Tag: Mike Leach

What LSU’s loss means for the SEC West

LSU suffered a season-altering loss to Mike Leach’s Mississippi state bulldogs to kickoff 2020. It has plenty of impact on the standings.

The 2020 SEC football season is underway, and it started with a bang. The reigning 2019 National Champion LSU Tigers, who entered their first game ranked No. 6, lost their season-opening matchup against Mississippi State at home. It marks the first time a National Championship-winning team has lost their first game of the season in the following season since Notre Dame in 1978.

That 1977 Notre Dame team that won the National Championship only suffered one loss in the season, unlike LSU’s perfect season in 2019. The following year, however, Notre Dame finished the 1978 season with a final record of 9-3, a Cotton Bowl win and a final ranking in the AP Poll of No.7.

Is the 2020 LSU squad on it’s way to becoming the next Notre Dame of the late-1970’s? Too many questions left unanswered after Week 1 of SEC play to say.

The 44-34 loss to Mississippi State definitely shakes up the SEC West and leads to a slew of confusion as to how the conference will look at the end of the 10-game, conference-only season.

To start, LSU’s offense was no where close to what it was in their historical 2019 season. It is just the first game, but some things require acknowledgement.

The Joe Burrow-led offense saw an average of 569 yards of offense per game (402 passing, 167 rushing), an average of four passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns per game and a 75% completion percentage.

With Myles Brennan taking the snaps to kickoff the 2020 LSU offense, they were unable to come close to any of the averages from the previous season. The stats from the loss show signs of a team that might not be able to live up to their predecessor. In Week 1, LSU had 425 total yards (345 passing, 80 rushing), three passing touchdowns and not a single rushing touchdown with a completion percentage of only 59%. Brennan also turned the ball over twice, both interceptions.

The LSU defense, commonly referred to by some as ‘DBU’ for their infamous secondary, allowed 623 passing yards (an SEC single-game passing record), five passing touchdowns, and had three opposing receivers eclipse 100 yards. However, they did bring in two interceptions.

So, you may now be asking yourself, ‘what does this mean?’

Is LSU done for in the SEC? Is Mike Leach’s Mississippi State a contender for the SEC Championship? Who is Alabama’s biggest threat in the West?

Well, let’s slow down.

LSU’s season isn’t done, but things aren’t looking good in Baton Rouge. They should not be counted out, but can’t be seen as the unstoppable force they were in 2019.

Mike Leach is, like he always has been, outspoken. A day after taking down the reigning champions, he is already inviting fans to join the Mississipi State “bandwagon.”

Are the Bulldogs from Mississippi a team that could challenge Alabama, or the rest of the SEC? If you would have asked anybody two weeks ago, the answer would be a definite no.

The official SEC media predictions for the final conference standings had Mississippi State finshing second to last in the West, right above Arkansas.

Leach is known as an offensive-heavy coach, especially in the air. As previously mentioned, his quarterback K.J. Costello set the SEC single-game passing record in Leach’s first game within the conference.

In recent years, the SEC West has always had the same three or four teams own the top few spots with a chance to contend for an SEC Title: Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Texas A&M, though their chances usually seem to diminish after each season’s first few games.

Auburn had a win over a promising Kentucky team, Alabama got the win over Missouri and Texas A&M squeaked passed Vanderbilt with a five-point win at home. Then there’s LSU, whose season has already been tarnished by Leach’s Mississippi State.

Nick Saban and the No. 2 Crimson Tide will face off against the No. 16 Bulldogs in late-October in Tuscaloosa. By then, many questions will have received their answers. For now, though, there’s no telling what can and will happen in the weeks leading up to the contest that could be a battle for the West.

Mississippi State’s K.J. Costello destroyed SEC passing record in LSU upset

Mike Leach’s air raid offense worked for Mississippi State and K.J. Costello against the defending champs.

Mike Leach and K.J. Costello are both new to Mississippi State this year. But they showed what kind of damage they can do together Saturday against the defending national champs. The Bulldogs handed LSU a stunning, 44-34 season-opening upset and its first loss since the 2018 season.

Some questioned whether Leach’s air raid offense would succeed against SEC defenses. The early answer appears to be yes, even if Ed Orgeron’s Tigers are a very different team than they were last season. In addition to losing defensive players because of turnover and some opt-outs, they also took on the Bulldogs without star defensive back Derek Stingley Jr., who did not play after being hospitalized Friday with a condition LSU said is not COVID-19 related.

Still, Leach, Costello and Mississippi State’s new offense tore LSU’s secondary up and helped the Bulldogs upset the Tigers in Death Valley. It’s the first time since Michigan lost to Notre Dame in 1998 that the defending champ fell in its season-opener.

The clear star of the game, Costello completed 36-of-60 passes and threw for 623 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. That was easily a career-high for the senior transfer from Stanford.

With that impressive season-opening performance, he set Mississippi State’s single-game passing yards record, breaking the 508-yard mark Dak Prescott set in 2015, as CBS’ broadcast noted.

He also destroyed the SEC single-game passing yards record, previously held by former Georgia quarterback Eric Zeier, who threw for 544 yards in 1993, according to the conference’s record book.

And as CBS reported, his 623 yards rank him at No. 11 in single-game college football history.

Of course, Mississippi State’s receivers benefit from this system too. Osirus Mitchell led the Bulldogs’ receiving corps with seven catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns, while star running back Kylin Hill had eight catches for 158 yards and one touchdown. Hill also had 34 yards on the ground.

As for the reaction among fans, college football Twitter was impressed, including reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, and had jokes about Leach’s air raid offense succeeding early in the SEC.

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Mississippi State stuns No. 6 LSU in Baton Rouge with 44-34 victory

Mike Leach’s much-awaited SEC debut could not have gone any better on Saturday.

Mike Leach’s much-awaited SEC debut could not have gone any better on Saturday as his Mississippi State Bulldogs upset No. 6 LSU, 44-34 in Baton Rouge.

Stanford graduate transfer quarterback K.J. Costello set an SEC record with 623 passing yards. The Stanford transfer completed 36-of-60 passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions.

Costello had quite the debut for the school, becoming the first SEC player to ever pass for over 600 yards in a game.

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Mississippi State held a 10-point lead with around 12 minutes to play when LSU freshman cornerback Eli Ricks picked off Costello at the Mississippi State 45-yard line. Three plays later, LSU quarterback Myles Brennan hit Terrace Marshall for a 33-yard touchdown to trim the lead to 34-31.

LSU forced another turnover on the Bulldogs’ next possession as safety JaCoby Stevens forced and recovered a Costello fumble.

LSU would end its next offensive drive with a field goal to tie the game, with Mississippi State scoring the final 10 points to pull off the upset.

Brennan completed 27-of-44 passes for 345 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in his starting debut for the Tigers. Wide receiver Terrace Marshall caught eight passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

LSU (0-1) will catch a bit of a break as it travels to Nashville to face Vanderbilt next week.

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Thursday Big 12 Morning Rush: Texas Tech gets eligibility waiver for transfer

Your Thursday morning Big 12 morning rush includes stories from Twitter and ESPN. The Texas Tech defense gets help from A&M transfer.

The Thursday Big 12 morning rush brings you the latest storylines from around the conference. Longhorns Wire takes at look at Texas Tech, Joel Klatt of Fox Sports and ESPN.

Continue reading “Thursday Big 12 Morning Rush: Texas Tech gets eligibility waiver for transfer”

LSU’s best wins vs. Mississippi State: 2019 season

The LSU Tigers seek a third consecutive win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs after defeating the team 36-13 last season.

The LSU Tigers ran through the SEC in 2019, recording an 8-0 record in conference play en route to the program’s fourth national championship.

On October 19, 2019, the Tigers traveled to Starkville, Mississippi to face a 3-3 Bulldogs team. LSU entered the game No. 1 in the country and 6-0 on the season after defeating the Florida Gators 42-28 the week before.

Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow passed for 327 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-32 passing. Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire led the rushing attack with 11 carries for 53 yards.

The LSU passing attack was a determining factor in the game as Justin Jefferson recorded eight receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown.

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LSU went on to defeat the Bulldogs 36-13, moving to 7-0 on the season.

This win for the Tigers was monumental, marking their 75th victory in the series, and it pushed their quest for a national championship one game closer.

The Tigers outplayed the Bulldogs on offense as they went for 413 yards of offense to Mississippi State’s 340. The LSU defense forced three turnovers.

Going into the 2020 season, the 114th installment of the series will take place on Sept. 26 in Tiger Stadium.

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The game serves as the opener for both teams with the SEC playing a conference-only schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mississippi State will have new head coach Mike Leach leading the way after Joe Moorhead was fired after the 2019 season.

LSU leads the all-time series 75-35-3.

The Tigers have won two straight in the series, and look to go for three consecutive wins against the Bulldogs in just under three weeks from now.

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Two SEC teams boycott practice on Thursday in silent protest

The two teams are protesting the killing of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The killing of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc. is making an impact on sports throughout the nation and, on Thursday, that included the SEC.

Earlier in the day, Kentucky football players decided to boycott training in a protest of the shooting by police officers of Blake, a Black man.

It is now being reported that Mississippi State players have decided to do the same.

This follows the decision of the NBA and WNBA to postpone its games on Wednesday in a silent protest as well as some MLB teams deciding to do the same.

Multiple SEC coaches, athletic directors speak out in support of 2020 college football season

This week, college football players across the country took to Twitter in support of the 2020 college football season.

Just last week, it looked like college football was going to proceed with caution in 2020. However, over the weekend, reports suggested an ‘inevitable’ cancellation of the upcoming season.

On Sunday, players all across the country led by Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence began an online movement about wanting to move forward with the 2020 season.

On Monday, the #WeWantToPlay movement began gaining some steam as players, coaches, athletic directors and politicians were unified in their support of a 2020 season.

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward released a statement in support of a 2020 season.

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Alabama coach Nick Saban weighed in with his support, per Chris Low of ESPN.

I want to play, but I want to play for the players’ sake, the value they can create for themselves. I know I’ll be criticized no matter what I say, that I don’t care about player safety. Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home. We have around a 2% positive ratio on our team since the Fourth of July. It’s a lot higher than that in society. We act like these guys can’t get this unless they play football. They can get it anywhere, whether they’re in a bar or just hanging out.

Saban wasn’t the only SEC coach to speak up. Florida coach Dan Mullen took to his Twitter account to voice his support for a 2020 season.

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Mississippi State coach Mike Leach also chimed in.

I think I’m not supposed to say anything, but I’m not a big fan. I think we need to make sure that we’re right and we’re following the science on (COVID-19). People want to live their lives (in the) sand we need to aggressively pursue that as much as we can. Right now college football hasn’t decided whether they’re the dog or the vehicle. They don’t know if they’re going to stay.

It’s clear the voices of the players, coaches and athletic directors are being heard, but will it be enough to save football this fall?

25 Bold and Downright Insane Predictions for the Auburn, SEC Football Season

The 2020 college football season is already going to be weird so let’s predict some bold and insane things that could happen.

It is already going to be a weird season of college football, so let’s just go ahead and get crazy. Mascot-on-mascot violence? Sure. Coaches losing their minds? Absolutely. Gary Danielson not mentioning Alabama during a SEC on CBS broadcast? Well, we aren’t at that point yet, but I say we celebrate the upcoming season with a look at some things that could possibly but hardly likely to come true in 2020.

MORE: What Auburn’s SEC only 2020 football schedule could look like

Yes, it is that time again for some wackiness so let’s go ahead and list 25 bold and, some would say, downright insane predictions for both the Auburn and SEC football season. Ready? Ready.

  1. Bo Nix will release his much awaited debut rap album titled “Nix’in and Fix’in It.” He will forget to thank his five offensive lineman for their contributions to the album, especially the song “Blocking is Only For The Strong,” resulting in Nix being sacked a record 25 times against LSU.
  2. Also mad about not being included on Nix’s album, Seth Williams will start tipping passes into the air or, as they sometimes call it, the “Georgia secondary method.”
  3. Gus Malzahn will refuse to come out of his dressing room after accidentally being told that his beloved Dubble Bubble gum has been replaced with a cheaper knockoff.
  4. Auburn’s running backs will have no leg strength after doing nothing but leg lifts for six hours after new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. insults “those puny calves that look like a baby.” Also, in this scenario, Bicknell talks like Hans and Franz from the old Saturday Night Live skit. Look it up, kids.
  5. In a moment of whimsy, Nick Saban will go for the lighter blonde hair coloring instead of the darker version 
 errr, not that he colors his hair or anything. All natural. 
  6. Struggling to put away Kentucky in Jordan-Hare Stadium, Malzahn will employ the secret Jared Harper package at quarterback with the actual Harper taking the snaps. The Wildcats will immediately melt down as the Tigers win by 28.
  7. Anthony Schwartz, feeling unchallenged in track, will challenge a live cheetah to a 100-yard dash. Sensing a predator in the area, the eagles will circle the stadium and attack the cheetah at precisely the same time, resulting in the worst massacre on the field since Brodie Croyle visited in 2006.
  8. Sensing the job security that usually comes with winning a national title, Ed Orgeron will decide to coach via Zoom from a remote island that will be undisclosed. It will turn out that he is actually just bathing in Mike the Tiger’s habitat. 
  9. Following the first victory of the season, Chad Morris will be seen hyperventilating beneath the stadium, overwhelmed by the accomplishment of winning a SEC game.
  10. The season ticket holders in Section 13 will sign a petition asking for the name of the section to be changed as 13 is an unlucky number. Auburn officials will perform the ultimate troll by renaming it Section 2020.
  11. In a moment of hysteria, Associate Athletic Director/Communications Kirk Sampson will announce that he and only he will be answering the media’s questions following games. He will then spend 15 minutes rambling about deep dish pizza. 
  12. Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin, forgetting that the Egg Bowl was to be played the next day, have to hire a private charter plane to get back to Mississippi from Key West where they were last seen closing down Flying Monkeys.
  13. Anders Carlson will mock Alabama by kicking field goals barefooted and blindfolded while drinking a cup of hot tea.
  14. Charles Barkley will show up in President Jay Gogue’s box and accidentally call him Dr. Leath. In a moment of irony, it will be Barkley that is thrown out a plate glass window.
  15. Texas A&M’s “12th Man” will be down to nine after three fall ill from a case of preseason hype. The only cure is a mixture of disappointing losses and telling Texas that its song sounds like hell.
  16. Dan Mullen will suddenly retire and take the job he was born to have: a salesman at a Mercedes dealership in South Florida. He WILL sell you on the platinum package, just a deal between you and him.
  17. Patrick Nix will break the record for most shots of a dad in the crowd, formerly held by Archie Manning.
  18. Tired of Auburn settling for a field goal after reaching the red zone, The Voice of the Auburn Tigers Andy Burcham will release a tirade that includes such dirty words as “shucks” and “dang.” 
  19. Listening to Gary Danielson call a game for the first time, Tua Tagovailoa will think, “Man, that man needs to shut up about me.”
  20. Smoke Monday will return an interception for a touchdown and then disappear into a literal cloud of smoke, landing him the starring role in the sequel to The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.
  21. Georgia will once again fail to win its first national title since 1980. This is neither bold or insane.
  22. Will Muschamp will finally snap for good, interrupting a game by punting the ball into the stands, sacking his own quarterback and escaping the scene via one of the cabooses parked outside the stadium. 
  23. Big Kat Bryant will be forced to change his name after Carole Baskin mistakes him for competition and orders a hit on him. Not that she would ever do that. (Wink! Wink!) Wow. Tiger King feels so long ago.
  24. The 2010 National Championship team will be welcomed back at halftime of the LSU game. Pete Thamel will immediately write that the ceremony is an insult to the game of football, nay, the entire world.
  25. Auburn fans will take a loss in measure, seeing that it is only a game and won’t flood message boards and radio call-in shows with “Gus needs to be fired and now!” rants and will definitely not spread rumors about Bob Stoops hiring a realtor in the area because a friend who knows a friend’s brother’s cousin heard it over drinks at The Hound. Nope. That won’t happen at all.

Monday Big 12 morning rush: Headlines from around the conference

The Big 12 morning rush headlines that include Houston Miller returning to football, bad coach firings and the Baylor running back duo.

Each morning Longhorns Wire will share the top stories from around the Big 12 Conference. For this edition of the Big 12 Morning Twitter, Sports Illustrated, and 247Sports provide the headlines.

Texas Tech defensive lineman who declared for the 2020 NFL Draft in January has reportedly transferred to an FCS school

Prior to the 2020 NFL Draft Houston Miller of Texas Tech declared. Despite not being highly regarded, Miller wanted to try and make the jump to the NFL. After going going undrafted, he returns to school but this time at the FCS level. Once a player declares but goes undrafted they forfeit any remaining eligibility at the FBS level.

At Southeastern Louisiana, Miller will be eligible to play immediately in 2020.  The upcoming season would serve as his final year of eligibility, unless he were to pursue a sixth season from the NCAA.

Miller was a three-star member of the Texas Tech football Class of 2016.  The lineman played his high school football in Keller, Texas. – John Taylor, College Football Talk

The worst coach firings of the last 15 years

247Sports put together a list on the worst firings in college football over the last decade plus. Former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach made the list. The Red Raiders saw their most success under Leach and since his firing, they haven’t finished with a winning record in conference play since.

Ok, so we’re going to make a slight exception here as Mike Leach was fired in the aftermath of a player mistreatment claim in 2009 which coincided with a rocky relationship with Texas Tech brass and days prior to a guaranteed bonus in his contract. The circumstances and claims have been hotly debated and disputed in the time since and Leach has been vetted and hired by two Power Five programs since that time.

Leach’s resume at Texas Tech is well known. He led the program to its best run in about 40 years and reshaping modern offensive football along the way. The high mark of Leach’s tenure was the 11-win campaign in 2008 (his next to last season in Lubbock) that saw the Red Raiders take down then No. 1 Texas, reach No. 2 in the polls and finish with a 7-1 conference record among what might be the strongest group of teams in Big 12 history.

Former NFL scout: Baylor RBs ‘quietly one of CFB’s best’

“The Baylor RB duo of John Lovett and Trestan Ebner is quietly one of CFB’s best,” Nagy said Saturday on Twitter, publishing side-by-side pictures of the two in a tweet. “Lovett is a tough, durable 212-(pounder) that gives (Baylor football) a physical presence. (The Senior Bowl) staff loves Ebner’s upside as mismatch in pass game and he can roll.”

During the Bears’ breakout 2019 campaign, Lovett rushed for a single-season career-high 665 yards and 6.4 per-carry average. Lovett took 103 totes and scored five touchdowns in all 14 games, also catching eight passe for a personal-best 66 yards (8.3 average). – Garrett Stepien, 247Sports

College Football News ranks SEC head coaches: Where’s Kirby Smart?

College Football News ranked the top SEC head coaches. Where is Georgia football’s Kirby Smart?

Pete Fiutak of College Football News recently released a list ranking the SEC head coaches heading into the 2020 season.

Checking in at No. 3 on the list is Georgia’s Kirby Smart, who trails only Nick Saban (1) and Ed Orgeron (2).

At No. 4 is Dan Mullen and at No. 5 is Gus Malzahn.

As much as I’d love for Smart to be in that No. 2 spot, I do not disagree with Fiutak here.

Smart’s time will come, and within the next five years he may very well occupy that No. 1 spot.

For now, he’s sitting at No. 3 on Fiutak’s list, likely right on the verge of taking over that No. 2 ranking. As long as he keeps winning the SEC East, beating rivals and putting his team in striking distance for the College Football Playoff
he’ll be considered a top-five coach in America.

Orgeron or Smart at No. 2 was likely a somewhat difficult decision. Fiutak went with Coach O since he accomplished something Kirby hasn’t yet, a national championship.

I’ve heard it all – “Anyone could win with that roster.”

Sure, Smart probably would have won it with that roster LSU had last year. But, at the end of the day, he didn’t have that roster. No other way around it.

Also, how can you not love Coach O?

As for Saban, there’s no arguing that one.