Some Thoughts

[ShotgunDawg]

- The Tennessee coaching search has increased the value of the MSU coaching job. The mere fact that people are debating in public forums the quality of the MSU job vs the Tennessee job in awesome publicity for MSU. Had we been told this would actually be a debated topic 15 years ago, most everyone would've laughed their ass off. I personally think some of the media is missing the point though. It isn't that the MSU job is better than Tennessee, it's that the current situation at MSU is not worth leaving for a job like Tennessee. For some reason many in the media have missed that point. However, the fact Barrett Sallee & Finebaum addresses this everyday & Peter Burns & others list off the positives & negatives of each job, is great from MSU. Regardless of the outcome, the value of the MSU head coaching job is more valuable now that people realize the truth.

- While we aren't yet there on a consistency basis, we've shown flashes of being a national championship caliber program this season. National titles are won in the trenches, &, in the LSU, Bama, Texas A&M games this season, we have played like a national title contender in the trenches. The style of football we are playing right now is something we need to find a way to bottle up & reproduce over the next 10-20 years. The IDENTITY we have found is MSU football. This is who we are.

- Along those same lines, 5-10 years ago, I viewed the coaching & style of football in Mississippi high schools as a liability & detriment to MSU football. I wanted more spread offenses, more QB & WR development, etc, but, as college football around the country becomes more a 7-7 style of game, I am really appreciating the style of football that is played in Mississippi high schools. The type of players & physicality that Mississippi high schools are now producing is a outlier & competitive advantage for MSU football. Keep it up. As we advance & become more complicated, let's make sure we don't turn into a 7-7 state. Keep teaching kids how to play football the way it was meant to be played. Texas A&M is a tough job because the football culture in that state & the Big 12 influence doesn't prepare the players to compete in the SEC.

- I really want to believe our team will be extremely motivated for these last two games with the carrot of a Citrus Bowl invite & a chance to finish in the top 10 on the line. I realize that Saturday night was emotional & a tough loss, but as the saying goes, "When the stone breaks on the 100th swing of the hammer, it wasn't about the 100th swing, but about the 99 before it.". Boy it just feels like after trying to break the Bama stone for 9 years, we finally swung the hammer & saw the stone crack. The stone didn't break, but it cracked. It may just be me, but I would think that would be massively motivating. After banging your head against the wall for 9 years, it has never been more clear that progress has been made. While we certainly wish the stone would've broken, it's clear that we are on the cusp. Now is not the time to go backwards. Now is the time to stomp a mud hole in the last two team's asses & then go stomp a mud hole in a Big 10 team's ass.

- If Dan Mullen wins a Natty at MSU, where would that rank in the history of college football achievements? Would he be college football's Theo Epstein, who broke the curse of the Red Sox & Cubs? If Dan Mullen wants to go down in history, you do that two ways: 1) By winning numerous national titles like Saban or Meyer or 2) Winning a natty at a place where no one thought that was possible. Those are the two outcomes that make you into a legend that people talk about 50 years from now.

- I really want to see Gruden at Tennessee, I think that would be hilarious. He'll suck.

- It's almost a blessing that Mullen has had so little success vs Bama because it kept his star from rising too fast. The little failures at MSU have created a situation where he has stayed for 9 years & had timte to build the foundation & identity of he program the right way. Now he looks up & says, "Why would I leave?" We can win a natty here.

- It's fun to see the mentality of MSU slowly changing from Mittittippi Tate to people being proud & prideful about what has been built at MSU. The atmosphere last Saturday night was further proof, that this train is rolling down the right path. 5-10 years ago, I'm not sure MSU fans would've had enough pride to tell the national media to 17 off when they talk about our coach leaving, but they do now. MSU fans are now demanding the respect that they never have. In the long term, not only will that attitude help the MSU football program, it will also help the state of MS. Pride & hope can go a long way in making place better. For too long people in Mississippi have looked at themselves as inferior & not fought for what is theirs, but, if somehow college football can help change that, then I'm all for it. Culture beats flash & money everyday. Let's keep building the right culture.