Battle of Mississippi - UM/MSU article from ESPN.com

[nsvltndog]

Pretty balanced article with lots of commentary from JWS. It states the obvious that we need to get the momentum back on our side.


http://espn.go.com/college-football/...tate-supremacy

[chef dixon]

Momentum can change so fast. As quickly as this Saturday.

[HancockCountyDog]

Momentum can change so fast. As quickly as this Saturday.

We need to worry about what we do the rest of the season, not what they do. If they win 8 games and then a bowl game, while we are sitting at home with 5 wins, it will be tough to cling to "Oh Yeah, well they lost to Bama by 20, hahahaha".

I know we have a bye week, but it seems like some of y'all think that when Bama breaks one off in the bears, that somehow it will make us a better team. We need to be focused on LSU. A winnable game.

[Barking 13]

WE can focus and gloat on the Tide whipping OM's @$$, but the TEAM needs to be focused on LSU....

[chef dixon]

We need to worry about what we do the rest of the season, not what they do. If they win 8 games and then a bowl game, while we are sitting at home with 5 wins, it will be tough to cling to "Oh Yeah, well they lost to Bama by 20, hahahaha".

I know we have a bye week, but it seems like some of y'all think that when Bama breaks one off in the bears, that somehow it will make us a better team. We need to be focused on LSU. A winnable game.

I'm pretty confident in the direction our team is heading. I like our team and we are going to be tough to beat by the end of the year. It would just be nice for them to get a reality check to tone down some of this hype (front page ESPN twice this week). It was last year's game against Bama for us that kind of got them believing they would beat us in the Egg Bowl. I already think we will beat them this year, but they haven't started to worry about that yet.

[maroonmania]

We need to worry about what we do the rest of the season, not what they do. If they win 8 games and then a bowl game, while we are sitting at home with 5 wins, it will be tough to cling to "Oh Yeah, well they lost to Bama by 20, hahahaha".

I know we have a bye week, but it seems like some of y'all think that when Bama breaks one off in the bears, that somehow it will make us a better team. We need to be focused on LSU. A winnable game.

Momentum is a VERY fragile thing. Just think of the difference in perception IF OM had not gotten the long Jeff Scott run to pull out the Vandy game in the final minute AND we had made a stop against Auburn in the final minute and won that one. But alas neither of those things happened but it just shows how fickle things can be in going either way.

[smootness]

The momentum is overrated a lot of times. Mullen has been here for 5 years now and built in-state recruiting relationships; we'll always pull in our share of in-state recruits as long as there is overall stability in our coaching staff.

And ultimately it's all about recruiting...'buzz', 'momentum'; these are things that often seem very important as fans, but over time I've observed that it doesn't always mean as much as thought in the recruiting game.

Croom had 0 buzz or momentum going by the time he got 4-5 years in (we won 7 in 07, but it's not like even that year saw tons of 'buzz' around our program), yet he was gradually improving recruiting, and we were set to bring in by far his best class ever by the time he was fired.

Mullen's first actual classes were not good, despite us having some buzz. Now they've gradually been improving, and we'll keep recruiting well if he stays, barring some kind of disaster.

All that article really says is that 'buzz' and 'momentum' follow the team that wins, and they don't necessarily create anything themselves.

So the only reason we need to get momentum back is because that means we will have won games. Beat LSU and upset Alabama, while Ole Miss goes 7-5, and suddenly we have all the 'buzz' again.

['Merica Dawg]

ESPN <3 UM....

[blacklistedbully]

Man, why do some fans have a problem with fellow fans commenting on and rooting against their rival? It's perfectly natural and reasonable to do so. In fact, I'd say it's odd when one shows or feigns a lack of concern or interest in the rival.

These games are competitions. Our schools, being natural rivals, compete for more than just the wins & losses. If you can't see the impact that Ole Miss success or failure can have on our program & vice versa, then you just don't get it, and I'm not likely to convince you with logic. Yet I'll throw a couple of points at you. Recruiting can be impacted, as can our place in the polls. Within the state, bragging rights are an issue, whether you like it or not. And for fan-bases that by & large really don't like one another, it especially means a lot.

And, please, please, please stop with this "we need to stop worrying about them and concentrate on us" stuff, as it's ridiculous to insinuate it's impossible to do both. I do believe most fans can talk-and-chew-gum-at-the-same-time. Only a complete moron should have any trouble whatsoever doing both.

[Op4isabitch]

I agree, what we need is for Bama to roll the bears and for us to play close / beat LSU and things will start to pick up for us. Winning the Eggbowl will cause a snowball effect and yes from what I've seen I think we can win the Eggbowl. No matter what anyone says we have at a minimum 2 serviceable / good QB's. The Landsharts are up the creek without a paddle if Bro goes down this season they have Brunetti and who? I think the bearsharts will be exposed unmercifully this weekend.

[Jack Lambert]

How come the term signature win never comes up with ole Miss and Freeze?

[bocfarm]

How come the term signature win never comes up with ole Miss and Freeze?

Yr 2 vs Yr 5... Big difference

[MarketingBully01]

Yep, when Alabama beats them 35-14 or so and they go 3-4 through that four game stretch the momentum will go thud. Vandy is not a good team and Texas was a dumpster fire with their QB and RB out along with that horrid defense.

Hopefully, Alabama will beat them up like they do other teams and set them up for a crash and burn to finish the season. Looks like Missiouri is starting to become not a gimmie win either.

[maroonmania]

Yr 2 vs Yr 5... Big difference

True, and another thing hurting us right now are not just signature wins but just getting a signature "near miss". Yes, we won 8 and they won 7 last year but while they took LSU and TA&M to the brink we were getting our asses handed to us in 5 of our last 6 games (all double digit losses). I'm afraid that left a lasting impression on a lot of folks and we are going to have to COMPETE with a top tier team to get some respect back. An 18 point loss to OSU starting out this year didn't help matters either.

[dawgfan016]

I'm not one of those "everybody is against us" type of people but I sure don't remember reading these kind of articles when Dan was rolling Ole Miss three years in a row.

[bluelightstar]

I'm not one of those "everybody is against us" type of people but I sure don't remember reading these kind of articles when Dan was rolling Ole Miss three years in a row.

I disagree. As people have noted several times, after 2010, the only types of articles being written were "Where is Mullen going" and "Mullen has seized control of the state" type articles. I specifically remember a national writer writing an article about how shocked he was that Mullen had been able to completely get in the head of a coach as experienced as Nutt.

[HancockCountyDog]

How come the term signature win never comes up with ole Miss and Freeze?

Probably because it's year two versus year five.

If Freeze continues to beat a bunch of nobodies, they will say the same thing about him.