Dale's Sideline View

Many questions are being asked about how Kentucky upset Mississippi State. Were they looking ahead to this week’s game?  How did Kentucky dominate Mississippi State? One thing I can say is that Mississippi State was vastly exposed Saturday night. Entering the game, MSU was ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in scoring offense and defense. They did not play up to their rankings. The Bulldogs managed only 201 yards of offense in the game and only 51 yards in the final 30 minutes. They also allowed Benny Snell Jr. to rush for 165 yards and four touchdowns. The Dogs were pushed around on both sides of the ball, and not many of the football experts saw that coming. MSU coach Joe Moorhead said his team “did not execute with precision.” When you have 16 penalties for 139 yards, you are not going to win many games in the SEC. This week’s game against Florida and former Coach Dan Mullen is crucial if the Bulldogs are to have a successful season. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN.

Rebel “D” better

The Ole Miss offense went to sleep in the first half against Kent State, but at the end of day had totaled 651 yards. The 38-17 win was much needed, especially coming off the Alabama beat down from a week ago.  The Rebels defense, who had seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss, bailed out the OM offense against Kent in the first half. No. 5 LSU is next, and, as always, they have a great defense. You will need to take a nap Saturday afternoon as the Rebels’ kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. in “Death Valley.”

Kentucky moves into the Top 25

The Wildcats are in at No. 17 and join four other SEC teams in No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Georgia, No. 5 LSU, No. 10 Auburn and No. 23 Mississippi State. Interesting is that this week’s poll has Kentucky and Duke (22) being ranked for the first time since 1957.  The last time UK was in the top 20 was in 2007, and they have not been 2-0 in SEC play since 1977.

USM wins USA opener

Southern Mississippi quarterback Jack Abraham threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns as the Golden Eagles defeated Rice, 40-22, in the Conference USA opener for both teams. Abraham has  thrown a total of ten touchdown passes on the season and has completed 72 per cent of his passes. The Golden Eagles hit the road for the first time this season as they head to Auburn for a 3 p.m. kickoff on the SEC Network.

Eli Manning is back

The former Ole Miss star hit on 25-of-29 passes for 297 yards in leading the N.Y. Giants over the Houston Texans, 27-22.

98^th meeting of “Southern Showdown”

Drew Brees scored twice and passed for three scores as the Saints edged the Atlanta Falcons, 43-37, in overtime. The Saints received the kickoff in overtime and used seven minutes of the clock in driving 80 yards for the winning points. Brees leaped over from the one-yard line for the TD. He also passed for 396 yards and completed 39-of-49 passes and in the process broke Brett Favre’s completion record of 6,300 completions.  Brees also has 496 TD passes in his career. The Saints (2-1) travel to play Eli and the Giants this week.

Braves & Tiger are back

For the first time since 2013 the Atlanta Braves have won the National League East title. The Braves rebounded from a 72-90 season in 2017 to claim the title.

Tiger Woods won his first PGA tournament since 2013 as he won the East Lake event in Atlanta this weekend with an 11 under-par. It has been 1,876 days since Tiger won a tournament.

Contact Dale at ddmckee18@yahoo.com