Mississippi

How a Mississippi State football win or loss vs Florida could impact rest of Bulldogs’ season

Published

1 year ago

September 19, 2024

How a Mississippi State football win or loss vs Florida could impact rest of Bulldogs’ season

STARKVILLE — Expectations were low for coach Jeff Lebby’s first season with Mississippi State football, and after a 1-2 start they feel even lower.

It’s fair to wonder how Mississippi State will do in the SEC after last week’s brutal 41-17 home loss to Toledo. The Bulldogs’ SEC schedule begins this week with Florida coming to Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN).

The Gators (1-2, 0-1 SEC) are in the midst of their own disarray, but a Mississippi State win could still ease some of fans’ concerns from the start of the season.

“We’re not going to dwell on the past,” Lebby said. “Our guys understand that we have good football players inside these walls. Having some self-belief and some confidence when things aren’t going right is something that needs to start showing up.”

What a win vs Florida could mean for Mississippi State

It hasn’t been just one glaring weakness for Mississippi State.

Mississippi State hasn’t scored a first-half touchdown in two straight games and there’s also been little resemblance of an effective running game. Defensively, MSU hasn’t been winning up front with new coordinator Coleman Hutzler. Arizona State rushed for 346 yards, and Mississippi State has only one sack in the last two games.

Florida has been bad too though, as coach Billy Napier’s job security appears to be in great danger. He’s just 2-10 away from home since becoming the coach in 2022.

The timing for Mississippi State to play the Gators immediately after Toledo could be a beneficial runway before the true SEC gauntlet begins. After Florida, Mississippi State plays five of the top eight teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll. It has road games at No. 2 Texas, No. 1 Georgia, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 5 Ole Miss. No. 8 Missouri comes to Starkville the week before the Egg Bowl.

That means there’s few realistic opportunities for wins after the Florida game. They all come in a three-game home stretch from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2: Texas A&M, Arkansas and UMass.

What a loss to Florida could mean for Mississippi State

Mississippi State has announced three players have left the team since the start of the season. All of them were expected to be contributors this season.

Running back Jeffery Pittman left in Week 1, defensive lineman Eric Taylor left early last week and offensive lineman Leon Bell was announced as a departure after he didn’t play Saturday. Bell started at right tackle in Week 2 against Arizona State.

No reasons were given for their departures.

MORE: What upset Jeff Lebby the most after watching Mississippi State football’s loss to Toledo

Would a loss deepen the departures from the Mississippi State’s roster?

“It’s hard,” Lebby said of the players’ exits. “You don’t want that. You want guys to have every opportunity imaginable to be able to be a part of something that’s so much bigger than ourselves, bigger than myself, bigger than anybody that sits in this team room every single day.

“I think early on inside a program, people understanding that you’re not going to give on certain things is incredibly important. Our guys that love Mississippi State, that want to play for each other and have great connection and want to be great teammates. We’re going to find ways to reward those guys nonstop inside the program.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

Georgia basketball vs Mississippi State score, live updates, TV channel

Published

6 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Georgia basketball vs Mississippi State score, live updates, TV channel

A surging Georgia basketball team closes its regular season with a road game against an opponent freefalling down the stretch.

It’s a matchup of Bulldogs in Starkville on Saturday, March 7, when Georgia and Mississippi State tip in Humphrey Coliseum.

Georgia (21-9, 9-8 SEC) is coming off a 98-88 upset of Alabama Tuesday night in Athens, its fourth win in the last five games. Forward Kanon Catchings poured in a career-high 32 points.

“Everybody wants to be playing their best basketball come March,” guard Blue Cain said.

Mississippi State (13-17, 5-12) has the SEC’s longest active losing streak of four games. It was pounded 108-74 at No. 5 Florida Tuesday, its third loss in a row of 24 or more points.

Georgia is playing to improve its SEC and NCAA Tournament seeding.

The Bulldogs can finish anywhere from the No. 6 to the No. 10 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville.

The top eight seeds get byes to Thursday’s second round with the top four playing its first game Friday in the quarterfinal round.

“I told our guys that and a few other things as well.” Coach Mike White said. “We’re playing for a lot of different reasons right now. You can talk about that or other bullet points you can give your guys about number of wins, seeding and all that type of stuff, but the one we finished with (Thursday) in our pre-practice talk, just reaching your ceiling. Let’s just continue to improve.”

Georgia is 4-2 since freshman forward Kareem Stagg entered the starting lineup. He’s scored in double figures in three of those game including 10 against Alabama and is 8 of 20 on 3s in that stretch.

Catchings is second in the SEC in 3-point shooting in SEC games at 43.6%.

Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard is third in the SEC at 21.4 points per game and 86 3s, but the team ranks 340^th nationally in points allowed (81.2) and 326^th in turnover margin (-2.3).

“He’s going to make shots, he’s a really good player, but we’re just going to have to try to make it as difficult for him as possible,” Cain said.

Georgia basketball vs. Mississippi State live updates

Jeremiah Wilkinson has 9 points off the bench and has hit 2 of 4 from 3. Georgia and Mississippi State are tied at 33 with 3:49 to go. Georgia is 7 of 12 on 3s.

Mississippi State leads 25-21 with 7:12 to go in the first half.

Georgia has six turnovers and is 7 of 17 shooting. It is 1 of 7 on 2-point attempts.

Georgia is being outscored in the paint 12-2.

Georgia led 11-6 before Mississippi State went on a 10-1 run. The home team hit 5 of 6 shots in one stretch. Georgia trails 16-15 with 11:28 to go.

Ja’Borri McGhee and Josh Hubbard have 5 points each.

Georgia is just 2 of 7 shooting at the first media timeout. The game is tied at 6 because Blue Cain and Jeremiah Wilkinson have hit 3s. Jordan Ross missed a layup and had 2 turnovers early before being replaced by Smurf Millender.

Who is starting for Georgia basketball vs. Mississippi State?

Georgia’s starting lineup has one change. Point guard Jordan Ross is starting for Smurf Millender. The other four starters are guard Blue Cain, forwards Kanon Catchings and Kareem Stagg and center Somto Cyril.

Georgia basketball injury updates

Georgia did not have any players listed on the SEC Availability Report. Guard Jordan Ross returned from one game out with an ankle injury and and had 4 points and 4 assists in 19 minutes against Alabama.

What time does Georgia basketball vs Mississippi State start?

Tipoff at Humphrey Coliseum is at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 7.

What channel is Georgia basketball vs Mississippi State on today?

The game is available to stream on SEC Network (FUBO free with trial)

Georgia basketball 2025-2026 schedule

Oct. 15 Georgia 61, Georgia State 61, 7 p.m. (exhibition)

Oct. 26 Georgia 81, Troy 65 (exhibition)

Nov. 3 Georgia 104, Bellarmine 59

Nov. 5 Georgia 94, Maryland Eastern-Shore 29

Nov. 9 Georgia 120, Morehead State 81

Nov. 14 Georgia 92, Georgia Tech 87

Nov. 17 Georgia 87, Florida A&M 57

Nov. 21 Georgia 78, Xavier 77 in Charleston

Nov. 23 Clemson 97, Georgia 94 (OT) in Charleston

Nov. 29 Georgia 123, Tennessee Tech 81

Dec. 2 Georgia 107, Florida State 73 in ACC/SEC Challenge

Dec. 2 Georgia 84, Cincinnati 65 in Atlanta

Dec. 18 Georgia 102, Western Carolina 82

Dec. 22 Georgia 103. West Georgia 74

Dec. 29 Georgia 89, Long Island 74

Jan. 3. Georgia 104, Auburn 100

Jan. 6 Florida 92, Georgia 77

Jan. 10 Georgia 75, South Carolina 70

Jan. 14 vs. Ole Miss 97, Georgia 95 OT

Jan. 17 Georgia 90, Arkansas 76

Jan. 20 Georgia 74, Missouri 72

Jan. 24 Texas 87, Georgia 67

Jan. 27 Tennessee 86, Georgia 85 (OT)

Jan. 31 Texas A&M 92, Georgia 77

Feb. 7 Georgia 83, LSU 71

Feb. 11 Florida 86, Georgia 66

Feb. 14 Oklahoma 94, Georgia 78

Feb. 17 Georgia 86, Kentucky 78

Feb. 21 Georgia 91, Texas 80

Feb. 25 Vanderbilt 88, Georgia 80

Feb. 28 Georgia 87, South Carolina 68

March 3 Georgia 98, Alabama 88

March 7 at Mississippi State, 3:30 p.m. SEC Network

March 11-15 SEC Tournament in Nashville

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Mississippi

Mississippi high school basketball championships 2026, MHSAA Class 1A, 4A winners

Published

18 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi high school basketball championships 2026, MHSAA Class 1A, 4A winners

The 2026 Mississippi high school boys and girls basketball championships are under way at the Mississippi Coliseum. Games began March 5 and run through March 7.

The MHSAA championships contain all 14 games from boys and girls in Classes 1A-7A.

Here is a recap of some of the games.

Morton dominates second half, defeats Leake Central for boys Class 4A title

Morton (22-8) took down Leake Central (25-9) and won its first title since 1998. The Panthers trailed going into halftime but outscored the Gators by 17 in the second half to win 67-55. Tay Reese was the game’s MVP with 16 points and six rebounds.

Leake Central’s Jermichael Stewart had 24 points.

Calhoun City boys take Class 1A over Leflore County

It’s been a long title drought for Calhoun City (27-5) since its last in 1988. But the Wildcats snapped that streak after winning 65-59 to take the 1A title over Leflore County (27-4). Guard Jaylon Jackson won game MVP, scoring 27 points. Juszyant Garvin added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Calhoun City also won the 2025 1A football title.

Leflore County’s Emoni Journey had 19 points.

Ingomar girls win fourth straight title, beat Okolona in Class 1A for 15th overall

The Ingomar girls (34-2) downed Okolonoa (27-6), winning 65-48 in the 1A championship game. Its their fourth straight title and 15th overall. Miss 1A Basketball winner Daylen Grisham won game MVP with 16 points. Peyton Wray added 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Okolona’s Sanaa Chandler had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Michael Chavez covers high school sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.

Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.

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Mississippi House reopens door for teachers pay raise

Published

1 day ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi House reopens door for teachers pay raise

Mississippi House members revived a teacher pay raise bill after previous versions died in the legislature.
The new proposal includes a $5,000 salary increase for public school teachers and additional raises for other school staff.
House Speaker Jason White criticized the Senate for inaction on previous education bills.

Days after legislators in the House and Senate killed more than a dozen teacher pay raise bills, members of the House education committee reanimated the conversation.

Committee chair Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, proposed a bill on March 6 that would bump public school teacher salaries by $5,000 across the board, with an additional $3,000 supplement for special education teachers. The legislation also includes a $6,000 boost for occupational therapists and licensed school counselors, Roberson explained to the House.

The nearly 500-page education package would also reform the role of school attendance officers, said Speaker Jason White in a Friday news conference, focusing their role more on coaching than punishment. Attendance officers would receive a $5,600 pay increase.

Retired teachers would also be allowed to go back to work while still receiving their full benefits from the state Public Employees’ Retirement System. They would negotiate their salary with the district, White said, and would not be eligible to accrue more retirement benefits.

The state would earmark $18 million for the education department to allocate for failing districts, White explained after discussions in the House, based on demonstrated improvements.

“The issue is not always a lack of money, sometimes it’s a lack of pointed emphasis on teacher improvement, stability there and retaining teachers,” he said. “Maybe the answer is a supplement to help schools retain their best and brightest. Maybe it’s a way to recruit teachers to those areas.”

Roberson, alongside his colleagues on the education committee, deleted all of the text in one of the last Senate education bills to come through the House and replaced it with the teacher pay raise and PERS provisions.

The bill also fixes mistakes in the PERS provisions, Roberson said, lowering the state employee retirement age from 62 to 60 and reducing the requirement back to 30 years of service. The service requirement for certified full-time first responders, White said, would be reduced to 25 years.

“If this all sounds familiar to you, it’s because y’all have voted on this at least twice and sent it to the Senate,” Roberson told the House Friday morning. “Unfortunately, this place has a tendency to create issues for us in terms of getting good work done. I’m not putting the blame on the Senate, not putting the blame on the House, but it’s about time we got the good work done.”

Roberson said he didn’t blame the Senate, but White was more than happy to criticize the other chamber. He boasted that the House was in session working Friday morning while the Senate took a long weekend, sending its members home on Thursday afternoon.

As White touted the strength of the House and its latest piece of legislation, he took shots at Senate leaders, including education committee chair Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. He said that Hosemann wasn’t aligned with Mississippi’s Republican Party, telling attendees at his news conference that Hosemann sent “love letters” to people like Nancy Loome, one of the most outspoken advocates against school choice who has also campaigned against Republicans in local elections.

White derided members of the Senate for killing the House’s initial teacher pay raise bill, but the House did also kill a teacher pay raise bill that originated in the Senate and proposed a $2,000 increase for teachers, assistant teachers and college professors. When asked why the House had chosen to kill the bill instead of passing it through or amending it, White said the raise just wasn’t enough.

“This is not a hollow promise, and it’s not a political play,” White said. “The Senate education committee once again killed an education bill without so much as any deliberation. Your House is here. We beg our Senate colleagues to engage.”

Some Democrats in the House, wary of legislation coming out of the education committee after White’s universal school choice bill, questioned Roberson’s intentions with the bill and whether it included any of the contentious language that the chamber has argued over since the start of the session.

“I can’t think of one thing in this bill that you and I would not agree on,” Roberson told Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus. When all of the questions had been answered, Roberson closed his presentation simply. “Vote for this,” he urged his colleagues.

They obliged, voting unanimously in favor of the bill and opening the door one final time for a teacher pay raise this session.

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