games?