Mississippi

How Mississippi State football failed to capitalize on Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava’s injury

Published

1 year ago

November 10, 2024

How Mississippi State football failed to capitalize on Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava’s injury

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The way this Mississippi State football team is constructed, it needs to catch a big break in order to win an SEC game. That’s the harsh truth of this season’s winless-in-conference-play Bulldogs. It’s news that isn’t new, either.

Some games, that break might happen. In others, it never comes.

Mississippi State (2-8, 0-6 SEC) caught a chance in Saturday’s 33-14 loss at No. 6 Tennessee (8-1, 5-1). Nico Iamaleava, the Volunteers’ young star quarterback, didn’t return from the locker room after halftime and was ultimately ruled out of the game with an upper-body injury. Tennessee led 20-7 at the time with Gaston Moore inserted at quarterback — a redshirt senior with zero career starts.

The Bulldogs never took advantage.

“We just have to make the best of our opportunities,” running back Davon Booth said. “I feel like we let this game go easily and it could’ve been the other way around.”

Mississippi State had a chance to capture momentum in second half

With Moore at quarterback, Mississippi State took care of business on the first drive of the half. It forced a three-and-out and punt from the Volunteers. An MSU touchdown would’ve cut the lead to one possession.

“I think that was a big momentum starter for us,” safety Isaac Smith said after setting a career high with 20 tackles.

Mississippi State turned the ball over six plays later when quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. was strip-sacked in Tennessee territory. The Vols kicked a 51-yard field goal after MSU committed consecutive pass interference penalties, then scored a touchdown and another field goal on their next two possessions to put the game out of reach.

Mississippi State needed a better first half, too

The Bulldogs wouldn’t have needed to capture momentum had they done so in the first half. It has been an issue all season. They’ve held only two halftime leads in 10 games.

MSU once again had to fight back into the game. Tennessee led 14-0 early in the second quarter and outgained MSU 285 yards to 144 in the first half.

Take a lead into halftime, then Moore has to stage the comeback.

“I think for us, it’s a missed opportunity because we ended up on the wrong side of it, regardless of what was going on on the other side,” coach Jeff Lebby said. “We had the ability to make some plays and give us the opportunity to go win a football game. Tennessee did an unbelievable job of continuing to find ways to run the football in the second half. That, for us, was where we could not find ways to get momentum and keep momentum on offense.”

Michael Van Buren Jr. didn’t play well

It was inconvenient for Van Buren to have his worst game since becoming the starter.

The true freshman has had strings of moments in his six starts where he has looked uncomfortable. Typically, he has been able to recover. That never happened on Saturday.

“We were off,” Lebby said. “We did not do a good job of pitching and catching. I thought we had the ability with some guys in the first half to create some huge chunk plays where we had some missed opportunities. Being able to connect at times and then, from the decision standpoint, having the ability to make really clean decisions, I got to continue to put him in better spots so we have the chance to go create some explosives.”

Van Buren completed 10-of-26 passes for 92 yards and one interception. It set lows in completions, completion percentage and passing yards in his six career starts.

He had only one drive, the touchdown drive in the second quarter, where he completed consecutive passes.

“There’s this great expectation for him to go play really, really well, not just from me, but from himself,” Lebby said. “He understands that, he’s fighting for that and he’s straining for that. The young man is going to be a great player.”

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

Stamps Super Burgers named best burger in Mississippi

Published

9 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Stamps Super Burgers named best burger in Mississippi

A Jackson, Mississippi, icon has been named the best burger in Mississippi.

Foodie offers tips for “living a delicious life” from where you go out to eat to what you cook at home. It’s ranked the best hamburger restaurant in every state.

“Of course, the bigger burger chain names have become famous worldwide, but U.S. soil is also home to a dazzling variety of burger businesses, from those selling everything from high-end gastroburgers and gluten- or meat-free versions, to hole-in-the-wall places that have been slinging sliders for generations,” Scheenagh Harrington wrote for Foodie.

The site’s pick for the best in the Magnolia State is not surprising.

“Many businesses claim their product is the best in town, but Jackson-based Stamps Super Burgers really does deliver,” Harrington wrote.

They warned to plan your trip. Afternoons can get very busy.

Why do people love Stamps burgers?

Stamps Super Burgers, 1801 Dalton St., Jackson, was founded in 1986. Since then, three generations of the Stamps family have served juicy burgers and fresh-cut fries to the community.

Today, it’s co-owned by Phil Stamps Jr. In a previous interview with the Clarion Ledger, he said it “originally started with my grandmother and grandfather in 1970 when they purchased it from Canterbury Grocery, and the entire family operated that business as a grocery and meat market for a while before transitioning over to burgers in 1986.”

The kitchen is open, in the center of the restaurant. You can watch employees cut potatoes for fries or man the grill.

A signature Stamps hamburger comes with an 11-ounce beef patty and mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onions. The menu also has wings and different burger options, like turkey or portobello.

The Washington Addition restaurant regularly tops “best of” rankings for the state. In 2024, it was on the USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year list.

Where are the best burgers in Jackson, MS?

Yelp lists the Top 10 burger joints in Jackson, based on user reviews.

Stamps Super Burgers
Foundation Burger
Fat Albert’s
Cs’s
Rooster’s Restaurant
Rowan’s
Bulldog Burger
The Pig & Pint
Brent’s Drugs
Not Just a Burger

Contributing: Kiara Fleming

Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY NETWORK. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

An 1850s Parsonage in Natchez, Mississippi, Is Selling for the First Time in Over a Century

Published

22 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

An 1850s Parsonage in Natchez, Mississippi, Is Selling for the First Time in Over a Century

A 174-year-old brick parsonage house on a bluff above the Mississippi River is now for sale in Natchez, Mississippi, asking $1.985 million.

The home, completed in 1852, was built by architect James Hardie as a residence for Methodist ministers, according to historical records. The land was donated by Peter Little, a wealthy cotton broker and slave owner who built the city’s historic Rosalie mansion.

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The house was initially built as a one-story residence with an “English” basement and a carriage house; a two-story annex was added later, according to the listing with Douglas Adams of Crescent Sotheby’s International Realty, informed by the Historic Natchez Foundation.

“The location is what is superb because it is one of the highest points in Natchez overlooking the Mississippi River,” said Adams, who posted the listing Thursday.

In 1893, the Parsonage changed hands for the last time when it was purchased by James and Agnes Metcalfe, and has been in the Metcalfe family ever since.

Known as the Parsonage, the residence is considered a classic example of Greek Revival architecture from the pre-Civil War South, with a wide portico, raised porch and sash windows. It is located on South Broadway Street, in a commanding position that overlooks Bluff Park, the Mississippi and downtown Natchez. It spans 6,500 square feet with five bedrooms, two formal parlors flanking a central hall and richly detailed interiors that include original exposed-brick walls, fireplaces and stained-glass windows.

In addition to a front porch, the property includes several outdoor terraces and balconies, including a second-floor wraparound deck and a balustraded rooftop—which has the best vantage point from which to see the wide views.

The home was occupied for many years by the late Albert and Gay Metcalfe, who married at the Parsonage in 1959, and would host events for friends. “It became something of a social hub,” Adams said. “They’d host families to celebrate someone’s life; there may have been some weddings that occurred there.”

Gay Metcalfe died in 2023 and the heirs are her three children, Adams said. The family couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Hardie, the architect, was a Scottish immigrant who built several other notable buildings in Natchez, including most prominently St. Mary Basilica, a Gothic Revival structure on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Homewood plantation, a Greek Revival mansion.

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According to local lore, the Parsonage was commissioned by Little because his wife, Eliza’s religious devotion led her to welcome every passing minister into their home, according to “Natchez,” a 1940s history of the city. Displeased with the “long siege of such guests,” Little decided to build a separate home for his wife’s visitors.

Little’s own mansion at Rosalie still stands today near the site of the 1729 massacre of the Natchez Native Americans, from whom the city takes its name.

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