First of all, beating Ole Miss never gets old, and this was espeically enjoyable. We didn't play well all the time in every facet of the game- but no matter, it's still enjoyable. And you have to consider, I wouldn't say we brought our A-game with us, and we still beat them on the road and it could have been worse had we brought our A-game.
My biggest gripes were the turnovers, the fact that we let them hang around and get back in the game when we could have stepped on their throat- second half fumble around the 25 by Relf and a missed field goal in the second half after coming up a yard short. And it also seemed like we might have let up a little too soon, and kind of allowed them to get back into it- although I will say that I may not be giving Ole Miss enough credit for getting back into the game. Obviously, those things are going to be glossed over by an overall nice win, but at the same time, I hope our players learn from those mistakes.
I was really pleased with the fact that we outhit them and were much more physical than they were. He got some really good licks on them, and it started on the kickoff when Deontae Skinner laid a good lick on the opening kickoff. The secret weapon completely laid out Jeremy McGee, and that was my hit of the game. We also hit Bolden pretty hard a couple of times. I love the swagger- doing the Dawg Pound Rock in Oxford- I know we do that everywhere, but I don't think that Croom allowed that. And then also McPhee doing the mockshark was pretty funny.
I was worried all week that Relf had a once in a career game agianst Arkansas, but I also told myself that this was about the time that he turned a corner last year. Fortunately, it appears as if he has once again turned the corner as not only a passer, but a QB in general. Sure, he had some sterotypical hit a port a potty moments, but for the most part, he was very good. I'm not really upset about his INT because those happen in part because we are throwing it more. I am very happy with the three TD passes. The throw to Chris Smith on what I believe was a slant was a great play call against man coverage, and the what I believe was a wheel route by Perkins, but couldn't really tell because of the crappy camera work was also a really nice throw and catch, and then well executed screen pass to Perkins. Relf's 70 yard run was a thing of beauty as well.
I was disappointed in Ballard's game, but I know Ole Miss was selling out to stop him. However, kudos for LaDarius Perkins who I think really stepped his game up tonight. I think we will see him gain a lot of confidence from this performance. The only really bad thing was Bumphis getting hurt. Hopefully, we will have him back for the Peach Bowl, but I doubt it. The offense was really clicking for a little while, and that's always good to see.
Our o-line once again did a great job on pass blocking, and Sherrod had a huge block on Relf's QB counter play. Even though Ole Miss loaded eight in the box, we still won the LOS, and they also committed very few penalties. They opened some nice holes for Perkins at least.
Our defense basically dominated and we did a great job of containing Masoli and at least in the running game, we contained Bolden pretty well. Manny had a great gameplan and we got a lot of pressure on Ole Miss, and forced errant throws, shut down their running game, and we pretty much shut them down on third down. I do with that they had played a little bit better in the fourth quarter, but they turned up the heat when they had to. Corey Broomfield had a great game as well including another Egg Bowl pick. Again, we were more physical and we really took it to them all night.
Special teams played pretty well. The kickoff team scared me all night, and DePasquale missed a field goal that could have been very valuable, but we also blocked an extra point, and we recovered a muffed punt, and then we blocked an extra point. Heath Hutchins also punted very well, and was a big key to us winning tonight.
Great win tonight by MSU and I'm proud of the team! And what is so exciting right now is watching all of these freshmen and sophomores play so well. I can't wait until we get them to their junior and senior year!
Next year, let's make it three in a row!
My biggest gripes were the turnovers, the fact that we let them hang around and get back in the game when we could have stepped on their throat- second half fumble around the 25 by Relf and a missed field goal in the second half after coming up a yard short. And it also seemed like we might have let up a little too soon, and kind of allowed them to get back into it- although I will say that I may not be giving Ole Miss enough credit for getting back into the game. Obviously, those things are going to be glossed over by an overall nice win, but at the same time, I hope our players learn from those mistakes.
I was really pleased with the fact that we outhit them and were much more physical than they were. He got some really good licks on them, and it started on the kickoff when Deontae Skinner laid a good lick on the opening kickoff. The secret weapon completely laid out Jeremy McGee, and that was my hit of the game. We also hit Bolden pretty hard a couple of times. I love the swagger- doing the Dawg Pound Rock in Oxford- I know we do that everywhere, but I don't think that Croom allowed that. And then also McPhee doing the mockshark was pretty funny.
I was worried all week that Relf had a once in a career game agianst Arkansas, but I also told myself that this was about the time that he turned a corner last year. Fortunately, it appears as if he has once again turned the corner as not only a passer, but a QB in general. Sure, he had some sterotypical hit a port a potty moments, but for the most part, he was very good. I'm not really upset about his INT because those happen in part because we are throwing it more. I am very happy with the three TD passes. The throw to Chris Smith on what I believe was a slant was a great play call against man coverage, and the what I believe was a wheel route by Perkins, but couldn't really tell because of the crappy camera work was also a really nice throw and catch, and then well executed screen pass to Perkins. Relf's 70 yard run was a thing of beauty as well.
I was disappointed in Ballard's game, but I know Ole Miss was selling out to stop him. However, kudos for LaDarius Perkins who I think really stepped his game up tonight. I think we will see him gain a lot of confidence from this performance. The only really bad thing was Bumphis getting hurt. Hopefully, we will have him back for the Peach Bowl, but I doubt it. The offense was really clicking for a little while, and that's always good to see.
Our o-line once again did a great job on pass blocking, and Sherrod had a huge block on Relf's QB counter play. Even though Ole Miss loaded eight in the box, we still won the LOS, and they also committed very few penalties. They opened some nice holes for Perkins at least.
Our defense basically dominated and we did a great job of containing Masoli and at least in the running game, we contained Bolden pretty well. Manny had a great gameplan and we got a lot of pressure on Ole Miss, and forced errant throws, shut down their running game, and we pretty much shut them down on third down. I do with that they had played a little bit better in the fourth quarter, but they turned up the heat when they had to. Corey Broomfield had a great game as well including another Egg Bowl pick. Again, we were more physical and we really took it to them all night.
Special teams played pretty well. The kickoff team scared me all night, and DePasquale missed a field goal that could have been very valuable, but we also blocked an extra point, and we recovered a muffed punt, and then we blocked an extra point. Heath Hutchins also punted very well, and was a big key to us winning tonight.
Great win tonight by MSU and I'm proud of the team! And what is so exciting right now is watching all of these freshmen and sophomores play so well. I can't wait until we get them to their junior and senior year!
Next year, let's make it three in a row!
