| Wednesday, September 8, 2021 |
| MSU Extension Service provides training for tourism professionals | |
 | Volunteers, employees, and board members of the tourism sector or related organizations can get training and build networks with other tourism professionals in an upcoming certificate program at Mississippi State University. The Excellence in Tourism Leadership Program will help tourism professionals learn how to market and increase tourism while gaining insight about leadership, advocacy, public policy, and administration. The two-year program offers the opportunity to earn two separate certificates; an associate certificate and a master certificate. "Mississippi tourism stands at the threshold of unprecedented growth, but it will require leaders with vision and skill to make it happen," said Rachael Carter, an instructor with the MSU Extension Service Center for Government and Community Development. "This program will help them understand how the various pieces -- economics, marketing, community relations, and government support -- must all fit together to make a program work." Coursework will be both online and in person. Some sessions will be held in conjunction with Mississippi Tourism Association seminars in various locations. Participants will tour current tourism programs across the state. |
| MSU part of fisheries study in Gulf of Mexico | |
 | Fisheries experts at Mississippi State University and other research institutions are conducting an $11.7 million study of the greater amberjack, an important recreational and commercial species in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico that is threatened by overfishing. Marcus Drymon, an assistant professor of marine resources in the MSU Coastal Marine Extension Program, is part of the eight-state, 18-member team investigating the number of greater amberjacks living in those waters, their movements, and their distribution by habitat, including artificial, natural and uncharacterized habitats. The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium oversaw team selection. The work is funded by a $9 million federal grant plus matching funds from the various institutions for a total of $11.7 million. In addition to MSU, the 13 institutions involved also include the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of South Alabama's Dauphin Island Sea Lab, which MSU has collaborated with in the past. Many members of the research team, including Drymon, recently participated in a great red snapper count. Lessons learned in that study about tactics should benefit the current study. Once underway, the team will use technologies including hydroacoustics, underwater cameras and remotely operated vehicles to monitor greater amberjack populations. |
| Merigold to host annual Rice Festival Sept. 16 | |
| People can enjoy the annual rice tasting event held in Bolivar County in a different format this year. The Rice Festival will be held Sept. 16 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the streets of downtown Merigold. "This year will mark 31 years of celebrating rice during the third week of September in Bolivar County," said Mississippi State University Extension Service coordinator and agent Laura Giaccaglia, who works with the Delta Rice Promotions Board to organize the event. "Even though we are doing things in a different way this year, our focus is still to make the public aware of the versatility of rice and to show appreciation to those who are in the rice industry," she said. Attendees can taste rice dishes from local restaurants, shop with vendors, see exhibits, and enjoy music and children's activities. A rice queen also will be announced. The event is open to the public. Admission is free and does not require a ticket. Mississippi ranks sixth among states that produce the most rice.The crop is one of the state's top agricultural exports. In 2020, the state's 221 rice farms produced more than 12.5 million hundredweight of rice valued at $138 million. |
| As a Delta Wave Peaks in Some States, Others Brace for What's Next | |
 | The Delta surge appears to have peaked in Florida and other states that drove the most recent Covid-19 surge, offering some relief after the variant upended what many thought would be a more normal summer. But cases and hospitalizations have been rising in many other states including Kentucky and North Carolina, data show, and public-health experts said the return of unvaccinated schoolchildren to classrooms, cold weather in Northern states and the holiday season could yet give the virus new opportunities to spread. Some states where cases surged most dramatically appear to be experiencing a break in the storm. Arkansas, Mississippi and Missouri have recently been adding new cases at a slower clip than in July, for example. The national seven-day average of new Covid-19 hospital admissions has ticked downward since late August, according to federal data. But the effects of the surge are far from over, infectious disease epidemiologists said. "What was in the South is now going to spread due north and then west," said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. "The most important thing we can do to mitigate that is to convince as many people as possible to get vaccinated," said Daniel Kuritzkes, chief of the infectious-diseases division at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. |
| Mississippi has 120 days to come up with mental health plan | |
 | Mississippi has 120 days to come up with proposed long-term plan for how it will work to prevent unnecessary institutionalizations of people with mental illness in state hospitals, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves ordered that the state's initial plan be submitted to the U.S. Justice Department and an independent monitor, Michael Hogan, for feedback. The final plan must be completed in 180 days. Hogan is a mental health care veteran with 40 years' experience. He previously served as special master amid the ongoing litigation between the Mississippi Department of Health and the federal government. Hogan is "well-suited by qualifications, experience and judgment to serve as Monitor in this case," Reeves wrote. The Justice Department sued Mississippi in 2016, and Reeves ruled the state was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under Reeves' order, the state will be responsible for tracking a wide array of data, including state hospital admissions and the number of patients who remain in state hospitals more than 180 days, calls to mobile crisis teams and the number of people being placed in jail while waiting for a state hospital bed. |
| Ole Miss Schedules Vaccine Clinics throughout Semester | |
| The University of Mississippi has scheduled Pfizer vaccination clinics for the remainder of the fall 2021 semester. All clinics are walk-up with no appointment needed and will be held in the East Ballroom of the Paul B. Johnson Commons. Vaccines are free and available to everyone 12 and older. Upcoming Pfizer vaccine clinics are set for Wednesdays through the end of September and Tuesdays in October and November. Vaccines are administered by School of Pharmacy student volunteers under the supervision of a clinical pharmacist. Second doses will be scheduled while getting the first dose. Additionally, anyone in the community who is eligible for a vaccine can go to the Health Center Pharmacy in University Health Services on the Oxford campus and receive a vaccine any weekday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., with no appointment necessary. Different types of COVID-19 vaccines will be offered throughout the semester. |
| U. of Mississippi Faculty Senate Votes To Mandate COVID Vaccines | |
| An 89% majority of the University of Mississippi Faculty Senate voted this evening in favor of a resolution urging the administration to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all students, faculty and staff. Only six of the body's 54 members voted against the resolution during the Tuesday evening meeting, most of them representing the UM School of Business. Faculty members representing the school's pharmacy and biology departments voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution, noting that "the University of Mississippi has an obligation to protect the life, health, and well-being of its students, faculty, staff, and surrounding communities." "BE IT RESOLVED, the University of Mississippi Faculty Senate calls on the administration of the University of Mississippi to: Initiate a Covid-19 vaccination mandate for all students, faculty, and staff, with exemptions allowed by law and policy," the document reads. On its own, the resolution does not have the power to make policy on the Oxford campus, but it does serve as a formal request for the university's administration to implement a vaccine mandate. The resolution says it "calls on other representative bodies at the university, such as the Staff Council and the Associated Student Body, to support this resolution." |
| University receives additional $20.5 million for emergency student funding | |
| Auburn University received an additional $20.5 million in federal emergency student funding, according to a University email on Tuesday. The funds, sent from the U.S. Department of Education, are meant to address COVID-19-related expenses. The funds are the third round of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund that Auburn has received. Aid will be provided to students based on exceptional need as determined by the 2021-22 Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The application for funds will remain open until the funds are spent. The University anticipates a large volume of applicants and hopes to fund eligible students within 10 business days of their application submission. Students can apply through the University's HEERF III application. |
| U. of Arkansas System president selects U. of Texas assistant dean to lead Clinton School of Public Service | |
| Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, an assistant dean at the University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs, has been named the top choice to become the next dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. DeFrancesco Soto has been chosen to step in as leader after documents earlier this year showed associates of former U.S. President Bill Clinton proffering ideas for leadership and expressing concerns about the direction of his namesake school. Their messages to top UA System officials were released under the state's public-disclosure law. The Clinton School holds a unique place in the UA System. The main campus is at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, and the school's focus is on graduate training in public policy and related issues. UA System President Donald Bobbitt is recommending DeFrancesco Soto after a national search to replace Skip Rutherford, who retired at the end of June. Rutherford, 71, had served as dean since 2006. DeFrancesco Soto, 43, is also a faculty fellow at the university's Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, whose mission is "to facilitate anti-racism research and programming dedicated to reshaping policies that lead to the end of racial inequality," according to the center's website. |
| UF cuts designated Park and Ride lots for Fall, frustrating students | |
| Sophie Clark, a 19-year-old UF astrophysics sophomore, purchased a Park and Ride pass before the semester started. But on the first day of classes when she drove into the Flavet Field parking lot, she was met with new signs allowing only students with green decals to park. The day before classes, the same signs showed she could park there. The change happened overnight. "So I basically purchased an $80 parking pass, and now I can only park in a parking lot that's about the same distance to my apartment," Clark said. Clark called UF's Transportation and Parking Services to see if she could get a refund for her Park and Ride pass but received no response as of Aug. 31. Now, undergraduate students are upset as two Park and Ride lots are no longer available for them to park on campus. Many discovered the changes during the first week of classes when they went to park. Neither UF or TAPS had alerted students before the first day of the semester. Twenty-year-old UF accounting junior Jenna Zabin purchased a parking pass because she lives off-campus. Before classes started, she looked up where she would be able to park, but was met with two maps displaying two different pieces of information. She decided to test her luck the first day of class, and, like Clark, found out the two lots were no longer available for Park and Ride students. |
| U. of Tennessee leaders went live to communicate with students throughout pandemic | |
 | Nearly every Friday morning at 11 during the 2020-21 school year at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Donde Plowman and Dr. Spencer Gregg would log onto Zoom. They would have 30 minutes to prepare for a COVID-19 livestream, where they would address students, parents and community members throughout the pandemic. They would review a script, which was based around common questions or concerns they'd heard in the previous week. Gregg, director of the Student Health Center at UTK, would look over the latest COVID-19 numbers for the university and the county, and prepare to answer a few questions from Plowman, UTK's chancellor. They would review the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making sure they had the most up-to-date information. As the clock rolled to 11:30 a.m., the two would go live, talking to Knoxville about the latest pandemic updates at UT. Sometimes the updates were encouraging, like when cases steadily decreased after a massive spike in the fall. "We really tried to drive the message around what we wanted people to do through those live updates," Plowman said. "We just paid attention to the trends." |
| President Biden Kicks of National HBCU Week with Pledge for Equity | |
| On Tuesday, President Joe Biden declared Sept 5 through Sept 11 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) week and encouraged educators, public officials, and all Americans to "observe this week with appropriate programs and ceremonies that acknowledge the countless achievements of HBCUs." His announcement kicked off a week of virtual connection and collaboration between HBCU leaders, national advisors, the U.S. Secretary of Education, and students at HBCUs. In his pre-recorded appearance, Biden said his administration will continue to empower and sustain the over 100 HBCUs across the country. This follows the president's Friday signing of the Executive Order on advancing educational equity, excellence, and economic opportunity through HBCUs. "This gathering," said Biden, "is an important affirmation of the vital role HBCUs play in this country. HBCU graduates are the bearers of a proud tradition. A tradition of countless scholars and advocates, leaders of industry, arts and sciences, faith and community." President Biden made note that Vice President Kamala Harris is a graduate of an HBCU, Howard University. But some have wondered why Biden has yet to appoint an executive director to lead The White House Initiative on HBCUs. |
| Colleges help students compensate for lost internships | |
 | When Shreeya Aranake's internship was canceled during her sophomore year, just as the pandemic took hold, she felt lost. "I was more sad about my internship being canceled than I was worried about the pandemic, which I think speaks to how slowly I was processing the whole thing," she said. She only ended up interning at an Arlington, Va., newspaper for two months instead of the semester she was supposed to. To make up for the canceled internship, she freelanced for local papers in the area. Now a senior history student at George Washington University, Aranake said she's anxious about graduating and entering the job market, since she hasn't been able to get another internship. "I'm really nervous right now, but I don't know if that's just being a senior or if it's being a senior during COVID-19," Aranake said. "I hope that eventually I will get an internship based on whatever experience I have. She even wrote a column in the GW student newspaper urging academic departments to push job and internship resources to students and spoke out about her stress. COVID-19 robbed college students of countless opportunities, including internships, which often lead to full-time employment. The National Association of Colleges and Employers, a nonprofit for college career services, recruiting practitioners and others who wish to hire the college educated, found that about 22 percent of employers revoked internships in April 2020. Additionally, NACE found 41 percent of employers delayed internship start dates in May 2020, thus reducing the total length of internships, which traditionally run 10 to 12 weeks. |
| Booted from class: Colleges penalize unvaccinated students as Delta surges | |
 | After months of coaxing students with thousands of dollars in prizes -- everything from gift cards to sports tickets to free parking -- colleges are starting to punish the unvaccinated. The institutions started the summer by waving the prospect of scholarships, laptops, game consoles and more in front to students who got a Covid-19 shot. Now, as millions move back to campus, hundreds of schools are mandating vaccines and penalizing students who resist without a medical or religious reason. The hard mandates, which put colleges on the front line of the nation's newest culture war, could help decide when the latest resurgence of the virus subsides -- and when the next one arrives. Schools, risking conservative backlash, see the aggressive vaccines policies as a critical component of America's effort to halt the progress of the virus. The institutions are uniquely situated to deal with the least vaccinated groups: young people. "The Delta variant has been a game changer, and we need to respond accordingly," said Anita Barkin, co-chair of the American College Health Association's Covid-19 task force. She noted that schools with immunization requirements have a distinct advantage over schools that have to use incentives to get students vaccinated. |
| The Masked Professor vs. the Unmasked Student | |
 | At least nine states -- Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Tennessee -- have banned or restricted school mask mandates. It is unclear, education officials say, whether all of these prohibitions apply to universities, but public universities depend on state funding. Certainly, some professors are happy to go maskless. A smattering have resigned in protest over optional mask policies. Most, like Dr. Boedy, are soldiering on. But the level of fear is so high that even at universities that do require vaccination and masks, like Cornell and the University of Michigan, professors have signed petitions asking for the choice to return to online teaching. Universities are caught between the demands of their faculty for greater safety precautions, and the fear of losing students, and the revenue they bring, if schools return to another year of online education. "I think everybody agrees that the idea is to have people physically back in the classroom," said Peter McDonough, general counsel for the American Council on Education, an organization of colleges and universities. "The turning on a dime to provide online education last year and the previous spring semester was only seen as temporary." |
| Study sessions, parties and dorm life: How college students can minimize covid risk on campus | |
 | College students across the nation are back on campus, bracing for another tumultuous semester amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. And as their universities grapple with mask recommendations, vaccine mandates and distancing rules, students are charged with making serious health-related decisions. Health experts have some risk-reduction advice to make those tough calls a little easier. One health expert said that while no public health precaution is 100 percent effective, layering them offers a solid defense against covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. "I tell folks: 'Think of the vaccine like a really good raincoat, but if it's storming outside, you still need an umbrella if you want to stay dry,' " said Henry Wu, assistant professor and senior physician at the Emory University School of Medicine. "And I think right now, we're storming in most of the country." Most health experts agree that students should definitely mask up in study groups where classmates are sitting close to one another, such as at a table inside the college library. However, those who are studying alone in a room of that library or even with a small group of classmates in a dorm room should be fine to unmask -- assuming all of those classmates are fully vaccinated. |
| House science panel unveils $45 billion blueprint for more research | |
| Research facilities at the national laboratories owned by the Department of Energy (DOE) are big winners in the science component of a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that Democrats hope to move through both chambers of Congress this month. On Thursday, the science committee of the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on its $45 billion slice of a massive bill that would also expand an array of federal social welfare programs, raise revenue, and cut spending in other areas. Several House committees are simultaneously moving other components of the bill in a process, known as budget reconciliation, that is expected to win few if any Republican votes. The legislation before the science committee authorizes 5- and 10-year spending plans for agencies under its jurisdiction, which include DOE, the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The increases are aimed at boosting research across many disciplines, including efforts to combat climate change and bolster innovation. The bill is separate from a $1 trillion package of infrastructure spending approved last month by the Senate and pending in the House. The legislation is also distinct from stand-alone bills passed in June by the House that authorize future spending levels for specific programs at NSF and DOE. |
| Critical race theory turning school boards into GOP proving grounds | |
| Frustrations over how kids are taught about systemic racism have turned once-sleepy school board elections into hyperlocal skirmishes with the power to polarize how a new generation learns about U.S. history -- and grow the ranks of Republican politicians. These conflicts aren't just playing out in states where Republican-controlled legislatures passed laws restricting how race and racism are discussed in schools. Angry parents have filled school board meetings in Virginia, Minnesota and New Hampshire with protests that sometimes end in arrests, and shadowy groups successfully backed candidates running against "critical race theory" in New York in May. Tapping into the trickle-up anger over racism education is now a unifying force in campaigns for Congress, governor and among Republicans with presidential ambitions. But it's the local races -- outside the spotlight, in elections that attract just a few hundred voters -- that may define what students learn in the classroom for years to come. The movement has the potential to build a stronger GOP as once-uninvolved conservative candidates flood local government and party races, seeking a platform to fight critical race theory, student mask requirements and other culture war issues centered on kids. While such elections are often nonpartisan, the Republican Party sees a rich opportunity to build a pipeline of new political candidates. "The interest, the enthusiasm, is extraordinary," said Pam Kirby, who runs "school board boot camps" for the Arizona GOP. |
| How Educational Differences Are Widening America's Political Rift | |
| The front lines of America's cultural clashes have shifted in recent years. A vigorous wave of progressive activism has helped push the country's culture to the left, inspiring a conservative backlash against everything from "critical race theory" to the purported cancellation of Dr. Seuss. These skirmishes may be different in substance from those that proceeded them, but in the broadest sense they are only the latest manifestation of a half-century trend: the realignment of American politics along cultural and educational lines, and away from the class and income divisions that defined the two parties for much of the 20th century. As they've grown in numbers, college graduates have instilled increasingly liberal cultural norms while gaining the power to nudge the Democratic Party to the left. Partly as a result, large portions of the party's traditional working-class base have defected to the Republicans. Over the longer run, some Republicans even fantasize that the rise of educational polarization might begin to erode the Democratic advantage among voters of color without a college degree. Perhaps a similar phenomenon may help explain how Donald J. Trump, who mobilized racial animus for political gain, nonetheless fared better among voters of color than previous Republicans did, and fared worse among white voters. Yet even as college graduates have surged in numbers and grown increasingly liberal, Democrats are no stronger than they were 10, 30 or even 50 years ago. Instead, rising Democratic strength among college graduates and voters of color has been counteracted by a nearly equal and opposite reaction among white voters without a degree. |
| Could lawmakers horse trade on income tax cut, Medicaid expansion? | |
| Geoff Pender writes for Mississippi Today: Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn wants a state tax overhaul, including elimination of the personal income tax and increases to sales and other taxes. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann wants lawmakers to consider a state health care fix, which -- although he is loathe to even utter the term -- would most assuredly include some form of Medicaid expansion with federal dollars. Each appears disinterested in, if not outright opposed to, the other's initiative. Both proposals are subject of much fear and loathing among state lawmakers, other elected leaders and policy wonks. Both could be subject to Gov. Tate Reeves' veto stamp -- a high hurdle to overcome. And both have ardent supporters and detractors among the citizenry and industrial complex. Both could possibly be taken out of the hands of lawmakers by voters, should lawmakers ever get off their duffs and reinstate the ballot initiative process the Supreme Court laid waste to this year. Could there be room for some good, old-fashioned political horse trading at the Capitol on these two supercharged issues? Possibly. It depends on a lot of ifs, what-ifs and leadership. We should know more after some Senate hearings on "health care delivery" (don't call it Medicaid expansion) allegedly planned for sometime in September. |
| Breakthrough case: Get vaccinated, wear a mask, and you will still be at Covid risk | |
 | Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: This weekend, I completed my 10-day Covid-19 Delta Variant quarantine period. My wife and I both were diagnosed with so-called "breakthrough cases" of the virus. Our diagnoses came after traveling to Alaska for a family event. But there's no way of knowing whether the exposure came on the Kenai Wilderness in rural Alaska, on board the seven-plus hour flight from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta to Ted Stevens Airport in Anchorage, or shopping at the Walmart in Starkville the night before we departed. The doctor called our diagnoses "breakthrough cases" -- a Covid-19 diagnosis when a fully diagnosed person tests positive despite following all the vaccination protocols. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say such "breakthrough" infections are to be expected in that while the Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective in providing immunity, no vaccine is 100 percent effective. We were both fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine -- first and second shots. ... For both of us, the good news was as advertised – we were sick at home for several days with high fever, severe congestion, some nausea, fatigue, and a few other symptoms including loss of taste and smell. Because of my medical history, my doctor recommended that I take the Regeneron monoclonal antibody therapy (MAT) infusion. |
SPORTS
| Dr. Mark Keenum: talking NIL, conference transfer policies, and future of the NCAA? | |
| Mississippi State University President and College Football Playoff Board of Managers Chairman Mark E. Keenum discusses the current state of college athletics -- including NIL, conference transfer policies, and the future of the NCAA -- with Gene's Page writer David Murray. |
| Mississippi State vs South Carolina: The first college football game following 9/11 | |
 | Those inside Davis Wade Stadium didn't initially grasp what was happening as a new display came across the video boards and an unfamiliar voice filled the stadium. It took about 15 seconds for the 43,000 fans to realize the voice belonged to play-by-play announcer Mark Jones and ESPN's broadcast was on the big screen. "That stadium went from a rumble to a complete silence," former Mississippi State athletics director Larry Templeton said. It was already a game day unlike any other for MSU fans as they weren't allowed to bring in cowbells a week after State's game with BYU was canceled. Cheers were replaced with tears. Excitement was exchanged with fear. Law enforcement officers -- from local and state officials to FBI agents -- surrounded MSU's campus. There was even consideration to make fans go through metal detectors before entering the stadium. At the center of it all: a matchup between No. 18 South Carolina and No. 17 Mississippi State nine days after one of America's darkest moments. "Welcome to Starkville," Jones opened, "and welcome back to college football -- the first Division I game to be broadcast since the horrific events of September 11." |
| Mississippi State, South Carolina helped fans feel united in uncertain days after attacks | |
| Parrish Alford writes for the Daily Journal: If 9/11 is your "I remember where I was when this happened" moment, and for many of us it is, then you likely have a secondary memory. Most of us recall the next day or the next big event. Maybe that was a college football game. I was in my sixth season of covering Mississippi State for the Daily Journal when the towers were attacked. I'll be back at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday night for the 20-year anniversary of that tragic day. First, that day. I had gotten my children to school and preschool when I headed to American Family Radio where I was part of a couple of sports shows. Along the way I tuned into the news and heard about planes flying into the towers. Stunned, wobbly and uncertain I walked into the AFR offices. As I made my way to the back studio I heard an AFR employee tell and caller, "Yes mam, The Pentagon." My initial reaction was anger. I thought, "You can't give out wrong information at a time like this. You have to be right." Then the thought occurred to me that the terror wasn't finished, and I thought, "My God, The Pentagon." We all went through the motions that day because we didn't know what else to do. |
| Which Mississippi State football receivers are on the rise? | |
| The final three drives for Mississippi State showed something closer to what coach Mike Leach is searching for from his offense. Quarterback Will Rogers dropped back to pass 10 times in the fourth quarter on Saturday against Louisiana Tech. He completed those 10 passes to seven different receivers, totaling 128 yards -- and the game-winning touchdown to Jaden Walley. As the Bulldogs turn their attention to N.C. State this weekend, another 20-point deficit won't be something Mississippi State can afford to find itself in again. But if Leach wants to pull anything from Saturday's game, it's how his quarterback and receivers worked in the fourth quarter. "He relaxed," Leach said of Rogers in the fourth quarter. "He quit pressing. He quit trying to force things." And when he didn't force things, the results were positive. So after one game, here's a look at which Mississippi State receivers saw their stock rise and which are in a holding pattern until there's a larger sample size. |
| 'Just enough': Inside Mississippi State's last-second field goal block vs. Louisiana Tech | |
| In the huddle before the final snap, with Saturday's game hanging on the result of a 46-yard field goal attempt, Mississippi State special teams coordinator Matt Brock handed control over to his players. "What do you feel most comfortable running?" Brock asked those gathered around. And when his players came to a consensus, Brock signed on. "He said, 'OK,' " safety Collin Duncan recalled. "Do it. But do it as hard as possible." So that's what his players did. Duncan got his coach's permission to leap toward the line -- not so much to block Louisiana Tech's field goal attempt himself, but to do anything in his power to distract kicker Jacob Barnes' focus on the uprights. Jaden Crumedy, the defensive tackle, admitted Tuesday he was tired before the ball was snapped. But he knew he needed one last burst of energy to penetrate Louisiana Tech's offensive line. He got his pads low, broke through the line and got his hand up -- and about half of that hand connected with the ball blasting off Barnes' foot, sending it skewing well short in a wobble and preserving a 35-34 victory. "Just enough," Crumedy said. If Crumedy thought that burst of energy required to break through the protection emptied his tank, seeing the ball fall short while lying on his back gave him a recharge. He and the rest of the team began to celebrate, and while no one but Crumedy knew what had happened at the time, the word quickly spread: Crumedy blocked it. |
| Rewatchable: Dak Prescott's final Mississippi State game | |
| Every week, our Mississippi State athletics reporter Stefan Krajisnik will provide a "rewatchable" in which he'll reach into the archives and find a game, play or moment relevant to that week's upcoming matchup for MSU and relive it. Ahead of Week 2, here's a look back at the 2015 Belk Bowl between MSU and N.C. State -- the final game of Dak Prescott's college career: The wind blew the ball of the tee before the opening kickoff, visibility was limited and the turf started to look like a giant game of Whac-A-Mole inside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. There were flood warnings in surrounding areas and Mississippi State's equipment staff brought 40 game balls instead of the usual 20 due to conditions. But in his final game as a Bulldog, Dak Prescott wasn't going to let weather get in the way. The ball was set back up on the tee, and once the opening kickoff was sent away, MSU was in control against N.C. State. Future NFL starter Jacoby Brissett was met rudely on N.C. State's first offensive play, when he turned on a busted play and was met by MSU's Johnathan Calvin. Brissett quickly tried getting rid of the ball, but it found the hands of MSU's Gerri Green for an interception. From there, Prescott took over. |
| Nikki McCray-Penson adds Doug Novak to Mississippi State women's basketball staff | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball announced the hiring of associate head coach Doug Novak on Tuesday, joining coach Nikki McCray-Penson's staff. Novak joins the Bulldogs after eight seasons leading the Bethel University's men's basketball team, where he won 65.8% of his games and made the MIAC playoffs seven straight years. Novak led the Royals to their first MIAC regular-season title and second NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2016-17 campaign. Novak has also served as an assistant coach at Tulane and The Citadel between 2006 and 2013. "Mississippi State is a special place with a great tradition, and I am grateful for the opportunity to add value to Coach McCray's program," Novak said in a statement. "I consider myself a teacher first and foremost. We want to make simple plays multiple times within a possession as we fight for time, vision and space." This offseason, McCray-Penson's assistant coaching staff has seen plenty of turnover, with Novak the latest addition. The roster also has nine newcomers between transfers and incoming freshmen. |
| 'Getting back to normal:' Tailgating, full capacity back in UGA's Sanford Stadium | |
 | There will be a full bar and beer for the tailgate Robert Wolfe and a UGA buddy of his will host next to Sanford Stadium on Saturday. About 60 couples usually come by to fill up on some catered barbecue or food from George's Lowcountry Table or other pregame necessities. "It usually ends up being a lot of Chick-Fil-A and a lot of Canes," Wolfe said. Georgia played football games in 2020, but Saturday's 3:30 p.m. kickoff against UAB will be different. It will be the first with full capacity at home since Nov. 23, 2019 when Georgia beat Texas A&M. That means a crowd of 92,746. "To be honest as I get older in life, I like the tailgates and the lead-up to the game as much as I like the game," said the 50-year old Wolfe, who lives in Charlotte and works in real estate. "I'm looking forward to getting back to a normal tailgate year. The games just weren't the same last year. As good as the atmosphere was for some of the games inside Sanford, without the tailgating outside the stadium and without the full attendance, it just didn't have the same feel. I am looking forward to getting back to normal." The COVID-19 pandemic prompted Georgia games last season to be limited to attendance of 20,524 with socially distanced seating and no tailgating allowed. This season, Georgia is going back to how it was before -- full attendance with no social distancing with tailgating back on. |
| Will there be COVID restrictions at Bryant-Denny Stadium this Alabama football season? | |
 | Alabama football kicked off its season with a convincing 44-13 win over the Miami Hurricanes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday. The Crimson Tide will play their home opener this Saturday against Mercer. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. Fans may be wondering if the game day experience inside Bryant-Denny Stadium will be different this year due to COVID-19. There was a capacity limit last season due to the pandemic. However, Bryant-Denny will return to full capacity this season. Masks will not be required for fans in the seats or concourse area, unlike last season. However, fans in the stadium's enclosed club areas or on elevators will be expected to wear masks. The mask rule is also in effect for fans who take a shuttle bus to the stadium. Some other reminders of COVID-19 will remain, such as hand sanitizers stationed throughout the stadium and attendants regularly cleaning the restrooms. Tickets will be completely digital, so fans must download their ticket on their smartphone. UA says the digital tickets will make for safer, quicker, contact-free entry into the stadium. |
| College coaches dealing with breakthrough COVID cases | |
| Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari said he contracted COVID-19 after being vaccinated, but pointed out he is relieved the shot did its job in leaving him with mild symptoms. Other notable breakthrough cases have occurred in college football, with vaccinated players and coaches testing positive. That includes second-ranked Georgia and Mississippi; the Bulldogs could be without several players in their next game and Rebels coach Lane Kiffin missed his team's opener after testing positive. Calipari revealed Tuesday that he tested positive before July's NBA draft, which kept the Hall of Famer from his annual ritual of attending the festivities to see his highly touted players realize dreams of becoming first-round selections. His announcement follows Monday's revelation by Georgia football Kirby Smart that "three or four" players on the second-ranked Bulldogs were sidelined with COVID-19. Kiffin did not travel with the Rebels to Atlanta for Monday night's 43-24 victory over Louisville after announcing his own breakthrough case on Saturday. "I am grateful to be vaccinated and experiencing only mild symptoms," Kiffin said in a statement released on Twitter. Calipari felt just as fortunate. In going public now with his mild symptoms, he hopes more people get vaccinated. |
| Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff expounds on proposed alliance scheduling model during Utah visit | |
| As he promised the day he was hired last June, new Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff is making the rounds, visiting the campus of every conference member and meeting with athletes, administrators and students. This week, it's Utah's turn. "I'm in the middle of a listening tour. This is my seventh out of the 12 schools. I'm trying to complete all 12, and I will complete all 12, prior to our next (College Football Playoff) meeting on Sept. 28," Kliavkoff said. "In each of the places I'm going, I'm trying to meet with all the constituents. ... Really, it's about educating myself. I came with a lot of background in media and sports and entertainment, but not with a collegiate sports background. ... I'm trying to learn what I don't know. I'm getting great feedback." Tuesday afternoon, Kliavkoff and Utah athletic director Mark Harlan fielded questions from the media about key issues affecting the Pac-12. Last month, the league announced an alliance with the Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference, which will feature a scheduling component between the three conferences. "The north star for our football scheduling for the alliance, and it will take us a while to get there, is having eight conference games in each of the conferences, and having one game a year against each of the other two conferences," Kliavkoff said. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
