Mississippi
What the outlook is for next generation of Mississippi State football defense
Watch as Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby speaks after preseason practice
Watch a part of what Mississippi State football coach Jeff Lebby discussed after his first preseason practice in Starkville.
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football defensive back Hunter Washington says he and his defensive teammates coined a phrase brought in by coaches in the offseason: Chew the elephant.
The statement is described as taking one bite at a time — in this case, on the field.
“Just taking it one day at a time,” he said. “Just focus on one part and build it as as we go.”
MSU and Washington are abiding by that expression as the Bulldogs approach their season opener at home Aug. 31 (5 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) against Eastern Kentucky.
Last season, MSU ranked sixth in total defense in the SEC, averaging 350.58 yards and 35 touchdowns allowed per game.
MSU defensive backs see solid secondary
Washington had a sense of realization after the Bulldogs finished the 2023 season 5-7 and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2009. He took a step back and understood his role in the secondary: focusing on the team more than himself.
“To help my team to a higher standard and pushing my teammates to the next level,” he said. “I’m here to help people out and also focus on me, but I put the team before me.”
Washington is entering his third season at MSU and has nine tackles in 14 games combined — he was injured the second half of last season — after transferring from Florida State in 2021.
MSU FOOTBALL PRACTICE: What Jeff Lebby said of Mississippi State football transfers Blake Shapen, Kevin Coleman
With transfers and newcomers, he has lauded the improvement in the secondary from the spring.
“I like to praise the young guys because it was hard when you first get to college and stuff like that,” he said. “But they really took a step forward, coming up to this fall camp. So I’m really proud of them.
“All (the defensive backs) been better. We’ve been coming in as one group, and our goal is to go to the best.”
Washington said that across the line, having a strong receivers core helps them during practice, and the defensive backs are taking advantage of that.
“It makes us better,” he said. “Going against speed receivers or tight ends, we got all types of threats. I like the offense as well.”
Linebacker core aims to replicate last season’s success
The duo of Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson was MSU’s main highlight last fall. Watson — who had a career 137 tackles and was named first-team All-SEC last season — was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in April in the sixth round. Jett Johnson, who had a career 130 tackles, was named second-team All-SEC and has worked out for the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.
But linebackers Stone Blanton and John Lewis know they’re at the helm of the defense this fall.
“Our defense is young, but we have a lot of experience in there, with a lot of new guys coming in with a lot of talent,” said Blanton, who transferred from South Carolina and had 52 tackles. “The linebacker room is full of talent . . . We got ballers in there, so I’m just super excited to play this season.”
MSU FOOTBALL TICKETS: How to buy Mississippi State football tickets? See prices for games on 2024 schedule
Lewis, who recorded 20 tackles last season, is expecting a defense that has a lot of energy from defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler, but no one is more enthusiastic than Blanton.
“He’d be loud every day,” Lewis said. “So if I need somebody to count on to pick me up, it’ll be Stone.”
The two are the presumed starters at linebacker. Coach Jeff Lebby also has brought in junior college transfer Branden Jennings.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
Mississippi
What channel is Mississippi State football vs Missouri on today? Time, TV schedule to watch Week 13 game
Mississippi State football comes off a bye week with a chance to earn a win over nationally-ranked Missouri on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6) last played on Nov. 9 in a loss at Tennessee and have two more games against SEC opponents this year.
The Tigers (7-3, 3-3) lost a back-and-forth game at South Carolina last weekend.
Here’s how to watch the Mississippi State football vs. Missouri game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:
Mississippi State vs. Missouri will broadcast nationally on SEC Network in Week 13 of the 2024 college football season. Taylor Zarzour and Matt Stinchcomb will call the game from the booth at Davis Wade Stadium, with Alyssa Lang reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 23
- Start time: 3:15 p.m. CT
The Mississippi State football vs. Missouri game starts at 3:15 p.m. CT Saturday from Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.
Clarion Ledger reporter Sam Sklar’s prediction: Missouri 37, Mississippi State 20
The Bulldogs are allowing 41 points per game in SEC play, and it’s difficult to see Missouri not having the same level of success. Expect big days from Burden and/or Wease, plus running back Nate Noel as MSU loses another game by double digits.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Nov. 22
- Odds: Missouri -7.5
- O/U: 61.5 points
- Money line: Missouri -300, Mississippi State +240
- Aug. 31: EKU, W 56-7
- Sept. 7: at Arizona State, L 30-23
- Sept. 14: Toledo, L 41-17
- Sept. 21: Florida, L 45-28
- Sept. 28: at Texas, L 35-13
- Oct. 5: OPEN DATE
- Oct. 12: at Georgia, L 41-31
- Oct. 19: Texas A&M, L 34-24
- Oct. 26: Arkansas, L 58-25
- Nov. 2: UMass, W 45-20
- Nov. 9: at Tennessee, L 33-14
- Nov. 16: OPEN DATE
- Nov. 23: Missouri, 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network
- Nov. 29: at Ole Miss, 2:30 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+
Record: 2-8 (0-6 SEC)
- Aug. 29: Murray State, W 51-0
- Sept. 7: Buffalo, W 38-0
- Sept. 14: Boston College, W 27-21
- Sept. 21: Vanderbilt, W 30-27 2OT
- Sept. 28: OPEN DATE
- Oct. 5: at Texas A&M, L 41-10
- Oct. 12: at UMass, W 45-3
- Oct. 19: Auburn, W 21-17
- Oct. 26: at Alabama, L 34-0
- Nov. 2: OPEN DATE
- Nov. 9: Oklahoma, W 30-23
- Nov. 16: at South Carolina, L 34-30
- Nov. 23: at Mississippi State, 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network
- Nov. 30: Arkansas, TBD
Record: 7-3, 3-3 SEC
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Mississippi
SMU drops nonconference game at home as Mississippi State finds bench-led boost
Reserve KeShawn Murphy scored 16 points and led a quartet of Mississippi State bench players in double-digit scoring and the Bulldogs beat SMU 84-79 on Friday night.
Reserves RJ Melendez scored 15 points, Riley Kugel 13 and Claudell Harris Jr. 10. Josh Hubbard was the lone Mississippi State (5-0) starter in double figures with 14 points on just 4-for-18 shooting. The Bulldogs’ starters went 10 for 33 from the floor compared to the 18-for-35 effort from the bench.
Cameron Matthews made a layup with 5:13 remaining to break a tie at 66. Murphy made a 3-pointer and Kanye Clary made 1 of 2 free throws and Mississippi State led for the remainder.
Reserve Kario Oquendo scored 13 points for the Mustangs (4-2), Matt Cross, Boopie Miller and Samet Yigitoglu all had 12 points and B.J. Edwards scored 10.
Mississippi State will get almost a full week off before returning to action on Thanksgiving night at the Arizona Tipoff in Tempe. The Bulldogs play their first game of the event against UNLV.
The Mustangs will head to Palm Springs, California, for the Acrisure Holiday Invitational, where they face Cal Baptist on Tuesday.
Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Mississippi
Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusual
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era practice of removing voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes such as forgery and timber theft, attorneys say in new court papers.
Most of the people affected are disenfranchised for life because the state provides few options for restoring ballot access.
“Mississippi’s harsh and unforgiving felony disenfranchisement scheme is a national outlier,” attorneys representing some who lost voting rights said in an appeal filed Wednesday. They wrote that states “have consistently moved away from lifetime felony disenfranchisement over the past few decades.”
This case is the second in recent years — and the third since the late 19th century — that asks the Supreme Court to overturn Mississippi’s disenfranchisement for some felonies. The cases use different legal arguments, and the court rejected the most recent attempt in 2023.
The new appeal asks justices to reverse a July ruling from the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said Mississippi legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the laws.
Stripping away voting rights for some crimes is unconstitutional because it is cruel and unusual punishment, the appeal argues. A majority of justices rejected arguments over cruel and unusual punishment in June when they cleared the way for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places.
Attorneys who sued Mississippi over voting rights say the authors of the state’s 1890 constitution based disenfranchisement on a list of crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit. A majority of the appeals judges wrote that the Supreme Court in 1974 reaffirmed constitutional law allowing states to disenfranchise felons.
About 38% of Mississippi residents are Black. Nearly 50,000 people were disenfranchised under the state’s felony voting ban between 1994 and 2017. More than 29,000 of them have completed their sentences, and about 58% of that group are Black, according to an expert who analyzed data for plaintiffs challenging the voting ban.
To regain voting rights in Mississippi, a person convicted of a disenfranchising crime must receive a governor’s pardon or win permission from two-thirds of the state House and Senate. In recent years, legislators have restored voting rights for only a few people.
The other recent case that went to the Supreme Court argued that authors of Mississippi’s constitution showed racist intent when they chose which felonies would cause people to lose the right to vote.
In that ruling, justices declined to reconsider a 2022 appeals court decision that said Mississippi remedied the discriminatory intent of the original provisions in the state constitution by later altering the list of disenfranchising crimes.
In 1950, Mississippi dropped burglary from the list. Murder and rape were added in 1968. The Mississippi attorney general issued an opinion in 2009 that expanded the list to 22 crimes, including timber larceny, carjacking, felony-level shoplifting and felony-level writing bad checks.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in a 2023 dissent that Mississippi’s list of disenfranchising crimes was “adopted for an illicit discriminatory purpose.”
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