Southern Mississippi played four overtimes and four hours, but in the end they lost by inches against the Hugh Freeze led Liberty Flames, 29-27. Both teams lost their starting quarterbacks during the game. Liberty starter Charlie Brewer left in the first quarter with a fractured right hand. Jonathon Bennett replaced Brewer, and then Freeze called on Tennessee transfer Kadion Slater, who led Liberty to the come-from-behind win. Southern Miss starter Ty Keyes left the game in the second quarter after being hit in the head and did not return. USM head coach Will Hall then went to his “super back” offense led by Frank Gore Jr. Gore ran for 178 yards and passed for 46 yards in leading the Golden Eagles offense. Gore came up inches short of the goal line in the fourth overtime as he tried to force a fifth overtime. USM lost two fumbles inside the Liberty 5-yard line, one in each half. On the night, USM lost three interceptions and two fumbles. The Eagles head to Miami (1-0) this week to meet the Hurricanes for an 11 a.m. kickoff.
Mississippi State played into early Sunday morning because of weather issues and came out a winner over Memphis, 49-23. Will Rogers hit five different receivers for touchdowns, as he was 38-for-49 for 450 yards. The Bulldogs also ran for another 107 yards and two scores. It will be another late night this Saturday as the Bulldogs kickoff at 10 p.m. at Arizona. The Wildcats (1-0) spoiled the opening of San Diego State’s new $310 million Snapdragon Stadium in downing the Aztecs, 38-20.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin finally made his choice as USC transfer Jaxson Dart took the first snaps under center to open the 2022 season. Kiffin also announced that Starkville native Luke Altmyer will get his chance to run the Rebels offense this Saturday against Central Arkansas (0-1). Dart did a good job in leading the Rebels to a 28-10 win over Troy. The Utah native was 18-of-27 for 154 yards and one touchdown. The Rebels running game was impressive as TCU transfer Zach Evans led the way with 130 yards on 20 rushing attempts. The Ole Miss defense limited the Trojans to only 60 yards rushing.
College Playoffs to Expand
College football will expand the current four-team playoff into a 12-team playoff hopefully by the 2024 season. Mississippi State chancellor Mark Keenum is the chairman of the College Football Playoff (CFP).
SWAC
The Deion Sanders coached Jackson State Tigers dominated Florida A&M, 59-3, in the Orange Blossom Classic in Miami this past Sunday. The Tigers will now head up I-55 to tangle with the Eddie George coached Tennessee State Tigers at Liberty Bowl Stadium in Memphis Saturday night. Stephen F. Austin rallied in Lorman to down Alcorn, 31-27. The Braves will hit the road to New Orleans to play the Tulane Green Wave (1-0) this Saturday night. Mississippi Valley lost to Tarleton State, 29-13, and will play at Austin Peay this weekend.
Belhaven, Delta State Win
Belhaven won the “Riverside Rumble” last Thursday night, 49-21, over Millsaps. This week Belhaven will host Southwestern while Millsaps heads to Abilene, Texas, to battle McMurry. Delta State walloped Kentucky State, 33-10, and will travel to Illinois to play McKendree. Mississippi College fell to Albany State, 28-14, and will host Keiser at noon on Saturday.
JUCO
East Mississippi, Northeast, Jones, Pearl River, Northwest, Southwest and Coahoma all won last Thursday in Mississippi JUCO football play. The big game this Thursday will have Jones (1-0) hosting East Mississippi (1-0) in a 7 p.m. kickoff in Ellisville. In other games, Gulf Coast (0-1) travels to Itawamba (0-1), Co-Lin goes to Delta, Hinds (0-1) hosts Northwest (1-0), Holmes (0-1) travels to East Central (0-1), PRC (1-0) goes up to Northeast (1-0) and Coahoma (1-0) hits the road to Southwest (1-0).
Listen to Dale and Marshall Wood on the Brouhaha Sports Show each Tuesday at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. This week’s guest is Coastal sportswriter Hunter Dawkins. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world, go to Google Chrome; go to wabo105.com and click listen live. You may also go to The Brouhaha on YouTube and listen to archived shows. Dale has been writing sports since 1973. Contact him at ddmckee18@yahoo.com
