Mississippi State, Southern Mississippi and Ole Miss will hit the field this Saturday in their season openers. Ole Miss should have the easiest time while MSU will have a revenge game to play. USM will host Golden Eagle graduate and also former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze’s Liberty University.
Mississippi State (7-6) will be seeking revenge this Saturday at 6:30 in Starkville as they host Memphis (6-6). The Bulldogs suffered an officiating call on a Memphis punt return that resulted in a touchdown and in the end lost, 31-29, for the first time to the Tigers since 1994. The Tiger offense is led by sophomore Seth Henigan who passed for over 3,000 yards and 25 scores. State has experience returning as 16 starters will be back but also faces a brutal 2022 schedule. Quarterback Will Rogers leads a high-powered offense as he threw for over 4,700 yards and 36 touchdowns. The Bulldogs are a two-touchdown favorite in this rival game.
Southern Mississippi (3-9) will go against Hugh Freeze and the Liberty University Flames this Saturday at 6 p.m. in Hattiesburg. Will Hall hit the transfer portal hard in the off-season to add to the Golden Eagle roster while Freeze was also filling in needs in the portal. Freeze needed to replace Malik Willis, who is now playing for the Tennessee Titans. Liberty (8-5) also brought in Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer who has passed for over 11,000 yards in his five-year career. Freeze also brought in JUCO linebacker in Mike Smith Jr. from Gulf Coast to help improve the defense. Liberty is a field goal favorite in the contest.
Ole Miss (10-3) will open against the Sunbelt foe Troy University this Saturday at 3 p.m. in Oxford. The Trojans (5-7) will field a top defensive unit that was ranked in the top 25 in total defense in 2021. Though the offense struggled last year, former Ole Miss assistant Jon Sumrall replaced Chip Lindsey in the off-season and hopes to help Troy get back to winning. The Rebels used the transfer portal to help replace many of last year’s stars. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin seems to have done a great job in bringing in experienced players that will make an impact. The biggest question is whether USC transfer Jaxson Dart or sophomore Luke Altmyer will lead the Rebel offense. The Rebels are a three-touchdown favorite in the game.
Around the country all eyes will be on Columbus, Ohio, as the Ohio State Buckeyes will host Notre Dame. Down South the attention will be on Brian Kelly and his Tigers as they open in New Orleans on Sunday night to host Florida State.
Millsaps and Belhaven will open the season on Thursday night when the teams meet in the “Riverside Rumble.” Mississippi Valley hits the road to Tarleton State also on that night. On Saturday, Alcorn will host Stephen F. Austin, Delta State travels to Kentucky State and Mississippi College treks over to Albany State. Jackson State completes the first weekend of games as they take on Florida A&M in Miami.
The best Junior College football-playing league in America will open their season on Thursday night, as No. 2 East Mississippi will host Co-Lin while No. 11 Gulf Coast makes the long haul to #15 Northwest. No. 13 Jones College will entertain Itawamba and No. 19 Hinds is at home against Northeast. Other games are East Central at Coahoma, Holmes at Pearl River and Delta at Southwest.
First, Mississippi native Sarah Thomas made history as the first female football official in the National Football League. Then this week another first occurred as the MHSAA assigned the first all-woman football officiating crew. The dozen ladies called the Cleveland Central at Jackson Murrah contest. Seven were on the field calling the game, three running the chains on the sidelines and two running the clocks in the press box.
Listen to Dale and Marshall Wood on the Brouhaha Sports Show each Tuesday at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. This week’s guest is USM’s Hall of Famer radio announcer John Cox. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world, go to Google Chrome; go to wabo105.com and click listen live. You may also go to The Brouhaha on YouTube and listen to archived shows. Dale has been writing sports since 1973.
Contact him at ddmckee18@yahoo.com.
