Mississippi
How Mississippi State football failed to capitalize on Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava’s injury
![How Mississippi State football failed to capitalize on Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava’s injury How Mississippi State football failed to capitalize on Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava’s injury](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/11/10/PKNS/76167949007-kn-sut-msu-cm-c-6.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2365,1330,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
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
Watch: Residents escape wrath of tornado in Columbia, Mississippi
![Watch: Residents escape wrath of tornado in Columbia, Mississippi Watch: Residents escape wrath of tornado in Columbia, Mississippi](https://images.foxweather.com/static.foxweather.com/www.foxweather.com/content/uploads/2025/02/1024/512/tornado1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
A tornado in southern Mississippi was captured on video sending debris into the air on Wednesday. (Cody Stevens)
COLUMBIA, Miss. – A late afternoon tornado struck the town of Columbia, Mississippi, on Wednesday, as residents snapped videos of the twister while it quickly moved through the southern portion of the state.
Many of the town’s approximately 5,000 residents had a front row seat to the twister and captured the powerful event on their cell phones.
In the videos, debris can be seen being thrown into the air as the tornado touched down in mixed-use areas of Columbia.
“You’re looking back toward between Broad Street and Church Street around East Avenue,” two-term mayor Justin McKenzie could be heard telling viewers on Facebook and those standing by his side. “Law enforcement now is reporting that there is some kind of debris in the tornado. Boy, that’s not a huge one, but I gather it has dropped down after entering into the town.”
DANGEROUS SEVERE WEATHER SWEEPS ACROSS SOUTH FROM MONSTER WINTER STORM, SPAWNING TORNADOES
![At least one tornado was spotted moving through Columbia, Mississippi, where cameras captured the funnel touching the ground.](https://images.foxweather.com/static-media.fox.com/fmc/prod/weather/37792272915/992/558/9aimq4b373ojba0r.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
At least one tornado was spotted moving through Columbia, Mississippi, where cameras captured the funnel touching the ground.
Cody Stevens was one of the many of the local residents who was out and about on what felt like a warm spring day before the storms moved through.
“Just narrowly avoided a tornado right outside Columbia, MS. I’m going go change my underwear now,” Stevens stated after coming face-to-face with the twister.
According to local officials, several businesses and homes were damaged, but fortunately, no significant injuries were reported in the immediate aftermath after the storm.
The town’s police and emergency management teams conducted a survey of the area, while power crews worked to restore electricity to more than 100 customers in the affected region.
The tornado occurred on what was considered to be an Enhanced Risk day by the Storm Prediction Center across several southern states.
Communities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were placed under a Tornado Watches through the late evening due to the threat of rotating supercells.
![Enhanced Fujita Scale](https://images.foxweather.com/static.foxweather.com/www.foxweather.com/content/uploads/2024/05/668/376/EF-Scale-Wind.png?ve=1&tl=1)
Enhanced Fujita Scale
(FOX Weather)
HOW ARE TORNADOES RATED? THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE EXPLAINED
A particularly dangerous Tornado Warning was issued for communities around Thomasville, Alabama, where radar detected significant debris lofted more than 15,000 feet in the air.
Following the storm, scattered power outages were reported and photos from the Coffeeville area, north of Mobile, showed several trees and power lines down.
![Alabama storm damage from Coffeeville.](https://images.foxweather.com/static.foxweather.com/www.foxweather.com/content/uploads/2025/02/668/376/damage-al.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Alabama storm damage from Coffeeville. (2/12/2025)
(@mattmatta131/X / FOX Weather)
Authorities will likely need the help of sunlight to continue their assessments to determine the full extent of the damage in Alabama.
Despite the widespread storm threat zone, there were less than a handful of reports of confirmed tornadoes through Wednesday evening, during what has been a down year for tornadic activity across the country as a whole.
Mississippi
What ‘shocked’ Chris Jans of Mississippi State basketball’s second half collapse vs Florida
![What ‘shocked’ Chris Jans of Mississippi State basketball’s second half collapse vs Florida What ‘shocked’ Chris Jans of Mississippi State basketball’s second half collapse vs Florida](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2025/02/12/PNAS/78433373007-usatsi-25392003.jpg?auto=webp&crop=5007,2818,x0,y260&format=pjpg&width=1200)
STARKVILLE — Chris Jans said vibes were strong in Mississippi State basketball’s locker room at halftime.
There was a sense of normalcy by all accounts. If anything, the Bulldogs coach said they were disappointed they didn’t lead No. 3 Florida by more than one point.
Immediately after that was one of the worst stretches MSU has played all season. The Gators scored the first 17 points of the second half and computed a 25-4 run over six minutes, 41 seconds, flipping MSU’s one-point lead into a 20-point deficit. Florida (21-3, 8-3 SEC) won 81-68 on Tuesday night despite one starter not playing and another, Alex Condon, exiting the game with an injury 30 seconds in.
“I just was shocked that that’s how we were playing,” Jans said. “We just didn’t have the type of urgency and fight that we showed the majority in the first half from where I sat.”
It dropped Mississippi State (17-7, 5-6) to 3-6 in the last nine games. The Bulldogs have also trailed by at least 20 points in consecutive games at Humphrey Coliseum.
What went wrong for Mississippi State in the second half
Mississippi State missed its first three shots of the second half, but that wasn’t necessarily the issue. It only attempted three shots in the first five minutes of the half because of turnovers.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over six times during Florida’s 17-0 run. Three of them were credited to forward KeShawn Murphy.
“Basically, they just came out more hungry than we did,” Murphy said, who scored 18 points with 13 rebounds. “We started out flat, got down on ourselves for some reason, and it shows.”
Jans called a timeout with 16:32 remaining and Florida’s run at 9-0. He then had to call another timeout with one minute, 23 seconds later when Florida quickly scored eight more points.
“I just didn’t expect it,” Jans said. “In the first half, we were frustrated with ourselves offensively. I thought we set the tone and had a good defensive first half. We rebounded the ball very well in the first half, and that was a big goal for us.
“And for whatever reason, we were just out of sync in terms of all five guys when we’re going into defense to offense and what we’re trying to run and what we’re trying to do. We just weren’t all where we needed to be every time. It wasn’t one guy. It was just one time it was this guy; one time it was the next guy. It was frustrating for us because we just didn’t feel like we were giving ourselves the best chance to take advantage of what we were trying to do against their defense.”
Mississippi State lost again to a top team
The loss dropped Mississippi State to 0-5 against top 10 teams this season, all of which have come in SEC play.
“I feel like early on in the season, we played our basketball and stuck together,” Murphy said. “Now it’s just like when things get hard, we break into pieces a little bit. We got to stick to what we know and who we’ve been. We got to find our identity and we’re losing that a little bit.”
Mississippi State only has one regular-season game remaining against a top 10 team on Feb. 25 at Alabama. Four of the remaining seven regular-season games are against unranked opponents.
“I’m certainly concerned,” Jans said. “I’m a little shocked because we had a great practice yesterday. We were coming off a very tough, well-earned road victory. The vibe was really, really good. Shootaround was one of the better ones we’ve had. They were excited. Togetherness was showing.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Chaffin shines as No. 24 Mississippi State goes 4-1 at NFCA Leadoff Classic
![Chaffin shines as No. 24 Mississippi State goes 4-1 at NFCA Leadoff Classic Chaffin shines as No. 24 Mississippi State goes 4-1 at NFCA Leadoff Classic](https://cdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MSU-softball-021125-copy.jpg)
Just a few months ago, Raelin Chaffin was undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer shortly after transferring to Mississippi State from LSU. But she was at the top of her game in her first weekend as a Bulldog, helping No. 24 MSU win four of five games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.
In the season opener Friday against No. 13 Texas Tech, Chaffin emerged victorious in an eight-inning pitchers’ duel with NiJaree Canady, the best pitcher in the country last year. Canady struck out 12 Bulldogs and issued just one walk, but Chaffin matched her out for out until MSU broke through in extras.
Outfielders Kiarra Sells and Sierra Sacco each hit RBI singles in the eighth and Morgan Bernardini hit a sacrifice fly to break a scoreless tie and put the Bulldogs ahead by three. Chaffin issued two walks and hit a batter in the bottom of the inning to load the bases, but closed out the 3-1 victory on a foul pop-up to shortstop Kylee Edwards.
“Raelin’s performance was awesome. I’m so excited for her. We knew bringing her in that there was just a little something in her, just that competitive edge. She just still wanted to prove herself in her last season,” MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “There was no doubt that we were letting her finish that game. She’d earned the right, and she was doing a great job of competing. She was confident.”
The Bulldogs lost 8-0 in five innings later Friday to No. 7 Duke as both junior Josey Marron and senior Lexi Sosa struggled in the pitchers’ circle, with the Blue Devils scoring in every inning. MSU then made five errors and struggled to get the bats going against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, but woke up just in time.
Bernardini led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, and Sacco drove her in with one out to tie the game. With two outs, Sells singled to left field to bring home Sacco and give the Bulldogs a 3-2 win. Chaffin, who relieved Marron in the sixth, earned her second win of the weekend.
“I was super confident that any ball that was coming my way, I was going to hit it,” said Sells, a junior who had played sparingly prior to this season and had not recorded a hit with MSU before this weekend. “That was kind of my mindset.”
Sacco and the offense remained hot in Saturday’s second game against Penn State. Sosa’s RBI single and Edwards’ two-run double gave the Bulldogs a three-run lead in the first inning, and Sacco added on with run-scoring doubles in the second and the sixth.
Her three doubles in the game set a school record and helped make life easy for Chaffin, who tossed six shutout innings before freshman Sara Phillips closed out the 6-1 win in her first collegiate appearance.
“For me, it’s just about getting a barrel on it and just getting a good swing off,” Sacco said. “Whether it turns out to be a double, single, triple, it doesn’t really make a difference to me as long as I’m on base for my next teammate that will get me in.”
Chaffin — who was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday — concluded her stellar weekend Sunday with a complete-game shutout against No. 19 Nebraska, striking out six without issuing a walk. Sacco cleared the bases with a two-out, three-run double in the second for all the runs Chaffin needed in a 3-0 victory.
MSU (4-1) will open Nusz Park for the 2025 season this coming weekend with The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial tournament — named in honor of former outfielder Alex Wilcox, who died from ovarian cancer following her freshman year in 2018. The Bulldogs will play Southern Illinois, North Texas, Bradley and Georgia Tech.
“I didn’t have a whole lot to show in the fall, but the whole time (the coaching staff) just kept reinforcing that they brought me here for a reason,” Chaffin said. “Just carrying that out to the field and knowing that they want me here, they have confidence in me and they’re going to let me get whatever I’ve got to get out and keep me in the game and let me ride.”
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