/Sunday morning coming down

Sunday morning coming down

* College football has changed. A 35-10 lead is no longer the norm. With less than a minute left in the first period, Kentucky was leading Southern Miss by 35-10. After Nick Mullens had already thrown three interceptions and hit Isaiah Jones for a 71-yard touchdown pass, making it 35-17 at the half. The second half was USM only. The second half was all USM. This resulted in a score of Southern Miss 44 and Kentucky 35. Jay Hopson’s initial Eagle team scored 34 of the final game’s final points. Stat of the Day: The Golden Eagles ran 53 plays in the second half. Kentucky only ran 14. That’s right, 53-14. The offensive line of USM ripped through Kentucky’s defense, and running backs ItoSmith and George Payne danced happily through them. This was a rare occasion when such a huge comeback is possible with smash-mouth football. The USM defense was completely beaten in the first half and gave up nothing in second. Kentucky’s five possessions in the second half ended with two punts (two fumbles) and an interception. So, USM now has its first win over an SEC foe in 16 years. This is after a 21-0 defeat of Alabama. Before traveling to LSU, the Golden Eagles will play (in alphabetical order): Troy, UTEP Rice, Texas-San Antonio, Savannah State and Troy. * Mississippi State is still a work-in-progress and there’s still much to be done. The Bulldogs were 28 points in favor and lost 21-20 to South Alabama. This was a surprising result. Normaly, 28-point underdogs win with many turnovers and big plays during the kicking game. This one was different. South Alabama and State did not turn the ball over. South Alabama gained 379 yards to State’s 382. South Alabama won the game after State failed to score a field goal. The Jaguars had already missed two field goals. The big question is: Who is the guy who succeeded Dak? — remains unanswered. Damian Williams looked like that guy when he was called up in the first period to help State take a 17-0 lead. He was only OK after the quick start. Dan Mullen stated that he will be watching how starter Nick Fitzgerald and Damian Williams play in practice before making a decision on Saturday’s starter. Saturday? This is when South Carolina will be in town to host the State’s SEC opener. Then it’s LSU Baton Rouge. Someone needs to take the initiative, and do it quickly. * This was the “greatest opening weekend in college football history,” according to TV announcers, due to all the marquee matchups. It is not clear that Greg Sankey would use the term “greatest” for this opening weekend. OK, Alabama was Alabama, and it did its part by dismantling Southern Cal 52-6. Texas A & M won a huge victory over UCLA, 31-24. Georgia won a convincing victory over North Carolina. The SEC was, however, pedestrian. LSU lost to Wisconsin, and the SEC still hasn’t got a passing game. Auburn lost to Clemson. USM defeated Kentucky. Appalachian State beat Tennessee, and Arkansas defeated Louisiana Tech. West Virginia dominated Missouri. Massachusetts was defeated by Florida. South Carolina won the league match 13-10 over Vanderbilt. The conference game was eliminated, and the SEC now stands at 6-5 going into Monday’s Ole Miss Florida State matchup. This is not the success rate SEC fans have come accustomed to.