Which crash is worse?...

[dawgstudent]

JWS 2001-2004 or Southern?

Jackie Sherrill was 67-48-2. He finished (on the field) 74-76-2.

Southern was 12-2 two years ago and as high as in the top 15. They finished #20. They have lost 17 straight since.

 

[seshomoru]

Who would have thought...

that Southern would be the example of delusional fan bases that should have been careful what they wished for. Hope that C-USA championship game trophy was worth this.

 

[benatmsu]

JWS 2001-2004 or Southern?

Jackie Sherrill was 67-48-2. He finished (on the field) 74-76-2.

Southern was 12-2 two years ago and as high as in the top 15. They finished #20. They have lost 17 straight since.

Jackie was a handful of plays at Alabama and 1-2 plays at Arkansas from having an undefeated Regular season in the SEC - albeit a weak SEC - in 1999. Then he steadily went downhill for whatever reason.

USM's coach left them. Then the next one got fired. There's no continuity there, so at least there's an excuse.

 

[FormerlyHighLifeRebel]

To answer the question, Southern.

I honestly feel nothing but compassion and sympathy for their fans. I know they can be annoying as hell when they win, but nobody deserves this.

FIU, man. FIU.

 

[godlluB]

Southern. We never went ofer the season under Jackie. In fact, our longest ever losing streak was 11 games in 1967-68. That was part of a 17 game winless streak, but that including 15 loses and two ties in 1967-68.

 

[coach66]

Jackie made one really bad hire, Ron Cooper, the rest is history. USM seems to

be in serious decline. I have USM fans that work for me that no kidding are now looking at sending their kids to MSU and are asking all kinds of questions about MSU. This is a terrible sign for the Buzzards not to mention their financial challenges.

 

[maroondog]

I know this guy that went to State back in the late 60's. He would always joke when he heard some complain about the Bulldogs only winning 3 or 4 games a year. "When I went to Mississippi State we only won 4 games all 3 years I attended", It sort of hits home for the Yellow Buzzards that this they have surpassed time of futility. I just hope we open up the new stadium next year with a good old fashion beat down!

 

[dawgstudent]

That's the main thing for USM. We are lucky we are in the SEC plus we show up to our games. Southern is in C-USA which in turn means no one shows up. The picture of their crowd from Saturday was bad. Revenue streams for USM are few and far between and only look to get worse.


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[OzarkaNSW]

who is southern

 

[NCDawg.sixpack]

be in serious decline. I have USM fans that work for me that no kidding are now looking at sending their kids to MSU and are asking all kinds of questions about MSU. This is a terrible sign for the Buzzards not to mention their financial challenges.

People seem to forget that Sherrill was almost fired after his 5th season, when he went 1-7 in the SEC. To his credit, he hired Joe Lee Dunn and signed a bunch of top-notch JC players who gave the program a boost, and led to our one and only (probably forever) SEC West Championship in '98.

 

[dawgstudent]

He was close to being fired in 96 but he ended the season beating Bama and Ole Miss.

 

[jakldawg]

The USM stuff is just weird. They had 18 straight winning seasons (totally forgot that, just read it in one of the stories below). Didn't their run with Bower end poorly ("we LEARNED IT from watching YOU, State fans!")? Fedora royally screwed them over with his whole Hawaiian vacation on essentially his former employer's dime exit strategy. And the also-out-the-door AD went along with it. Of course that would piss off a fanbase (dozens joke goes here) and so Ellis Johnson gets thrown into that hornet's nest. About mid-October last year I noticed the first of weekly Facebook rants from my USM-alum friends. I thought it was strange, since most State fans think of Ellis Johnson as "they guy whose defense got our 2007 team to the Liberty Bowl." We get it. You're the friend who got left at the altar by your model girlfriend. Now they're at the "Tweeting Morrisey lyrics" stage of things. They're broke. And pissed. And winless. And the University's problems go way deeper than the football team (as has been discussed on here before). They wanted Johnson's scalp on their mantle. And they got it. Now he's at Auburn, and doing pretty well. WAY TO SHOW THAT GUY WHO'S BOSS, SOUTHERN! They wanted a new coach. Congratulations, they got a new coach.

 

[DerHntr]

USM is way worse. I do feel sorry for the fan base. This is just out of control. They need to seriously consider dropping a level at this point.

 

[Philly Dawg]

I'm amazed that people select a college for a student who will never play football based upon the football team.

 

[Philly Dawg]

Hey USM fans, if its not love, then its the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb that will keep you together.

 

[Heawww]

Honestly, that would be good for us if they did that. I don't care if Ole Miss or State fans will admit it or not, but they have been beating us for students for a number of years, until recently. Obviously some folks are going to USM due to location, but a good number of students (who could go to Starkville/Oxford), CHOSE to go to USM, for a number of reasons.

It'd be best for us if they just became another Delta State. Let them compete in the FCS. We need all the Southern fans to become dual-allegiance fans.

 

[DerHntr]

the rainbow being above the stadium is classic*

nm

 

[patdog]

I'm gonna say USM's announced attendance of 21,000 and change is just a little high. There's not many of them, but those are some real dedicated fans. I can't imagine seeing a team lose 16 straight and still showing up for the next game.

 

[coach66]

Silly but it is a factor. Why do you think programs put so much emphasis on

football, it is part of the college experience in the South and partially drives the success of the University.

 

[DerHntr]

I'm amazed that people select a college for a student who will never play football based upon the football team.

USM has more problems with their university administration than they do with football. Think about that. No way I'd send my kid there right now.

 

[512taylor]

who is southern

Mississipi Southern

 

[was21]

Several years ago, Southern hired a consulting firm to establish what its identity is. I think they're good in nursing, education and etc. It really is a south Mississippi directional school, for the most part. As far as its football program is concerned, it's obviously in a crap conference. Also, the emergence of South Alabama, Troy and UAB is hurting them as they once were focused on the Florida panhandle and focused on diamonds in the rough from Alabama. Also, they got some players from Louisiana, but ULL and LaTech have moved in on that.

 

[Digging dog]

JWS has to be the only coach who has built and destroyed a program in a tenure and still loved by most all of the alumni.

 

[natchezdawg]

Everyone wanted Bobby Wallace. He was the Hud of 1990's.

 

[State82]

JWS has to be the only coach who has built and destroyed a program in a tenure and still loved by most all of the alumni.

You're right about this. It is unusual, but I lost interest in MSU football during one of Jackie's debacle years and never really gained it back. But I love JWS.

 

[was21]

Their campus is really ******...looks like many of their main buildings have patchwork roofs..just a casual observance driving down the main street on the way to a medical appointment.

 

[NCDawg.sixpack]

You're right about this. It is unusual, but I lost interest in MSU football during one of Jackie's debacle years and never really gained it back. But I love JWS.

I never really cared for Sherrill, but I do give him credit for getting us into the SEC West Championship in '98. Anybody who went to that game observed what an electric atmosphere it really was. Wish we could go back again so that some of the long-suffering State fans could go, who for some reason couldn't attend that game. I haven't been to a sporting event quite like it.

 

[CEO2044]

The USM stuff is just weird. They had 18 straight winning seasons (totally forgot that, just read it in one of the stories below). Didn't their run with Bower end poorly ("we LEARNED IT from watching YOU, State fans!")? Fedora royally screwed them over with his whole Hawaiian vacation on essentially his former employer's dime exit strategy. And the also-out-the-door AD went along with it. Of course that would piss off a fanbase (dozens joke goes here) and so Ellis Johnson gets thrown into that hornet's nest. About mid-October last year I noticed the first of weekly Facebook rants from my USM-alum friends. I thought it was strange, since most State fans think of Ellis Johnson as "they guy whose defense got our 2007 team to the Liberty Bowl." We get it. You're the friend who got left at the altar by your model girlfriend. Now they're at the "Tweeting Morrisey lyrics" stage of things. They're broke. And pissed. And winless. And the University's problems go way deeper than the football team (as has been discussed on here before). They wanted Johnson's scalp on their mantle. And they got it. Now he's at Auburn, and doing pretty well. WAY TO SHOW THAT GUY WHO'S BOSS, SOUTHERN! They wanted a new coach. Congratulations, they got a new coach.

I would feel bad for them, except they will argue tooth and nail that firing Bower was the right way to go when it wasn't at all. That guy had 2 losing seasons out of 17; I get the five year watch and see if people have figured your coach out by then, but Bower was way past that mark. They said he didn't recruit well enough, yet it seems he left Fedora enough for a pretty great exit year.

I thought it was fairly well-known Fedora was looking for a stepping stone to bigger and better things, but he royally screwed them by announcing before the bowl game he was gone and apparently doing jack **** recruiting-wise.

And to this day, they still get pissed that you don't agree with them that Bower was the problem. They're going to have to find someone pretty loyal and give that guy 5-6 years to get out of this mess.

 

[Drebin]

Honestly, that would be good for us if they did that. I don't care if Ole Miss or State fans will admit it or not, but they have been beating us for students for a number of years, until recently. Obviously some folks are going to USM due to location, but a good number of students (who could go to Starkville/Oxford), CHOSE to go to USM, for a number of reasons.

It'd be best for us if they just became another Delta State. Let them compete in the FCS. We need all the Southern fans to become dual-allegiance fans.

Someone should quickly ask Rev. Freeze why he passed up his "dream school" that his parents and little brother went to so he could go to Southern Miss.

 

[johnson86-1]

He changed the culture of the football program and stayed loyal to the school. And as far as I can remember, he never acted like it was anybody's fault but his own. Bowden's fall wasn't as bad as Sherrills, but I assume everybody loves him. ****, even Paterno has defenders, although I don't know what PSU's program was like when he started coaching them in 1890, so maybe he didn't build that program.

 

[WayboDawg]

Their campus is really ******...looks like many of their main buildings have patchwork roofs..just a casual observance driving down the main street on the way to a medical appointment.

To be fair, I believe the roof patchwork is due to the tornado that hit the campus this past year.

 

[was21]

Well don't they have roofers around there somewhere. I mean this is curbside appearance and all.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

This spring and summer was a busy time for roofers...

The hailstorm in metro Jackson, the tornado in Hattiesburg that affected more than just the campus area, etc.

 

[SwampDawg]

I was there in the days of "moral victories" and "punting on third down (playing for the breaks.)" Coach Schirra (sp?) said at a student gathering "I don't know how the game will come out, but we will look good getting off the bus." He nailed it.

 

[WayboDawg]

Well don't they have roofers around there somewhere. I mean this is curbside appearance and all.

I can't answer that for you. Maybe its the best they could do until the insurance money comes in for better repairs, who knows. The front part of the campus facing highway 98 (the most picturesque part) got completely demolished by the tornado. It used to be full of beautiful old trees, and was well manicured with azaleas and roses. It looked totally different, but its all gone now... In my opinion, MSU has a prettier campus with the red bricks, landscaping, and buildings that follow a common architectural design, but we haven't had any direct hits from tornadoes either, thank God. Southern's campus had never been as nice as State's, but it has it good spots. It hurts appearances that they are mixed in with some of the uglier hodgepodge of buildings in the middle of downtown Hattiesburg, not to mention all the traffic from 98 and 49. State is well sectioned of from Starkville, and we have more real estate and control to work with how things look. Looking back, the beauty of the campus was one of my favorite things about being a student at State. Call me crazy, but appearances do matter!

 

[thatsbaseball]

The panhandle was a gold mine for them.

 

[esplanade91]

One of the best players on our baseball team and possibly one of the greatest ever at MSU at his position (make your own assumptions as to who it is) personally told me he wanted to go to USM but they didn't offer. His parents and sibling went there and it was close to home and they just happened to be good while he was in high school, but even then he didn't necessarily care about the facilities vs MSU.

For whatever reason USM is always going to compete for students regardless if they have D1 or D2 athletics. 90% of their students are either women, continued education, or band geeks, and none of those people give a **** about athletics... just that they have them so they can write "SMTTT!" on their facebook and talk about how they're better than State when they actually have no clue (my favorite argument from the other year was "Well we won more games!").

We used to drive down to Hattie all the time while I was at State. Their bars are open later, their women are A LOT sluttier, and everyone for the most part just gives less **** than at MSU. It's the anti-Mississippi Mississippi schoool, and anyone who's been to Hattie knows what I mean.

I think USM could be good pretty quickly... look at who they play against. They're going to have to have a coming-to-Jesus though and hire a homegrown coach (why not the UTM guy eh?) who will run the spread option (because that's the easiest offense to recruit for, especially in Mississippi).

Back to the root of this conversation: USM is a worse crash. It's rocked their whole athletic department. We both had to can Nike and get Russell, get rid of the AD, and hire the only person who would take the job... but they went from a championship to 0-17.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Yes it was...

UNO is going to start a FCS program in the Southland in a couple years & if West Florida decides to have a football startup program and move up from the Gulf South to Division I, that'll be even tougher for USM since the Eagles started having more difficulty recruiting Alabama players when Troy became Division I FBS in 2001. And now South Alabama is in FBS too.