Tim Bailey the soldier

It’s not often a college football player is a war veteran. But that’s exactly the case for MSU defensive end Tim Bailey. He’s really an interesting person to talk with, and for my interview for Bailey’s battlefied is more than just football.

Answers to the blogbag

Good questions this week. Hopefully, I answered them to your liking. If not, let me know.

TRob: That would take a lot of time. Remember, Jackie coached in 152 games. Maybe on Sunday, I’ll research his final four years and compare them to Sly’s first four years. Will that work?

cnd46: I talked with Larry Templeton prior to practice and he said right now there are only 11 games on the 2008 schedule, with the non-conference foes being Central Michigan, Georgia Tech and Southeastern Louisiana. He did say he’s in discussions with two other teams to fill the final spot, a game that will be played on the road. He declined to identify those two teams.

dadwithpride: I’m told roughly 40,000. Remember, Gardner-Webb won’t bring more than 500 fans. There’s no TV, but you can watch it on Maroon to the Max if you are a subscriber.

farley662: Ironically, I ran into Chris Monday at practice. He was at Alabama this past week and was scheduled to go to Auburn this weekend. However, with State’s win on the Plains, he said he’ll visit MSU instead.

dawgfaninva: I think the fact that Sly hasn’t named a starter says a lot about that confidence. Remember, Wesley is a true freshman. Regardless who starts, MSU will run only the plays both quarterbacks feel comfortable with. In fact, Sly told them to list their 10 favorite passing plays, and those plays will be the focal point.

bookerdawg: I agree that you have to have some luck, but I still think it’s too early to tell. I will say this team is better, especially on defense. If this team can get consistent play at quarterback, it could be a very interesting, as well as fun, season. Ask me the same question in three weeks.

2thdoc: If State gets six wins, book it. They’ll go to a bowl. Bowls like new teams, and with MSU not playing in a bowl in quite some time, I would think they would be a favorite to get a bid. I mean, there’s what, like 32 now. I also agree with dc31. There’s a lot of football left. Like every coach says, take it one game at a time.

2thdoc: Hopefully, you saw the “Did you know” about Gardner-Webb. If you have more questions, let me know. I’ll say this, State better block Brian Johnston. Croom is very high on him as a player, saying he could play for any team in the SEC.

bigdraws: Yes. There’s a virus that’s made its way through Mississippi State. Croom got hit and it nearly wiped him out. I asked him after practice how he was doing, and he said he’s feeling much better. He expects no one to miss the game due to the virus. That’s good. On a side note, every time I left practice, I washed my hands at least three times. I can’t afford to get sick, either.

Henig scheduled for more surgery

On Friday, Michael Henig will go under the knife again, this time to have his wisdom teeth removed.

MSU trainer Paul Mock said Henig jokingly asked if he could have the procedure done when he had surgery on his hand last Sunday. Originally, Henig planned to have his wisdom teeth taken out at the end of the season. But since he’s sidelined a couple of weeks due to the hand injury, he decided to go ahead and get it over with.

What a week for him. He’s keeping the doctors in business.

As for who’ll start on Saturday against Gardner-Webb, Sylvester Croom said he still hasn’t made a decision. Thursday after practice, he looked a bit agitated that neither Josh Riddell or Wesley Carroll have separated themselves. He also said both will play, and decision on who’ll start may not be made until kickoff.

“Right now, you could probably flip a coin,” Croom said. “I’m not real sure yet. I’ll look at film and thing about some things and swee what we’ll do.”

Ideally, he noted, he’d like to have an answer on Friday.

Pick that score

OK, sports fans, it’s time to pick the MSU/Gardner-Webb score. But, we’re going to add a little twist this week.

Since the defending national champs, Florida Gators, visit our state, let’s also pick their score with Ole Miss, too. Plus, what’s more likely to happen – MSU getting beat or Ole Miss winning?

So, that’s three things to provide.

Now, show me what you’ve got.

10 things you might not have known about Gardner-Webb . . .

Did you know . . .
• Gardner-Webb is 1-1 against teams from Mississippi, having lost to Millsaps 21-12 in 1970 before defeating Belhaven 54-7 in 2005.
• The Runnin’ Bulldogs have never played an SEC team and have battled a Division I foe just once – a 36-14 setback to MAC favorite Ohio on Sept. 1.
• GW received six votes in this week’s Division I-AA poll.
• Defensive end Brian Johnston is considered an NFL pick lock.
• Gardner-Webb is located in Boiling Springs, N.C., and is a member of the Big South Conference.
• The Bulldogs’ roster is comprised of 57 freshmen and sophomores.
• The average height and weight of GW linemen is 6-foot-4 1/2 and 314 pounds, respectively.
• Gardner-Webb was founded in 1905 and currently has an enrollment of 4,000.
• The Runnin’ Bulldogs return 21 starters from last year’s 6-5 team.
• GW is averaging 20.5 points and allowing 21.0

Some press conference notes

Sylvester Croom said everyone except for quarterback Michael Henig (broken hand) is expected to play on Saturday against Gardner-Webb.

However, he’s being cautious in practice with efensive tackle Cortez McCraney (ankle), defensive backs Jasper O’Quinn (quads), Derek Pegues (bruised thigh) and Marcus Washington (back) linebacker Gabe O’Neal (elbow).

And although it’s Gardner-Webb, he said it’s imperative his team has success throwing the ball, whether it’s Wesley Carroll or Josh Riddell under center. BTW, it’s Carroll’s 19th birthday today.

“We have to find a passing game, something we can hang our hat on to go to during crunch time,” the fourth-year coach said. “We have to find something our quarterbacks can execute on a consistent basis against any coverages or blitzes the defense puts out there.”

Croom said he’ll ask both quarterbacks to list their 10 favorite routes and make sure those plays are implemented into the game plan.

Also, here’s what GW coach Steve Patton had to say.

“We’ve had a chance to watch Mississioppi State and they are playing very well. I think this is the best team they’ve had since the new staff arrived. They really get after it. I think the LSU game fooled a lot of people because of the final score. LSU wound up beating Virginia Tech just as badly two weeks later, so that result was deceiving. I really believe Mississippi State will be a factor in the Western Division this year.”

Croom exlains why he didn’t challenge possible touchdown

Several of you asked yesterday why didn’t Sylvester Croom challenge Jason Husband’s “catch” in the end zone that was ruled incomplete.

So, I asked Sly about his decision prior to Monday’s practice. And to be honest, he was shocked about my question, because he thought it was the right call on the field.

“The guys in the booth didn’t think it was a catch, so we didn’t challenge it,” he said. “I didn’t want to waste the timeout.”

He added he reviewed the play several times, and in slow motion, on tape and didn’t see anything to make him believe it was a catch.

At first, it appeared Husband had control of the ball, but when he hit the ground, it was jarred loose. Croom said he never tucked the ball in, which is what the rules say you have to do.

To him, it was a non-issue. But there sure has been a lot of talk about that play.

Time for BlogBag

Got questions for the BlogBag? Fire away. I’ll have answers by Friday.

BTW, do you guys like me answering all the questions at once, or would you rather me ansnwer them individually? I’m here to serve.

MSU-South Carolina game time announced

The Southeastern Conference has just announced Mississippi State’s kickoff against South Carolina has been set for 11:30 a.m. and will be televised by Lincoln Financial Sports (WCBI).

Are you guys a fan of this time slot, particularly for games on the road?

Pegues recognized; Croom speaks

Mississippi State defensive back Derek Pegues was named the SEC’s defensive player of the week following his performance on Saturday in a 19-14 victory against Auburn. The junior from South Panola was credited with five tackles and he returned an interception for a touchdown that game MSU a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. It was his sixth career touchdown and the third returned for a score.

Pegues is the second Bulldog player in as many weeks to receive the honor, as Gabe O’Neal was recognized last week.

Also today, Croom had his weekly teleconference. Of course, the first topic of discussion was the quarterback situation. He state Michael Henig is out 2 to 4 weeks following surgery on his broken hand and that right now, Wesley Carroll is atop the depth chart, ahead of Josh Riddell.

However, he said that could change and that me might now even announce who will start against Gardner-Webb until kickoff.

“It’s not a big deal as far as I am concerned because both are going to play,” Croom said.

Here are some other quotes . . .

“Literally, we are going to take it one game at a time. We have the 24-hour rule. With a loss, you feel bad for 24 hours and put it behind. With a win, enjoy it for 24 hours and put it behind.

“Our players expected to win. The reason we won is they expected to win. We are at the point where our players expect to win. Now, we’ve got to learn to practice after winning a big game. We learned some of that after winning the Alabama game last year.
We made plays in all three phases of the game to give us a chance to win. It was big win for us, a conference game against a good football team on the road. It’s all positive. We still have a lot of getting better to do, but it’s easier to get better following a win.”

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Welcome to the new blog site

This site is a little different, but we’ll all get used to it in due time. Or at least I hope I do.

In a few minutes, Sylvester Croom will have his weekly teleconference, and after that, I’ll post some quotes.