Best AU coach in my lifetime. RIP.

So the tease (your 2 item) is interesting, but what's the logic? It seems most UA folks are projecting his Tuscaloosa success to Oxford. Also, just read where the Northport hospital is preparing extra ICU beds based on their recent COVID-19 surge. It is fun to dream on a 2020 season, but reality looks ready to bite...

Nobody is ever a lock for long. Not targeting anyone. Coach O does remind me of Chizik a little - so so at one HC position, quick success with a transfer qb and the comments at the ISU sites - they were happy Chizik was leaving. You never know...

I don't think that Leach liking Starkville is a big issue at all. Pullman is a small town, too. Also, Leach has been around the Southeast a decent amount. I was beginning to believe that Sherrill would have stayed until retirement, but then the NCAA took care of that. Word has it that Sherrill finally got the better of the NCAA in his lawsuit, as he was smiling ear to ear when the case closed. Too bad that there was a nondisclosure agreement, as there might be some precedents that we'll never know about.

Are your rankings for the individuals talent or team results? I sort of doubt that an NFL scouts list would have much in common if you're talking team individual potential. Costello has been in the discussion as a first rounder. In a down year of returning qb's, he appears to be among if not the most talented. Hopefully we play well enough to help him shine.

He's got the moves for a slot receiver.

Some improve with the QB gurus. I'm not certain on his arm strength, but his throwing motion looked a little off to me. Maybe they corrected it. I mean, Philip Rivers has had a pretty good career with a screwy motion.

I'm not sold on Nix's passing ability yet, either. But AU comes down to whether it's a Jekyll or Hyde game for Malzahn. Talk about an enigma...

I agree that Plumlee can run very well, but here's his yardage from the Egg Bowl - 34 yds rushing and 121 passing. And his coach pulled him for the last drive. What makes this material to me is that we had a spy on him most of the game. Did anyone else try that? This wasn't one of our good defenses either. With the year that they had last year, I'm not certain how many other teams spent a lot of time gameplanning to stop him all that much. It'll be fun to watch, but I'm not so high on him. Better talent surrounding him would help.

I was just getting into the Halloween aspect of that a few years back until they moved the game. I will say that I think Stoops is better than some of the bigger name coaches in the conference. Something to be said for doing more with less.

Couldn't agree more. Start by asking who on his list is better than Costello. You should hear crickets and little else.

I remember him at Memphis after MSU, but I think everyone had adapted a bit to the way that he ran the scheme. Also, it was much better with SEC level talent, of course.

We put a "spy" on him and his results really seemed to drop off. I'm thinking everybody's going to copy that and he's gonna have to throw a little better to keep people honest.

Joe Lee Dunn (who had great success at UM, also for awhile) ran it at MSU. We lost to UT in the SEC CG in 1998. We actually had a little more than a punchers shot in that game, but lost, of course. When JLD was at UM, they beat us one year with a very memorable goal line stand in Oxford. When JLD was at State his bst defenses made for the most fun football that I've ever watched. With Sherrill's demise from our NCAA residency, JLD kind of lost his momentum, too. They say that our new DC's mentor learned it from JLD and has updated it to stop the spread. We'll see...

Our switch to a 3-3-5 may be as much or more interesting given that so many teams are pass happy this year, but it gets little or no mention in most discussions. Some of my best memories as a fan go back to earlier days of running this scheme, including our SEC CG.

They have one solid qb between two players unless Kiffin can turn Plumlee into a better passer.

Not to mention the PK coming in from AZ St, who sounds pretty good.

"Smoot Smack" was fun back in the day. It was also a good time for MSU football in general that I can recall. Bean and Smoot made a great CB tandem.

Yes, please on the geographical realignment. Move AU to the east and Mizzou to the west. The balance would actually seem much better...

Maybe wrong year - '99 perhaps?? I know we split with them those two years. It was in Starkville. Tried to find video, but couldn't.

Hmmm - runs the 3-3-5. Can't help but remember the JLD defense that stopped the Couch lead offense from '98, if I recall correctly. I still smile when I think of that D coming out with one lineman in the first series.

This hire reminds me of the Sherrill hire in many ways. But your comment reminded me that minus Eric Moulds, his receivers never much seemed to be able to catch the ball.

Rhymes with "Make Emery a memory."

Ok, so who will be the most entertaining coach in the SEC West?

Great hire! And a question - did you co-found the old IBBC?

The "Patriot Way" isn't magic unless you get a young Tom Brady. See Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel with the Chiefs. UGH.

I think the MSU roots gets played up too much. If JoMo had won more, he'd hav been accepted by the fans. Neither Sherrill nor Mullen had MSU roots, and we got our two best decades in modern history out of them.

John Bond and Michael Haddix were good in 1980, but my memory tells me that Keys, Cooks, and Jackson were the strength of that one. Don't know that I'd call JWS an offensive coach - he always seemed short a good QB but I do think he was the best HC in my memory. I'm doing all of this from memory, but the 1998 team had JLD, Smoot and Bean as the stalwart DC and players. Having said that, I have bad memories of the McCorvey experience. Even the Liberty Bowl win was excrutiating. I don't think whether the HC is O or D minded matters as long as he is intelligent, a good recruiter (of assistants, also), and a reasonable disciplinarian.

Grantham SHOULD know the importance of a good offense having been with Mullen for three years. Croom came to State as a running backs coach. The problem was that he wouldn't fire McCorvey because he was being loyal to a frind.

Grantham and Judge are the two most interesting to me so far...