BULLDOG BITS
The coaching carousel around college football has seemingly run though Starkville on a yearly basis the last decade or so.
From the hiring of Dan Mullen back in 2008, to the multiple times Mullen was linked to other jobs over his Mississippi State tenure, all the way to the present where current Bulldogs head coach Joe Moorhead has been reported as a top candidate for the open job at Rutgers, rumors seem to fly pretty frequently around the MSU program.
However, according to current Bulldogs, all the recent talk surrounding Moorhead's candidacy at Rutgers is just that – talk. It appears the players are confident their head coach isn't leaving to go anywhere anytime soon.
“It's funnier to (Moorhead) more than anything,” Mississippi State quarterback Garrett Shrader said of the talk that Moorhead might end up at Rutgers. “Because he's not leaving an SEC West program and he told me that multiple times. He tells me we're going to win an SEC championship here. That's his message to me.”
All the Moorhead-to-rutgers chatter began when New Jersey Advanced Media reported earlier this month that Moorhead was a top candidate for Rutgers. Moorhead has since addressed his candidacy to local reporters, saying he was only concerned about MSU. He was then grilled on a national stage on the Paul Finebaum Show last week.
“It's not something that is under consideration,” Moorhead told Finebaum. “My focus is here at Mississippi State. This is where we want to be and what we want to do.”
It certainly appears Moorhead's message is consistent. Shrader backed it up after practice on Tuesday, as did running back Kylin Hill who said no one inside the Bulldog locker room is paying attention to all the talk of their coach leaving.
“There's always going to be outside noise,” Hill said. “It's just the world we live in today. I'm not too focused on that and nobody's focused on it. (Moorhead is) coaching like he's still here. Everybody loves the man. Everybody's just focused and not worried about all that at all.”
Of course if Moorhead did leave, he wouldn't be the first Bulldog coach to indicate he was staying before heading elsewhere. Mullen did as much only a couple of years ago.
Yet for now, from the mouth of Moorhead and the players under him, there seems to be no sign there is any interest in Moorhead taking off the MSU maroon and white anytime soon.
“We're not concerned about that,” Shrader said of all the rumors. “He's our coach and he's been the same guy. He's passionate about this team and he's very vocal about that and he's not going anywhere.”
Men’s Basketball
The first opportunity to watch the 2019-20 Bulldogs inside Humphrey Coliseum will be Sunday when Mississippi State plays host to South Alabama in a charity exhibition game to benefit the United Way of West Central Mississippi and those affected by the flood waters in the South Delta.
Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. with free admission. Doors to Humphrey Coliseum will open at 2 p.m. with standard gameday security procedures in-place which include walkthrough metal detectors and the clear bag policy.
Mississippi State will carry a Southeastern Conferencebest, 22-game non-conference home winning streak into its regular season opener versus Florida International on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Tipoff is on-tap for 7 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum, and the game will be streamed live by SEC Network+ via the WATCHESPN platform.
Mississippi State is offering a pair of new fan-focused season ticket options for the 2019-20 season which includes the addition of general admission seating to men's basketball. A traditional general admission season ticket for seats in designated areas of the 200 level are available for only $155, while reserved seat season tickets are available for $275.
The second offering is a
Soccer
HILL first-of-its-kind mobile access season ticket, the mobile access pass. This new ticketing option will provide exclusive access to already-sold lower level seats during non-conference games inside Humphrey Coliseum, and a 200 level general admission ticket for all conference games.
During non-conference play, fans with the mobile access pass will be digitally delivered a general admission ticket for a designated lower level section each game and will have access to sit in any open seat within that designated section. The non-conference option is available for $65 whereas the entire season pass is available for $180. Learn more about this new offering at www.hailstate. com/accesspass.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Mississippi State goes into the final three matches of the regular season with the opportunity to earn its first Southeastern Conference Tournament berth since 2001.
The push for the postseason will begin tonight when the Bulldogs meet LSU in Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.
The Tigers are the first of three opponents that are tied with or below the Bulldogs in the SEC standings. The top 10 teams earn a trip to Orange Beach, Alabama, for the conference tournament beginning in November.
“LSU is a better team than their record shows,” MSU head coach James Armstrong said. “They're very athletic. They're still fighting for one another, and they're going to want to put on a good performance for the home crowd. They're a tough team to prepare for because they've played so many different formations, so the most important priority for us is ourselves and how we can be better.”
State has not defeated LSU since 2001, but this year seems to be the perfect time to topple the Tigers. LSU enters the match with a 2-11-2 record and has been shut out in 10 matches this year. The Tigers are the only SEC team remaining without at least one win in the league. MSU also snapped another Tiger losing streak earlier this year with its first win against Auburn since 2011.
The last meeting between the two teams saw State jump out to an early lead in the regular-season finale. A win would have propelled the Bulldogs into the conference tournament, but MSU saw its goal in the eighth minute erased in the 23rd and 33rd minutes. The Tigers went on to win the SEC Tournament title and earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Today's match should give the Bulldog offense a chance to get back on track. After being outscored 7-1 in their last two matches, State's forwards will meet the only team in the SEC averaging more than two goals allowed per game. The Tigers have allowed six more goals than any other SEC team while scoring an Sec-low six all year.
MSU continues to chase the 10-point mark, and a win would give the Bulldogs their first such season since 2015. It would also mark the first time since 2015 that MSU has won two road games in league play and mark State's fourth win away from Starkville this season, which would rank third in program history.
Women’s Basketball
Fans can get a first look at the 2019-20 Mississippi State women's basketball team tonight as the Bulldogs host their annual Maroon-white Scrimmage in Humphrey Coliseum.
The scrimmage begins at 6 p.m., and admission is free. Humphrey Coliseum doors open at 5:30 p.m. Fans can enter through the Mize Pavilion entrance, and the clear bag policy and walk-through metal detector security screening policies will be in place.
Coach Vic Schaefer's squad will divide into teams and challenge each other before coming together to take on the men's practice squad during the event.
Today's scrimmage gives fans the first opportunity to see a Bulldog squad coming off back-to-back Southeastern
Conference regularseason championships, the program's first ever SEC Tournament championship and a third straight Elite Eight appearance.
As State begins preparing for a run at a third consecutive SEC title, the Bulldogs are led by Graduate guard Jordan Danberry, who ranked third on the team in scoring (13.1 points per game) and second in assists (125) and steals (65) after starting all 36 games a year ago. She's joined by juniors Chloe Bibby and Andra Espinoza-hunter as MSU'S returning starters.
Before going down with a season-ending injury in January, Bibby was one of the most efficient 3-point shooters in the country. She ranked No. 22 in the country and third in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting a 45-percent clip from beyond the arc, at the time of her injury.
Espinoza-hunter stepped into the starting role after Bibby's injury and provided a deep threat for Mississippi State. The team-leader in threes (68) knocked down an SEC Tournament-record eight 3-pointers against Arkansas to help Mississippi State win the SEC Tournament championship.
Jessika Carter, Myah Taylor and Xaria Wiggins will see an increase in their roles this season. At the World University Games, Carter started every game and posted strong numbers, 11.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. In one game, she recorded 26 points and 22 rebounds against Chinese Taipei.
Taylor got plenty of action at the point guard spot during the event. She tallied 3.1 assists per game and had a 2.20 assist/turnover ratio. Wiggins was the team's third-leading scorer during the games, averaging 9.7 points per game while shooting 41 percent from the field.
Schaefer and his staff signed the highest-rated class in program history with four top-100 players. Rickea Jackson highlighted the class as Mississippi State's first ever Mcdonald's All-american signee. The two-time Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year was the top overall scorer (22.2 points per game) at the World University Games and ranked second in fieldgoal percentage (.532).
Mississippi State hosts Lubbock Christian on Nov. 4 for an exhibition before officially opening the campaign at home on Nov. 9 against Southern Miss.
With 15 opportunities to watch the Bulldogs in Humphrey Coliseum during the 2019-20 schedule, season tickets are $150 for 200 level side court reserved seats and general admission is $85. To purchase, go to hailstate. com/tickets or call the Mississippi State Ticket Office at 662.325.2600 or 888. GO.DAWGS.