Mississippi State downs Arkansas Pine-Bluff 77-68 in Van Chancellor Classic

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vida Loco Photography
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved

KATY, TEXAS (November 25, 2023) In a heart-pounding clash at the Van Chancellor Classic, the No. 25 Mississippi State women's basketball team triumphed over Arkansas-Pine Bluff with a final score of 77-68.

The Bulldogs extended their undefeated streak to an impressive 7-0, but not without facing a gritty challenge from the Golden Lions (1-4), who fought tenaciously throughout the game.

Jerkaila Jordan emerged as the star for Mississippi State, delivering a remarkable 20-point performance while Erynn Barnum, contributed a valuable double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The game reached a fever pitch as the Golden Lions, trailing by 10 at halftime, narrowed the gap to a mere three points with less than eight minutes left. However, the Bulldogs countered with a late 6-0 surge, solidifying a 75-63 lead with just over a minute remaining.

Zaay Green spearheaded the Golden Lions' effort with an outstanding stat line of 19 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, while Coriah Beck chipped in with 13 points.

Mississippi State's dominance in second-chance opportunities contributed to their success with an impressive 24 second-chance points. The Bulldogs' determination was evident in a 12-1 run led by Jerkaila Jordan, propelling them to a 39-29 lead just before halftime.

Next up for the Bulldogs is a Sunday matchup against the Tulsa Hurricane while Arkansas-Pine Bluff will face Clemson.

Fights breaks out between Mississippi State, Tulsa players after final whistle of 2020 Armed Forces Bowl

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (December 31, 2020) The Mississippi State Bulldogs downed No. 24 Tulsa Golden Hurricane by the score of 28-26 at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Thursday. However, the action after the game garnered more attention and more media coverage than the actual game.

After the final whistle, the fans at TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium saw a massive brawl break pout between players, managers and team support staff of both teams. While it is not clear what led to the incident, a number of players and coaches could be seen involved in the ugly scene along the sidelines. Tensions had been high during the entire game with both teams taunting each other before kickoff. It was not apparent what started the incident, but punches began flying and at that point, things got out of hands. 

A video clip (courtesy of CBS Sports)of the incident is posted above. Numerous players were invoo;led in the  melee and those involved surely will be identified. Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach was interviewed, and questioned about the fight, after the game. He stated, 

"It's dumb. The root of it's dumb, no matter what the root of it is. The root of it's dumb and the continuation of it's dumb. I would have that solidly in the category of dumb. Now where the dumb started, I'm not entirely sure."

Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery stated he did not know what started the fight either, but did say his players were supporting each other. 

"The one thing I'll say is our program, our guys, we're a team that is going to stand up for each other and we're going to battle. We talked about faith, family, football and family is going to take care of family. We're a team that has battled all year long. We battled again today and from that standpoint our guys are going to continue to protect each other and go from there." 

Look for further details to emerge regatding this incident in the coming days. 

Houston Cougars Drop Non-Conference Game To Mississippi State 47-24

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 9, 2010) The Houston Cougars’ defense could not hold off an aggressive Mississippi State Bulldog offense, recording their second loss of the season, 47-24 at Robertson Stadium.

The defeat was the first for the Cougars at home since a 37-35 loss to Conference USA-rival East Carolina on Sept. 29, 2007. The loss was the first for head coach Kevin Sumlin in front of the home-town crowd.

Houston got on the board first at the 12:02 mark of the first quarter. Starting quarterback David Piland hit Kierrie Johnson on an 18-yard pass play to give the Cougars the first points of the game. The drive consisted of eight plays for 64 yards.

The Bulldogs came right back with Leon Berry returning the kickoff 23 yards to their 30-yard line. After 5 plays, the Bulldogs were forced to punt. Cougar receiver Patrick Edwards fumbled the catch, which was recovered by the Bulldogs on the Houston seven-yard line.

MSU drove seven yards on two played to tie the score at seven on a five-yard run by Vick Ballard.

The Bulldogs continued their offensive punch, scoring their second and third touchdowns at the 6:20 and :13 marks of the quarter with Chris Relf scoring on q five-yard run and Ballard adding another touchdown to his total on a 12-yard scamper.
The Bulldogs added a safety as the quarter ended to make the score 23-7 after 15 minutes.

The second quarter saw the scoring subside a bit with both teams trading field goals. MSU scored on a 47-yard attempt that Houston matched with a 32-yard Matt Hogan kick at the 4:51 mark.

With 23 seconds left in the half, the Bulldogs added another touchdown when Corey Bloomfield snagged a Piland pass, returning it 27 yards for the score.

MSU retired to the dressing rooms with a 33-10 lead at the half.

Ballard continued his scoring on another 12-yard run with only two minutes gone in the second half.

Houston finally got its second touchdown on a 17-yard pass from Piland to Edwards midway through the 3rd quarter to make the score 40-17 in favor of MSU.

Freshman quarterback Terrance Broadway came into the game with seven minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, right after MSU scored its final touchdown of the evening.

LaDarius Perkins scored on a 20-yard run which resulted in the score being 47-17.
Broadway drove 73 yards in six plays, concluding with a 17-yard pass to Isaiah Sweeney.

That touchdown was the final score of the game.

Offensively, Piland went 30 of 57 for 301 yards in the air, while throwing for two touchdowns.

Tyron Carrier caught 10 passes for 9 yards, while E.J. Smith caught four passes for 86 yards.

The Cougars gave up 538 yards on defense while playing 39 minutes of the game.
Houston is now 3-2 on the season, while remaining 2-0 in Conference USA play. The Bulldogs raised the season record to 4-1 for the season while maintaining their 1-2 record in the SEC.

Houston will travel across town to face long time rival Rice next Saturday at 2:30pm.
Rice is 1-5 for the season and 0-2 in C-USA action after losing to UTEP 44-24 in El Paso on Saturday night.

Houston Cougars Return To Action Against Mississippi State At Robertson Stadium

(Terrance Broadway (10) will see his second second start at quarterback for the Houston Cougars against Mississippi State. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 9, 2010) The Houston Cougars (3-1, 2-0 C-USA) will face off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-2, 1-2 SEC) Saturday evening at Robertson Stadium with the game slated for a 7:00pm kickoff.

The game is the 16th meeting between the two schools, with the Cougars leading the series 9-6 and by a 4-3 margin at home.

Mississippi State will be playing at Robertson Stadium for only the second time, despite playing seven games in Houston. The previous match-ups in 1956, 1961, and 1962 were played at Rice Stadium, while the 1965, 1966, and 1969 games were played in The Astrodome.

In 2003, Houston won 42-35 over the Bulldogs at the Rob.

Last season UH defeated MSU in Starkville, 31-24. With the score tied entering the final period, the Cougars took advantage of two Mississippi State turnovers and converted them into touchdowns for the win.

Bryce Beall rushed for 94 yards and receivers Tyron Carrier and James Cleveland each caught two touchdown passes. Defensively, Marcus McGraw led with 13 tackles.

Unfortunately, Houston will be with the services of Cleveland against MSU. Earlier in the week, Cleveland was suspended from Saturday’s game by head coach Kevin Sumlin for a violation of team rules.

“James made a mistake, which is uncharacteristic of him. I am disappointed because up until now he has done everything we have asked of him. He is very remorseful and hopefully will use this as a learning experience and be ready to go next week,” stated Sumlin in a prepared statement.

The game will also have an added appeal for fans as former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach will be in the press box at the Rob.

The game will be televised on CBS-College Sports with Leach handling the game analysis as a compliment to the play-by-play of Roger Twibell.

The Cougars are listed as 5 ½ point underdogs going into the game.

Houston Cougars To Face Mississippi State Bulldogs After Bye Week

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 3, 2010) After a week off posting a 3-1 record for the 2010 season, the Houston Cougars will face Mississippi State on Oct. 9 at Robertson Stadium.

The Cougars will take on a Bulldog team that 3-2 for the season that has outscored its opponents 143-81 while averaging 28 points per game.

They are averaging 172 yards rushing and 220 yard passing per game while holding their opponents to a 313 total yardage per game.

The game against Houston will be the second road trip for the Bulldogs, having previously lost on the road to LSU 29-7 in Baton Rouge.

Houston will be shooting for their fourth win of the season, having previously beating Texas State 68-28, UTEP 54-24 and Tulane 42-23. Their only loss this season was a 31-13 defeat to UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

The Cougars have outscored their opponents 177-106 and are averaging 44 points per game.

They are averaging 465 yards of total yardage per game while employing a balanced running and passing attack.

Their 742 yards of total rushing and 1120 yards of total passing equates to an average of 185 yards and 280 yards per game, respectively.

Their balanced rushing and passing attack has combined for 22 touchdowns (14 rushing, 8 passing) with two of them coming from interception returns.

Houston’s Bryce Beall is currently leading Conference USA in rushing, averaging 104.5 yards a game and in scoring, averaging 13.5 points a game.

Patrick Edwards is leading C-USA in punt returns, with 11 returns in four games for 162 yards, averaging 14.7 yards a game.

Houston is lead C-USA in scoring offense (177 points, 44.2 points averaged per game), pass efficiency (91-133-6 for 1120 yards), kickoff coverage (net average 46.6 yards per game), and 3rd down conversions (27 of 44 for 54%)

Game time against Mississippi State is set for 7:00pm Houston time.

BAYLOR BASEBALL SERIES AT MISSISSIPPI STATE DELAYED

STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI (March 7, 2008 Baylor baseball's series at Mississippi State has been delayed due to inclement weather in the East-Central Mississippi region. The series will not start until Sunday when the Bears and Bulldogs will play at doubleheader at 1:30 p.m. CST. The series finale is now scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday.

Forecasts call for two-to-four inches of snow and/or up to an inch of mixed
precipitation in the Starkville area Friday evening and into Saturday morning. Conditions are expected to be vastly improved by Sunday.

UPDATED SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 9 Baylor at Mississippi State (DH), 1:30 p.m.
Monday, March 10 Baylor at Mississippi State, 1 p.m.