Monday, October 6, 2014   
 
One big Saturday in Mississippi: Ole Miss upsets Alabama as Mississippi State celebrates win over Texas A&M
Poor you. You spent Saturday somewhere other than Mississippi. I'm sorry. You didn't get goose bumps from a late-morning Starkville din so loud it seemed set to jar loose the Mississippi-Alabama borderline and hurl it nearer Tuscaloosa. You didn't hurry along 98 miles of mid-afternoon roads past cotton in a field and an armadillo on the roadside and a great big hush that gave way only to the very occasional lawnmower. You didn't hear the early-evening roar that can stem from an Alabama kickoff fumble trickling across an Ole Miss field in a 17-17 strife. You didn't feel this whole fall turn all Mississippi on us.
 
ESPN's 'College GameDay' sticks around
If what happened in Oxford is any indication, Starkville is in for an "epic" experience on Saturday. ESPN's "College GameDay" show will be on the Mississippi State campus for the first time, broadcasting live from 8 to 11 a.m. The No. 3-ranked Bulldogs are hosting No. 2 Auburn. "Having the 2:30 CBS game is pretty big. Getting in the top five is pretty big. 'GameDay' is pretty big," MSU Athletics Director Scott Stricklin said. "I don't know if any of those is bigger than the other, but 'GameDay' is pretty special." MSU and Ole Miss have burst onto the national scene simultaneously, each with a 5-0 record and a leg up in the SEC West race.
 
SID SALTER (OPINION): Now there are two buildings named after a Lee at Mississippi State
Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "An academic note, if you will, after the biggest college football weekend in Mississippi that I can recall. And while this isn't as sexy as one of our universities hosting Katy Perry or Tim Tebow, it's heady stuff. Mississippi State's iconic capstone building -- symbolic of this state's flagship land-grant research university -- is called Lee Hall and was named after founding university president Stephen D. Lee. ...on the eve of MSU's game with Texas A&M, with the cheers of the SEC Nation television almost drowning out the proceedings, a building on the MSU campus was dedicated to another former MSU president named Lee. On that point, there was applause from Bulldogs and Aggies alike on the day before the game, because J. Charles Lee served both universities with great distinction."
 
Former MSU President Charles Lee Honored at Dedication
Mississippi State honored its 17th president last Friday with a public ceremony dedicating the J. Charles Lee Agricultural and Biological Engineering Building. The $11 million structure that opened in 2007 is located on Creelman Street between Dorman Hall and McCarthy Gymnasium. MSU President Mark E. Keenum said Lee made numerous outstanding contributions to Mississippi State during more than a dozen years of service at the university, and his many positive impacts continue to benefit the institution.
 
Mississippi State dedicates building to former university president
Mississippi State University's 17th president was honored Friday with a building in his name. Former university president Dr. J. Charles Lee's name is now featured with the school's $11 million agricultural and biological engineering building, a building constructed during his tenure. Lee said the agricultural and biological sciences program highlights the best of the modern land-grant vision. "The thought of having my name on a facility that will help educate and create a bright future for thousands of students fills me with tremendous pride," Lee said.
 
Fire displaces 198 MSU dorm residents; no injuries
A fire in a Mississippi State University women's residence hall displaced 198 students Sunday night, but no injuries were reported. The fire on the third floor of four-story Oak Hall was apparently caused by a candle burning in one of the rooms. The fire alarm sounded at 8 p.m., and fire officials were on the scene at 8:07 p.m., the release stated. MSU officials were making temporary housing arrangements for students on Sunday night. They will move into permanent housing within the MSU Housing system on Monday, the release said.
 
Tagert: Bridges, roads in maintenance crisis
Northern District Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert on Friday suggested Mississippians must consider a possible fuel tax increase to address a huge backlog of maintenance needs, beginning with a $700 million estimate of necessary work on 700 "posted" state bridges. "The only thing worse than a tax increase is to irresponsibly fail to maintain" transportation infrastructure that is key to economic development and public safety, Tagert told the Tupelo Kiwanis Club. Later in an interview with the Daily Journal editorial board, Tagert repeated his concerns that Mississippi's bridges and surface roadways are in critical need of more funding for repairs and maintenance.
 
Money fight could sow education conflict
It's not often that the heads of Mississippi's public university and community college systems are reduced to stammering. But a little air went out of the room during legislative budget hearings last week when Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves asked what both systems would do if lawmakers cut $312 million out of their budgets to find money to fully fund the state K-12 school funding formula. "I can't even answer that," said Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds when asked what would happen if lawmakers pulled the money out of the $750 million the universities get from the state. The ever-simmering conflict over how much the Legislature should spend on education has turned up to full boil in recent months. Bounds, a former state superintendent, also said after his hearing that he thought full K-12 funding versus higher education was too limited a way to frame things.
 
Economist: State's economy expanding, but jobs are not
The state's economy is gradually growing stronger, but the state still has 44,000 fewer jobs now than it did before the recession, state economist Darrin Webb told legislative budget writers Friday. Employment numbers in the state have been up in some months and down in others. "What you see is sort of sputtering growth in employment," Webb said. "It shows that we are really struggling to gain momentum, but we are growing." The strongest contributor to job growth in Mississippi this year is the manufacturing sector, particularly for making vehicles, ships and furniture.
 
State agencies go all-out in budget requests
When the 2015 Legislature convenes in January, it will have to consider state agency budget requests that are about $1 billion more than the agencies received for the current fiscal year. The 14-member Legislative Budget Committee, which consists of Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and other House and Senate leaders, heard budget requests last week from some of the agencies asking for the largest increases, such as education entities, Medicaid, the Department of Revenue and others.
 
Medicaid director asks for $1 billion budget
The Division of Medicaid is asking for an additional $129.9 million from the Mississippi Legislature during the 2015 session to cover additional expenses for the current fiscal year and for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. Medicaid Executive Director David Dzielak told the Legislature Budget Committee on Friday that his agency needs a total of $1.015 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. The 2014 Legislature appropriated $885.4 million for the current fiscal year.
 
Peavey: Plant layoffs a matter of survival
Peavey Electronics' announcement of job cuts is simply a matter of survival, according to the company's owner. Hartley Peavey, a Meridian native who founded his company in 1965, took his company to international success and the Peavey name is widely associated with amplifiers and a large range of other musical equipment used throughout the music world. Last week, Peavey announced that it was closing its A Street plant, and according to information from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, 99 people will lose their jobs. At the time of the announcement, Peavey officials said it is part of a restructuring to remain more competitive. On Wednesday, Hartley Peavey said it was a necessary decision. The U.S. has become increasingly unfriendly to business, Peavey said.
 
Mississippi hospitals on the lookout for Ebola
When patients walk into the Biloxi Regional Medical Center burning with fever or displaying nausea symptoms these days, emergency room staffers face a potentially crucial moment. Like at other hospitals across Mississippi, they're on the lookout for people who recently traveled from West Africa -- or have been in close contact with someone who did -- and might be carrying the deadly Ebola virus that's raging through Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. "The key issue is to identify them as quickly as possible," Mississippi's state epidemiologist, Dr. Thomas Dobbs III, said in a telephone interview. "Even before they come into the emergency room would be ideal. And then to isolate them immediately to limit potential transmission. Individuals exposed to Ebola patients before isolation are going to be considered contacts and will need to be monitored."
 
Mississippi ranks No. 2 in charitable giving in the U.S., according to new philanthropy study
Even as the income gap widens, the wealthiest Americans are giving a smaller share of their income to charity, while poor and middle-income people are donating a larger share, according to an extensive analysis of IRS data conducted by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The Chronicle, a leading source of news coverage of the nonprofit world, said in a report being released Monday that Americans who earned $200,000 or more reduced the share of their income they gave to charity by 4.6 percent from 2006 to 2012. Those earning less than $100,000 donated 4.5 percent more of their income, the report said. At the state level, residents of Utah were the nation's most generous, donating $65.60 to charity for every $1,000 they earned. Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee -- also with high proportions of loyal churchgoers -- were next in the rankings.
 
Inmates, experts: Gangs rule Mississippi's prisons
Inside Mississippi's prisons, gangs rule. If you refuse to join, they will beat you, stab you, addict you, extort you, abuse you and/or rape you. And there is no place to hide because corrections officials won't let you live separately from gangs -- despite a state Department of Corrections policy that declares "zero tolerance" for them. "When you walk in, you walk into bedlam," one inmate, whose name is not being used for his safety, told The Clarion-Ledger. "Gang members stab people down, and nothing happens to them." Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps disagrees that gangs are powerful in Mississippi prisons.
 
Supreme Court ruling clears path for gay marriage in 30 states
The Supreme Court refused to get involved in the national debate over same-sex marriage Monday, leaving intact lower court rulings that will legalize the practice in 11 additional states. The unexpected decision by the justices, announced without further explanation, immediately affects five states in which federal appeals courts had struck down bans against gay marriage: Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Utah. The action eventually will bring to 30 the number of states where gays and lesbians can marry. Most court-watchers had predicted the justices would hear one or more cases this term and issue a verdict with nationwide implications by next June. But the justices, perhaps sensing that the country is headed toward legalizing gay marriage without their involvement, chose to deny states' appeals.
 
Southern Democrats Walk a Tightrope With Black Voters
In Louisiana, Sen. Mary Landrieu says President Barack Obama 's energy policies are "simply wrong." In North Carolina, Sen. Kay Hagan has criticized the administration's handling of veterans' benefits. And in Georgia, Senate candidate Michelle Nunn won't say whether she would have voted for the Affordable Care Act. These Democrats, like others running in races across the country, are trying to distance themselves from a president who is deeply unpopular among white voters. But if they have any hopes of winning, they also must try to lock down the voters most loyal to Mr. Obama: African-Americans. How Southern Democrats walk this tightrope will help determine whether their party maintains control of the Senate
 
The rise of 'redneck TV'
As a new television season kicks off, series about strange subcultures of survivalists or blue-collar families, many of them with Spanish moss beards and grins that need some dental work, appear at almost every click of the remote. While America has always been fascinated by its share of backcountry bumpkins -- think "The Beverly Hillbillies" in the 1960s -- the new shows are about real people doing seemingly unreal things in a modern world. The rise of redneck TV has paralleled one of the toughest economic stretches for the American worker since the Great Depression, a time of polarized politics and economic data that shows the middle-class dream is slipping away. Some experts believe this malaise has pushed Americans toward the visual equivalent of escapism and comfort food.
 
MUW Instructor Lands National Certification
Acker Lone Honoree In MississippiDr. Kristi Acker, doctorate of nursing practice instructor at Mississippi University for Women, is the first Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse in Mississippi and one of 10 in Alabama. Palliative care is emerging as a specialty, according to Acker "With the restructuring of health care, anyone that has a life threatening or serious illness should be able to access palliative care services. Even patients who are in curative situations can benefit from the services offered through a palliative care program," Acker explained.
 
USM gets $1.2 million to extend deaf education
The University of Southern Mississippi has received another $1.2 million grant to train teachers of children with hearing loss. The five-year grant to USM's deaf education program provides full-tuition scholarships to 40 people seeking master's degrees that concentrate on early oral intervention. Program director Marietta Paterson says USM is one of only three programs in the country training specialists in early intervention.
 
Fly fishing group presents award to Gulf Coast Research Lab
The International Federation of Fly Fishers has presented the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory with its Conservation Award. The award is given annually to "individuals, groups or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to the conservation of our fisheries' resources." Once common to coastal rivers and estuaries of the northern Gulf of Mexico, striped bass declined and nearly vanished in the 1960s. GCRL began turning that decline around in 1967 with a program focused on restoring striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in coastal waters along the Mississippi coast.
 
Auburn University, Gadsden State partner on poultry degree program
Auburn University and Gadsden State Community College announced a partnership Friday that allows Gadsden State students to fast-track their careers in poultry science. The schools announced a new "2+2" program that will allow Gadsden State students to complete their freshman and sophomore years at the Cherokee campus and their junior and senior years at Auburn, graduating with bachelor's degrees in poultry science from Auburn University. Auburn announced a similar partnership with Wallace State Community College in Hanceville in 2013. "We wanted to build on the success of that partnership by expanding within an area of the state where poultry production plays a key economic role," said Don Conner, head of Auburn's Department of Poultry Science.
 
Three candidates for Louisiana Commissioner Higher Education to be interviewed this week
Louisiana's next commissioner of higher education likely will be named this week, after the state Board of Regents and other higher education leaders get a chance to vet three finalists for the job. None of the three has emerged as a clear frontrunner for the nearly $350,000-a-year position. Their backgrounds are diverse: a community college president from Rhode Island, an academic affairs leader from Texas and the president of a college in West Virginia. For any of them, the job would mean more responsibility: Louisiana's higher education commissioner oversees implementation of state-level policies, as well as coordination between Louisiana's college and university systems, which means 38 institutions, a $2.6 billion budget and more than 217,000 students.
 
Current, former U. of South Carolina students celebrate Preston College's 75th anniversary
Former residents of Preston College at the University of South Carolina turned out Sunday to celebrate the dorm's 75th birthday and see how college life there has changed -- or stayed the same. Dan Brown, a Preston College resident for two years starting in 1968, said even on his way home from work, he will sometimes drive through campus just to see where many of his memories were made while attending USC. "It's the same as it was in 1968 for me," Brown said. Preston Residential College is the only student dormitory on campus with its own live-in faculty member, and is one of the few places at the University of South Carolina where a student can enter as a freshman and remain until graduation.
 
Texas A&M switches some faculty to shorter appointments to avoid liability payout
Texas A&M faculty currently on 12-month contracts could see their appointment length change as the university pushes to free itself from expensive vacation accrual liability. More than half of university faculty are on non-vacation accruing nine-month appointments, but up to 1,000 faculty could be moved to a different plan as college deans evaluate the need for some professors to be on campus year-round as early as the spring semester. According to Texas A&M Provost and Executive Vice President Karan Watson, the move will get all A&M faculty with the exception of a handful of positions on the same page and begin to separate the university from the hefty liability. Watson said every college is currently evaluating job functions of its faculty to find out who needs to work year-round or move to a nine-month or nine-plus one or two-month plan.
 
U. of Missouri sets enrollment record
The University of Missouri reported record enrollment Friday with official numbers showing 35,441 students taking on-campus or online classes this fall. MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced the numbers Friday morning at the Board of Curators meeting while fielding questions with the leaders of the University of Missouri System's three other campuses. Each leader reported an enrollment increase. The increase in total enrollment on the flagship campus was about 2 percent. At MU, freshman enrollment was up 5 percent to 6,518 students, 25 percent of whom are first generation college students, Loftin said. While the number of graduate students broke a record, Loftin said the increase is tied to the array of online graduate programs.
 
HackMizzou holds second annual hackathon
Smartphone in hand, Dominick Lee brought the robot to life with a few movements of his wrist. Controlled by a mobile smartphone app, the robot, called Boiler Rover, was designed as a "robot assistant," capable of tasks ranging from carrying a soda across a dorm room to assisting professionals in a medical environment. This weekend, Lee and six other students from Purdue University created the robot at the second annual HackMizzou, a college "hackathon" hosted by the University of Missouri. The group was one of 52 teams participating in the three-day event. HackMizzou co-planner Daniel Silver said turnout this year was better than the first year of the event. "It was amazing and so much better than expected," Silver said.
 
Forthcoming standards seek to define skills needed by chief diversity officer
While lots of chief diversity officers are highly qualified, the pioneering nature of their work has made for some inconsistency in their backgrounds and how they do the job. But it's something the profession is working to address, including through forthcoming standards about what makes an effective chief diversity officer. Benjamin Reese Jr., vice president and chief diversity officer at Duke University, and president of the national diversity officers' association, didn't share details but said the forthcoming standards will address "areas of knowledge and skills that are important to the role."
 
Swastikas left on Emory Jewish fraternity
Police are investigating after swastikas were found painted on a historically Jewish fraternity house at Emory University in Atlanta. Emory officials the Alpha Epsilon Pi house was targeted by vandals early Sunday morning, shortly after the end of the observance of Yom Kippur. Emory University President James Wagner sent a statement Sunday night to students and others on campus, saying the "abhorrent act" is an offense against the entire university and will not be tolerated.
 
Confederate flag causes controversy at Bryn Mawr
A debate about a Confederate flag two students put up in their dorm room at Bryn Mawr College has escalated to a demonstration involving hundreds and a broader debate about diversity and inclusiveness at the institution. Those students who donned black and held homemade signs in the protest after the flag incident want it known that they're not finished yet. Many minority students feel that their voices aren't valued or highlighted on campus, and they want the college to acknowledge their concerns, said Allegra Massaro, a senior and president of the Tri-College Chapter of the NAACP. In September, two Bryn Mawr students hung up a Confederate flag in a public area of the Radnor Hall dormitory and used neon duct tape to symbolize the Mason-Dixon line on the carpet. Others in the dorm asked the students to take the flag down, but they refused, saying it was a representation of their Southern pride.
 
SAM R. HALL (OPINION): College football is king in Mississippi
The Clarion-Ledger's Sam R. Hall writes: "Few things are bigger in Mississippi than college football. To say it's a way of life may sound a bit trite, but it's absolutely the truth. That made Saturday one of the biggest celebrations in the history of the Magnolia State. It was the first time two top 15 match-ups took place here. ESPN Gameday was in Oxford as Ole Miss hosted Alabama. SEC Nation was in Starkville for the Bulldogs and Texas A&M. ...With the two wins, we even tore up our front page. Instead of focusing on a year-long investigation by Jerry Mitchell with a big skybox for college football, we made college football the centerpiece of our front page and teased the prison package in the skybox."
 
PAUL HAMPTON (OPINION): Season of our disconnect
The Sun Herald's Paul Hampton writes: " I love autumn, the season of speculation. Leaves change. Politicians turn over new leaves. This year's crop of laws is barely in force and the ground is already being plowed, in the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, for the 2015 session. Then there is the Tea Party, which has been handed the seed of an issue it could use to thrash Democrats and Republicans alike. Oh, and the race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate is in the hands of the state's highest court. Fertile ground for the imagination is what this is."
 
GEOFF PENDER (OPINION): Professionals, not politicians, should run schools
The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "Pretend for a moment that Mississippi State was looking for a new football coach. Would it be wise to limit the search to only people from Starkville? Would it be wise to have an election to choose a coach, who would stay for four years no matter his performance? Of course not. Yet these are the limitations put on many Mississippi school districts in finding a superintendent for public schools. The state board of education during a budget hearing last week submitted a list of legislative priorities to lawmakers. Among them is phasing out elected school superintendents. It's an age-old effort at reform."


SPORTS
 
Magnolia State still celebrating memorable weekend
The Magnolia State is still buzzing from arguably the most successful sports weekend in its history. Ole Miss rallied to topple Alabama 23-17 in Oxford a few hours after Mississippi State dominated Texas A&M 48-31 in Starkville, helping turn the college football world upside down. On Sunday, fans of both schools were basking in a scenario almost too good to be true: The Rebels and Bulldogs are tied for the No. 3 spot in the Top 25. Now that the programs have beaten the odds to get through the weekend unscathed, they have to get back to work if they want the party and championship aspirations to continue.
 
Madness in Mississippi as Rebels and Bulldogs Knock Off Top-10 Teams
In what was billed as one of the biggest days in the state's college football history, Mississippi and Mississippi State did not disappoint on Saturday, each scoring an upset over an undefeated opponent. In Starkville, 12th-ranked Mississippi State, led by the dynamic quarterback Dak Prescott, dominated sixth-ranked Texas A&M, 48-31. And in Oxford, 11th-ranked Mississippi scored two touchdowns in the game's final five and a half minutes to rally past third-ranked Alabama, 23-17. It was a remarkable ending to a weeklong celebration for the Bulldogs and the Rebels, who have had snippets of success over the last 40 seasons but have struggled to make a dent nationally or in the Southeastern Conference. For now, that has changed.
 
A day like no other at Mississippi State
Mississippi State fans mobbed the campus on Saturday before the No. 12 Bulldogs hosted the No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies. And they were all happy to be there. They had waited all week to see the personalities of the "SEC Nation" pregame show sitting in the middle of the Junction talking about their team. Some had been waiting much longer than that -- years -- to cheer on a Bulldogs team good enough to compete with the blue bloods of the SEC West.
 
Mississippi State receives highest ranking in school history
Mississippi State's historic season continued on Sunday. The Bulldogs climbed nine spots to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25. It's the highest ranking in school history, which previously was No. 7 during the 1981 season. Mississippi State received two first-place votes, also a program first. The 1,320 total points tied MSU with Ole Miss for the No. 3 ranking. Mississippi State going for three straight wins against top 10 opponent will get premium treatment on TV. The game will air on CBS at 2:30 p.m.
 
Magnolia 3-step: State, Ole Miss near top of polls
The biggest Saturday in college football in Mississippi has been followed by an unprecedented achievement Sunday. Ole Miss and Mississippi State are tied for No. 3 in the nation in the Associated Press college football poll. It is the first time the two teams have been ranked this high together nationally. And all of this has Bulldog and Rebel fans thinking that the annual Egg Bowl on Nov. 29 in Oxford will mean more -- much more -- than just bragging rights in Mississippi. It could mean an SEC West championship, a berth in the SEC title and a berth in the four-team college playoffs.
 
Bulldogs shine in the spotlight
Scott Field housed 60 minutes of carnage, then transformed into a safe-haven of hugs when the time expired. Mississippi State offensive line coach John Hevesy embraced athletic director Scott Stricklin. Fifth-year senior Jay Hughes hugged his mom, while his dad, associate head coach Tony Hughes, embraced an assistant. Future NFLer Chris Jones posed for pictures with former Bulldog and current Oakland Raider Gabe Jackson. Robert Johnson leaped into the student section to celebrate No. 12 Mississippi State's 48-31 over No. 6 Texas A&M.
 
Mississippi State's defense rises up when it counts
Sometimes statistics don't always tell the true story. Case in point, Mississippi State defensive numbers. Numbers say Mississippi State has an average to below-average SEC defense. But Bulldogs' coach Dan Mullen credited his defense for playing well against the Aggies, and their previous four opponents. He said you can't always take the numbers at face value. "I love statistics. I pay attention to them a lot, but statistics sometimes will lie to you, too," said Mullen. "Statistically, we are not going to be a very good pass defense, but I give our guys credit for our pass defense up until it was 48-17. After that first drive, to give 10 points really, the rest of the game, that's great pass defense. You have to look behind them at the reality of those statistics." Looking more closely, Mississippi State was stingy when it counted most.
 
Dak Prescott's Heisman credentials stack up historically
He never looked down. He didn't look left or right. Dak Prescott weaved through the Dawg Walk with both hands extended but didn't move his head. Black sunglasses hid his eyes. Thousands of screaming fans surrounded him, rattling their cowbells. He didn't flinch. Mississippi State's quarterback stared ahead to Davis Wade Stadium. Pressed with interviews form Tim Tebow, national media, local media, all asking about the Heisman Trophy, Prescott blocks the noise out just like he did walking through the Junction on Saturday. The shouts from the crowd will only get louder after his performance against Texas A&M. Prescott finished with five touchdowns -- three on the ground, two through the air.
 
Dawgs rout Aggies
It really isn't supposed to be this easy, is it? For the first time in school history, Mississippi State has beaten two Top-10 teams on consecutive football weekends after overwhelming sixth-ranked Texas A&M, 48-31, Saturday before a raucous crowd of 61,113 at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs, now 5-0, host Auburn next. "To knock off two Top 10 teams is great," Mullen said. "But as a university as a whole, it's just the beginning, not just as a football program but as a university. To be what we want to be, there's going to be a lot of firsts around here."
 
Mississippi State proves it is for real in rout of Texas A&M
Asked if there was a point in the No. 12 Mississippi State football team's 48-31 victory against No. 6 Texas A&M when he knew the Bulldogs had a win in their grasp, MSU running back Josh Robinson had the perfect answer. "The whole game," Robinson said with a shrug. "We felt like we were going to win as soon as we got out on the field, and once we started scoring, it felt like they couldn't stop us." It was that kind of day for the Bulldogs, who are entering uncharted territory. They also have a swagger that rarely has been seen in Starkville. Two weeks after making a statement with a 34-29 win at then-No. 8 LSU, MSU followed up with an even more decisive victory Saturday.
 
Long Beach's Richie Brown has three interceptions for Mississippi State
Long Beach native Richie Brown helped lead Mississippi State's defensive effort in a 48-31 win over sixth-ranked Texas A&M on Saturday. The linebacker finished the game with three interceptions, which tied a school record. He was the first person to accomplish the feat since 2005. Brown's first two interceptions came in the second quarter on back-to-back Texas A&M drives. Brown credited the defensive line's pressure for his success. Brown capped a career day with a third pick in the second half. "The third one was a blessing. The defensive line got good pressure on (Hill)," he said. "I couldn't have done it without them."
 
Prescott baffles Texas A&M defense as Bulldogs top Aggies
The 12th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs turned a Southeastern Conference showdown against sixth-ranked Texas A&M into a showcase for why they should be among the nation's best, in part because of one of the country's elite players, quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott accounted for 347 yards with five touchdowns as Mississippi State pounded out a 48-31 victory Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium before 61,133 fans. The game wasn't as close as the score because A&M (5-1, 2-1) added its last 14 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes, taking advantage of recovering an onside kick.
 
No. 2 Tigers slated for 2:30 p.m. kickoff at No. 3 Miss. State on CBS
Newly-minted No. 2 Auburn will see its second appearance as CBS' SEC game of the week on Saturday, the Southeastern Conference announced Sunday. Coming off a dominating performance in a 41-7 win over then-No. 15 LSU, second-ranked Auburn will kick off against No. 3 Mississippi State at 2:30 p.m. in Starkville, Mississippi as the second game of a SEC of CBS doubleheader. ESPN's College GameDay pregame show will be airing live from Starkville prior to the game, but CBS had first choice of conference games per its television contract with the SEC after taking advantage of its 6-day option last week.
 
College Football Goes Nuts
Dedicated fans of college football have long since learned to expect the unexpected. But even by its own unpredictable standards, there have been few weeks in college football to match the chaos, confusion and downright craziness as the one we just witnessed. Simply put, this was the weekend that college football went nuts. By the time Saturday was over, the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 8 teams in the nation had all gone down, the first time in history that five of the top eight teams in the Associated Press's Top-25 poll had all lost in the same week.
 
Mississippi Is Challenging Alabama For College Football's Most Dominant State
Next weekend, the Bulldogs will welcome Auburn to Starksville, and other than the Iron Bowl, it's likely the biggest game remaining on the Auburn football schedule. The average price for that game is now $231, which is almost double the last game when Auburn played Mississippi state on the road. It marks the most expensive game there this season and the most expensive in the last four years. If Mississippi State walks off the field with a victory, it's the kind of price that Mississippi State fans, along with fans of their cross-state rivals, may need to get used to.
 
Lovato fits in well as assistant on Schaefer's staff at Mississippi State
Don't get in Elena Lovato's way. Odds are she has somewhere she needs to go and she is focused on getting there the quickest way possible. That's why you probably will see a spark from underneath her sneakers or shoes as she walks through a door and walks with a purpose or strides past you on her way to that destination. Whether it's talking to a recruit or moving around the basketball court, there is no time for idle movement because there are things to accomplish and a program to build at Mississippi State. "There is so much excitement about what is going on around here," Lovato said.
 
Ole Miss receives maximum fine for field-storming after beating Alabama
The last two SEC teams to beat Alabama have had to pay for it. Ole Miss received the conference's maximum fine, $50,000, on Sunday for allowing fans to storm the field after the Rebels' 23-17 upset victory over the Crimson Tide. Ole Miss is paying the maximum because it's the third such violation in the past three years. "Saturday's games were filled with excitement and celebration for a number of schools across the SEC last weekend, but significant risk of injury for student-athletes and fans alike can result from incidents such as these," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said in a statement.
 
Former Kentucky player was celebrating game-winning TD when he fell over railing at stadium
A former University of Kentucky offensive lineman became so excited after UK's game-winning fourth-quarter interception and touchdown Saturday that he caught his foot on a step, lost his balance and went over the railing of the upper deck of Commonwealth Stadium, a witness said Sunday. Jay Blanton, a spokesman for UK, said Brad Durham was in serious condition at UK Chandler Medical Center. Durham allegedly fell 35 to 40 feet onto the lower level of the stadium. Blanton said the university was investigating the fall.
 
U. of South Carolina cheerleader suffers concussion at UK-USC game | Local News | The State
South Carolina cheerleader Lauren West suffered a concussion during an incident in the first quarter of Saturday night's South Carolina-Kentucky football game. West received medical care immediately from USC's medical staff and was stabilized as a precaution, the university said in a news release. West had movement in all her body parts and was further evaluated at a local Kentucky hospital and released, the university said. During a reevaluation Sunday morning by team physicians, she was still sore and was diagnosed with the concussion, according to USC. The injury was the second such incident to take place at Commonwealth Stadium this season.
 
Recognition, awareness main prongs in Mizzou's concussion-management plan
Missouri hopes team effort can protect its players' long-term health. Missouri has one piece of locker-room décor at all of its campus facilities, for both the home and visiting teams. It's a plastic placard produced by the SEC, adorned with logos and pictures of conference athletes past, as well as the word "CONCUSSION" printed in large, bold letters at the top. Rex Sharp, Missouri's associate athletic director for sports medicine, wants to make sure everybody can see it. "So that our student-athletes are constantly reminded -- every single time they walk in and out the door -- of the importance of reporting if you have any kind of head injury," Sharp said.
 
LOGAN LOWERY (OPINION): Prescott for Heisman? Suddenly, not so far-fetched
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Logan Lowery writes: "For those on the fence about a Mississippi State quarterback being a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, Dak Prescott just knocked that fence down on Saturday. Prescott punctuated the Bulldogs' win at LSU two weeks ago by leading a 48-31 victory over No. 6 Texas A&M. He threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns against the Aggies, while rushing for 77 yards and three more TDs. It's a safe bet that he's more than just a Heisman hopeful after Saturday's win. Prescott has two victories against top 10 opponents this season and should swing him in as one of the favorites for the award now."



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