The margin for error is gone at Mississippi State.
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Mississippi State’s Dee Bost spent his freshman year duking it out in the SEC as a 163-pound point guard, which made him a middleweight in a conference full of heavyweights and light-heavies.

He tried to fix that with an offseason diet and training regimen that has added 11 pounds to his frame. The Bulldogs are the No. 10 team in the Sporting News college basketball yearbook rankings. He spoke with Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy.

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1.  Tyson Lee has had a bad year and has dealt with a lot of criticism because of it.  But you wouldn’t know it from talking to him.

2.  Athletic director Greg Byrne says the State team (and recruits on hand) loved the Dogs’ black jerseys last week.

(Question — If EVERYONE wears black jerseys are black jerseys really all that special?  I’m about all blacked out on the jersey front.)

3.  In basketball news, Jarvis Varnado’s 20 points helped the Bulldogs whip Southeastern Louisiana 82-67 last night.

4.  Varnado is now just three blocks away from Shaquille O’Neal’s SEC record.

5.  While Renardo Sidney’s attorney blusters, the NCAA says all of the documents they’ve requested have still not been received.

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1.  Linebacker Jamar Chaney says the Bulldogs aren’t giving up on their bowl hopes.

2.  Chad Bumphis and Leon Berry have been adding special teams excitement to MSU games.

3.  Anthony Dixon has a good shot at breaking State’s single-season rushing record.

4.  Chris Relf says he’s still working on his passing skills in hopes of becoming the dual-threat quarterback Dan Mullen wants.  (And State needs.)

5.  In basketball news, Rick Stansbury won’t have a very long bench when Southeastern Louisiana visits tonight.

6.  Also, the NCAA has changed the status of Renardo Sidney’s amateurism inquiry to “under review.”  Sidney’s attorney doesn’t think that means very much.  “He has been presumed guilty, denied eligibility with no evidence of NCAA violations.”

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* “We’ve had a solid week of practice so far.”  State is in “a must-win situation now” in terms of earning a bowl bid.

* Mullen said “we’re pretty pleased” about his team’s recruiting so far this year.

* Arkansas has “a real solid defense front-to-back.” 

* Mullen said coaches usually don’t have time to get sick.  “During the season you don’t even have time to notice if you’re sick.”

* Center JC Brignone “is not your normal college junior” from a maturity standpoint.  “He tries to take on a leadership role.  That’s kinda what you want from your center.”

* Anthony Dixon “comes to work every single day.”  Mullen praised his effort, attitude and gameday intensity.  “When one of your best players is also a great leader it helps lift the performance of other players on the team.”

* MSU is still developing its passing game.  It may take “a year or two” to turn State into the type of passing team Mullen wants it to be.

*  State’s defensive philosophy is to race to the ball and to attack.  That won’t change against Arkansas’ skill players.

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1.  Ryan Mallett will be a tall challenge for State’s defense on Saturday.

2.  Mallett reminds Carl Torbush of Houston’s Case Keenum who torched the Bulldogs for 434 yards through the air.

3.  In basketball news, Kodi Augustus — suspended for two games for complaining publicly about playing time — has apologized for his remarks.

4.  Point guard Dee Bost suffered a groin pull in practice earlier this week.

5.  With the suspension of Augustus and the injury to Bost, Rick Stansbury will face some numbers issues tomorrow against Southeastern Louisiana.

6.  The attorney for Renardo Sidney said yesterday that he has sent the NCAA everything they’ve requested “and substantially more.”

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1.  They’ll have to beat Arkansas and Ole Miss to do it, but Mississippi State’s players are still focusing in on a bowl trip.

2.  Anthony Dixon says the Dogs are “good enough to play with anybody, good enough to beat anybody.”  I’d say Alabama fans might take exception to that.

3.  Fullback Patrick Hanrahan is expected to play on Saturday despite undergoing surgery on his hand yesterday.

4.  In basketball news, State’s loss to Rider on Friday dropped the Bulldogs all the way out of the Top 25 polls.

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1.  This writer believes Alabama’s showing against State proves that the Tide are really the nation’s top team.

2.  Alabama completely shut down Anthony Dixon and everything else State threw at them in Saturday’s 31-3 black jersey’d loss.

3.  Up next for State will be a trip to Little Rock to face one of the league’s best offenses… and worst defenses.

4.  Mississippi State and Arkansas have been on opposite ends of the turnover battle.

5.  It sounds like running back Christian Ducre will be healthy enough to go against the Razorbacks.

6.  The Dogs will have to contend with record-breaking quarterback Ryan Mallett on Saturday.

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STARKVILLE — Mississippi State wanted to run the ball, control the clock and take its chances down the stretch against third-ranked Alabama.
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Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen is pulling out all the stops for tonight’s home game against third-ranked Alabama.
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1.  Linebacker KJ Wright is growing into a leader on Mississippi State’s team.

2.  Dan Mullen knows his team will have to have some success through the air to keep Alabama’s defense honest tomorrow.

3.  ESPN’s Todd Blackledge wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bulldogs still hanging around with Bama into the fourth quarter.

4.  Folks in Starkville are still reliving the final two minutes of State’s 6-3 victory over Alabama in 1980. 

5.  In basketball news, Rick Stansbury calls tonight’s game against Rider “one of the toughest home openers we’ve had in a long time.”

6.  The coach also said that he isn’t sure of his team’s identity yet.

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1.  Mississippi State officials want cowbells, music and anything else that can make their small stadium loud.

2.  Bulldog center JC Brignone is excited to be facing off with Terrence Cody this week.

3.  In basketball news, John Riek’s debut will come on December 16th.

4.  Rick Stansbury isn’t talking about Riek’s NCAA suspension or Renardo Sidney’s status.

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1.  Linebacker Chris White has made a smooth transition from the juco ranks to the SEC.

2.  Everyone’s focusing on the in-game matchup between tailbacks Anthony Dixon and Mark Ingram this weekend.

3.  Dan Mullen is hoping to have two placekickers available to him on Saturday.

4.  In roundball news, Renardo Sidney’s attorney says he’s putting together some more information for the NCAA.

5.  The NCAA has ruled that John Riek’s situation is different from that of Kentucky’s John Wall, therefore Riek’s suspension (over amateurism issues) is nine games rather than two… and Riek can’t count an exhibition game (as Wall could).

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Notes from Dan Mullen’s teleconference:

* MSU is “excited to get back out there and play” this weekend.  Mullen said he views Alabama as “the co-#1 team in the country.”

* Chris White was one of the first guys Mullen went to recruit when he got the job at State.  He’s “strong and fast and physical” and he’s working to become a good football player, not just a good athlete.  Mullen says he’s becoming “one of the best linebackers” in the SEC.

* KJ Wright is working to become “one of the leaders of our defense and one of the leaders of our team.”  The coaches have asked him to be a bit more of a vocal leader, but that’s not his style.  “He’s not an in-your-face, yeller, screamer.”

* Mullen said he doesn’t know that a no-huddle attack is more effective against Alabama than it is against any other team.  (Did LSU score more than the 15 points I thought they scored on Saturday?  You’d think Bama was picked apart by Jim Kelly and 1990s Bills from all these no-huddle questions.)

* Mullen said that Mark Ingram and Anthony Dixon are similar in intensity and physicality.  “I see them as very similar players.  I think the toughness that they both bring” brings a lot to each team’s offense.

* Joshua Jackson is going to end up redshirting because of some foot problems.

* Mullen wants State to be “a hard-nosed, running football team.”  Mullen said he would be happy to have a 1,000-yard rusher every season.

* Getting a big crowd for the Alabama game will help to recruit local kids who might realized that they don’t have to leave the state to play in front of a great atmosphere.

* “We need to have a significant homefield advantage” if State is going to compete for championships.

* Asked how big of an impact LSU’s Chad Jones had against State, Mullen laughed.  He went on to explain just how huge Jones was in the Tigers’ close win.  “He’s obviously just a winner as a person.”

* Two-sport athlete question… “I think it’s great for the school.”  Mullen said it’s important for coaches to have a good relationship.  He specifically talked about football and baseball working together.

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1.  Mississippi State needs two wins out of their games with Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss to become bowl eligible.

2.  According to this notes column, fullback Patrick Hanrahan says he has no hard feelings for Nick Saban after transferring from Bama to State.

3.  Dan Mullen says of Alabama’s defense: “They stop the run, they load up the box, they have the ability to play man-to-man with their secondary guys on the outside so they can put the extra guy in the box.”

4.  No team has played Alabama more than MSU.  Not Auburn.  Not Tennessee.

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1.  Anthony Dixon will probably have a hard time running the football against Alabama.

2.  Leon Berry expects a crazy atmosphere for Bama’s visit to Starkville.

3.  Saturday’s game is expected to feature the largest crowd in school history.

4.  For the second time this year, ESPN’s top announcing crew will broadcast from Scott Field.

5.  If you — like me — thought Renardo Sidney’s attorney might have just been trying to put a good spin on things last week… you were right.  The NCAA says Donald Jackson and his client “did not provide all of the information requested since April and his client’s status remains non-certified due to non-response.”

As we suggested last month when Jackson said he would provide bank deposit records and nothing more to the NCAA… the NCAA wants to see “the sources of each deposit.” 

Of course they do!  Hell, I could say that I have a million dollars in the bank and show some deposit slips, but that wouldn’t prove that someone didn’t GIVE me the million bucks.  I’m no lawyer and I saw through that nonsense as soon as Jackson tried to float it.

Prediction: Sidney will never play a minute for Mississippi State.

If the family had proof that they had earned their own cash, they would have provided it by now.  The fact is, they don’t have proof… and their attorney will continue to stall, to threaten lawsuits, and to play the race card, but it will have not change the fact that Sidney’s amateur status has been compromised.

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1.  Mississippi State’s players are happy to finally be hitting their bye week.

2.  Senior linebacker Jamar Chaney believes the Dogs should have “the best offensive line in the SEC” next season.

3.  Here’s a look at where Anthony Dixon might stand in State’s recordbook once the season ends.

4.  On the basketball front, Renaldo Sidney’s attorney says the NCAA indicated to him that the bank deposit records they’ve been shown are sufficient to rule Sidney eligible.  We shall see.

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1.  Dan Mullen has been so upbeat after State’s win at Kentucky on Saturday that he decided to open practice to the fans on Tuesday and Wednesday.

2.  Because of turnovers in practice, quarterback Tyson Lee was made to roll the length of the field one and a half times.  Yes, roll it.

3.  In basketball news, the attorney for Renardo Sidney says that he expects a “positive” outcome in the on-going amateur status case of his client.

4.  The Sidney case could come to a conclusion by tomorrow or — more likely — next week.

5.  A key player in the NCAA’s investigation of Sidney, Bill Saum is no longer employed by the NCAA.  No word on why he’s no longer working for the organization, but he was often criticized by Sidney’s attorney, Donald Jackson.

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Notes from Dan Mullen’s teleconference:

* Beating Kentucky was a “huge win” for State.  The bye week will give MSU a chance to rest physically and mentally.

* Mullen speaks so fast that I can’t even begin to bring you direct quotes.

* Mullen didn’t have any preseason expectations because he had never seen this team play together before.  He does like his team’s toughness.

* Mullen can’t compare this team to last year’s team because he tried not to look at too much tape from last year… because he wanted to give everyone a clean slate.

* He has seen improvement from week to week.

* The offensive line has done a pretty good job of “jelling together” despite one starter being gone for most of the year.

* “Seems like the majority of our losses are to teams ranked in the Top 15 or higher.”  His team has been competitive in those games.  Beating Kentucky might be a sign that his team has “learned how to win” close games.

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Not much news out of Starkville today:

1.  Yesterday, Dan Mullen allowed fans to watch a scrimmage that featured mostly backups and players who’ll redshirt.

2.  A bowl game would be a big help to Mullen and his team.

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1.  Dan Mullen is trying to round up another record crowd… this time for State’s home game with Alabama on the 14th.  (Mullen is also stressing the importance of reaching a bowl game and getting 18 extra practices with his team.)

2.  At 4-5, State will need to win two out of three against Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss to reach a bowl.

3.  Tailback Anthony Dixon is still receiving accolades over his 252-yard effort against Kentucky.

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1.  Anthony Dixon’s school record 252-yard rushing performance against Kentucky was “a dream come true.”

2.  Aided by UK’s horrible defense, MSU’s offense got back on track Saturday night.

3.  In basketball news, Rick Stansbury is wondering why John Riek’s 9-game NCAA suspension couldn’t include exhibition games while Kentucky’s John Wall’s 2-game ban COULD include an exhibition game. 

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Anthony Dixon rushed for two touchdowns and a school-record 252 yards as Mississippi State kept its bowl hopes alive by outlasting Kentucky 31-24 on Saturday night.
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Both teams have talented runners
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1.  This writer believes tomorrow’s matchup with Kentucky “is the kind of game Mullen must win to ultimately be successful at State.”

2.  Walk-on kicker Derek DePasquale has walked right into a starting role.

3.  MSU has added Alcorn State to their football schedule next year, marking the second year in a row that a SWAC team has played at Starkville.

4.  On the hardwood, Jarvis Varnado says a #18 national ranking will put “targets on our back, and everybody will be out to get us.”

5.  NCAA officials will be in the office of Renardo Sidney’s attorney today to “review additional records.”

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