Tyler Russell

[yourmanwm75]

blah blah blah you lost cause the other team out scored you! But it was ashame to see anyone in the SEC play like that. Even Vandy looked better! Not use to seeing Vandy open a can on people!

[Bully]

blah blah blah you lost cause the other team out scored you! But it was ashame to see anyone in the SEC play like that. Even Vandy looked better! Not use to seeing Vandy open a can on people!

You are correct. Vandy did look better. They were better that Ole Miss too. Vandy is becoming the real deal.

[davidees]

Mark Hudspeth

[yourmanwm75]

Vandy is at a all time high and i'm actually happy for them h3ll everyone needs to pull for the underdogs sometimes!

[jkb87]

How times have changed, I have been a supporter for a long time and I remember getting wiped out in the Liberty Bowl by Air Force and people were happy to just be there. We are beginning to sound a lot like Ole Miss fans dealing with their past coaches. The only lost I am upset with is to Ole Miss and the way we looked in that game. All the other games we got beat by better teams, we have done a lot of trash talking for the last couple of years and we have a lot of crow to eat this year. The old saying He who laughs last laughs the loudest has never been truer for MSU fans than this year. I still happy with this year a heck of a lot better than 95% of the last 45 years I have been going to games

well said.... dan's mouth is very reason i could care less to see msu football successful.

[fireplug]

blah blah blah you lost cause the other team out scored you! But it was ashame to see anyone in the SEC play like that. Even Vandy looked better! Not use to seeing Vandy open a can on people!

I wasn't making excuses. Just pointing out the fact that Northwestern tried on several occasions to give us the game and we sucked worse than they did.
I think both teams playing at their best levels, MSU wins by 10.....but both teams stunk up the field, we just stunk it up worse.

And yes Vandy has a lot of fire in the belly and a good coach right now.

[bigoak]

Not saying State should have beat Ole Miss but we should have played much better and at least had a chance to win it in the 4th. Northwestern was not very good and State should have won that game easily. I have been a Tyler Russell supporter until that game. No excuse for that performance. Made me sick to hear our players talking smack about Northwestern and then they go out on the field and get it handed to them.

I have said all year that I believed something was going on with Mullen behind the scenes. He don't act like he cares and as soon as we get behind in a game he crosses his arms and gives up. Then after we finish so poorly I was expecting him to use the month of December to get the team back focused and back to playing hard nosed football. Was hoping he would turn up the intensity in practice. Instead he basically gives the veterans three weeks off to set on their @@sses and eat chilli dogs. Then we come out in the bowl game and look exactly like we did to end the season. No emotion, no urgency, just going through the motions. The Northwestern players and head coach are fired up and ready to play. Their coach is pacing the sidelines encouraging his players. Mullen just stands there with his arms crossed with that confused look on his face. Don't really talk to the players or the other coaches. Hope the problems, whatever they are, can be fixed in the offseason.

[Smoke68]

Not saying State should have beat Ole Miss but we should have played much better and at least had a chance to win it in the 4th. Northwestern was not very good and State should have won that game easily. I have been a Tyler Russell supporter until that game. No excuse for that performance. Made me sick to hear our players talking smack about Northwestern and then they go out on the field and get it handed to them.

I have said all year that I believed something was going on with Mullen behind the scenes. He don't act like he cares and as soon as we get behind in a game he crosses his arms and gives up. Then after we finish so poorly I was expecting him to use the month of December to get the team back focused and back to playing hard nosed football. Was hoping he would turn up the intensity in practice. Instead he basically gives the veterans three weeks off to set on their @@sses and eat chilli dogs. Then we come out in the bowl game and look exactly like we did to end the season. No emotion, no urgency, just going through the motions. The Northwestern players and head coach are fired up and ready to play. Their coach is pacing the sidelines encouraging his players. Mullen just stands there with his arms crossed with that confused look on his face. Don't really talk to the players or the other coaches. Hope the problems, whatever they are, can be fixed in the offseason.

I don't actually blame Russell for anything. He had a bad (awful) last couple of games..... it happens. But when it happens you sit him on the bench or at least transition to a 80% running game when it's firing on all cylinders. We just kept airing it out, they kept getting the interceptions. In-game adjustments were necessary and they weren't made.

[bigoak]

I don't actually blame Russell for anything. He had a bad (awful) last couple of games..... it happens. But when it happens you sit him on the bench or at least transition to a 80% running game when it's firing on all cylinders. We just kept airing it out, they kept getting the interceptions. In-game adjustments were necessary and they weren't made.

That is why I keep saying something is not right with Mullen and this coaching staff. No adjustments, no fire, no urgency, no changes on the sidelines or at the half. This is our gameplan and if it don't work in the first quarter then just give up and pout. Then in the postgame Mullen and Koening (needs to be replaced) blames the players and says it was a lack of execution. Just once I wish a coach would admit that maybe they did not do a good job of game planning and exploiting the weaknesses of the defense. Maybe they did not put the players in the best position to be successful. Just once I wish they would take some of the blame.

[fireplug]

Have yall seen State's schedule for next season? I say we win 5 games at best if they continue the same game plan as we've had this year
with the same personell. UNLESS some coaching changes are made we won't have to worry about bowl games next season.

[davidees]

Chris Wilson is supposedly gone after being relieved of his scheming duties

[Po Monkey Lounger]

MSU's defense played a solid game and kept the Dogs in the hunt, despite the offensive mistakes. There was nothing really wrong with the defensive gameplan.

I agree with others that MSU's playcalling during the game was the primary reason for the loss. It was clear that the gameplan going into the game involved throwing the ball a good bit. And had Russell been "on", this plan probably would have resulted in a "W". But, after the second interception, it was apparent that Russell was not "on" --- in fact, he appeared to be out of rythm and too slow in his delivery ---just enough to allow the NW defenders to jump the routes and make big plays. It certainly wasn't a lack of protection --- Russell had all day to throw the ball most of the time. Instead of adjusting to the reality of what was happening, Mullen, IMO, stayed with the original gameplan too long. The running game appeared to be working well, with NW having a hard time stopping Perkins. I would have brought in Dak in the second quarter and focused on running the football, with a few deep passes thrown in from time to time to keep the NW defense honest. At the latest, this change should have been made to start the second half.

It was puzzling to watch what happened. MSU was not that bad. And NW was not that good. It was as if Mullen was trying to prove some point, rather than win the game ---- maybe show his loyalty to, or confidence in, his starting QB --- hoping that any minute that Russell would magically start playing well and overcome his previous poor performace ? I don't know.

My theory with respect to Mullen's decision making is that he has begun to think that he is a better head coach than he really is --- in other words, its a sign of delusional arrogance. This would explain his reluctance to change his "perfect" gameplan, despite the evidence in front of him that it wasn't working due to Russell's poor performance. This is also reflected in his decisions to replace departing key members of his staff by promoting from within, elevating previously inexperienced coaches to those key positions. He apparently believes that the younger coaches trained by him are better than any more experienced coaches he could go out and find from other programs. I saw this same type of mindset with David Cutcliffe at Ole Miss --- a stubborn hard-headedness that was difficult to watch and understand ---which ultimately led to Cut's downfall and dismissal from UM. And I've also seen it arise with Bianco at Ole Miss in baseball --- the end result yet to be determined; and previously with Rod Barnes in basketball, the end result of which was obvious and painful. There are a lot of coaches that eventually fall into this trap, IMO. Once they set aside their egos enough to realize that they aren't infallible, only then they can admit their mistakes and shortcomings and start making better decisions.

IMO, MSU should and could have won that football game by simply running the football down NW's throats.

[MSDawg870]

IMO, MSU should and could have won that football game by simply running the football down NW's throats.

Agreed. When I saw two pass plays back to back to open the game, I was uneasy about the outcome.