There was no Magnolia State Roundup last week and it wasn’t because Mississippi State and Ole Miss were off for the weekend. Have you ever typed something and then had your computer restart and then when the recovered document popped back up you accidentally clicked off it, losing it forever?

That’s the story of last week’s Magnolia Roundup.

Here’s a look at who’s next for the college football teams from around Mississippi.

 

Mississippi State (3-3) at Arkansas (2-5)

11 a.m., Fayetteville, Ark.

ESPN

First year head coach Zach Arnett and his Bulldogs are halfway through the 2023 regular season and halfway to the needed six victories for bowl eligibility. The schedule has them going to Fayetteville to face the Hogs this weekend and then traveling to The Plains to take on Auburn next weekend.

MSU whipped Arkansas 40-17 last season in Starkville. Head hog Sam Pittman and his crew are struggling this season, but Arkansas showed fight late last week and made it a game in the second half with Alabama.

State has won three of its last four in Fayetteville.

Ole Miss (5-1) at Auburn (3-3)

6 p.m., Auburn, Ala.

ESPN

You might not have paid much attention to Auburn this season and I won’t blame you as a little Hugh Freeze goes a long way. If you have watched the Tigers though, you know that they’ve been pretty lousy on offense in 2023.

One Alabama based columnist wrote this week that Lane Kiffin should be fired if his team loses at Auburn. There was some humor in that headline, but at the same time, this is the type of game where Ole Miss should play and perform like the favorites they are.

The Rebels are a 6.5-point favorite at Auburn, a place where they have not won since 2015.

 

Delta State (7-0) vs. University of West Florida (5-2)

3 p.m., Cleveland

The strongest hope for the state of Mississippi to win a football national championship in 2023 resides in Cleveland on the green-clad shoulders of the Delta State University Statesmen.

DSU has a big one at home on Saturday as West Florida is always a Gulf South Conference contender.

UWF is located in Pensacola and didn’t start playing football until 2016. The Argonauts didn’t take long to get acclimated with NCAA Division II football, as they won the national championship in 2019. To again reinforce how good GSC football is, West Florida finished second in the league that regular season behind Valdosta State before beating the Blazers in the second round of the playoffs.

DSU is coming off a 49-27 win over North Greenville University. The Statesmen are averaging 47 points per game this season.

 

Mississippi College (2-4) vs. Chowan University (0-7)

6 p.m., Clinton

No line from Vegas on this one, but the Choctaws are heavy favorites against Chowan University in Clinton for homecoming. Chowan is playing this season and next in the Gulf South Conference before then moving to the Conference Carolinas.

You might remember when Chowan made headlines for a fight that happened at their place when they hosted Delta State in their first ever GSC game.

MC lost 21-10 last week to Valdosta but has a chance to pull even to .500 with games over the next two weeks against Chowan and North Greenville.

 

Jackson State (4-3) at Mississippi Valley State (1-5)

2 p.m., Itta Bena

ESPN+

Homecoming was kind of a bummer last week in Jackson as the Tigers of JSU dropped a 24-19 setback to Alabama State in Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Shoutout to Jackson State kicker Dylan Wasson, who spent last year on the roster at Co-Lin. Against Alabama State, Wasson made a 46-yard field goal and then a 45-yard field goal. He was 0-4 on field goal attempts last season for CLCC.

MVSU is looking for its first win over Jackson State since 2014.

 

Alcorn State (3-3) at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-5)

2 p.m., Pine Bluff, Ark

The Alcorn State Braves are coming off a bye-week and last played in a thrilling 25-24 homecoming victory over Grambling State.

Expect coach Fred McNair and his Braves to keep things rolling this week at UAPB.  Mississippi Valley State University picked up its first win of 2023 last week by trouncing the Lions 42-17 in Itta Bena.

This Alcorn State team is led by a salty defense that sacked Grambling State eight times in its last game along with snatching three interceptions in that win.

 

Belhaven (6-0) vs. Methodist (1-5)

12 p.m., Jackson

Can you tell someone where the Methodist University Monarchs come from without using Google?  Me either.

It’s a 2,000-student private school located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It’ll be 2023 Homecoming for the Blazers as they play in front of their fans in Belhaven Bowl Stadium. Belhaven whipped LaGrange 42-20 last week.

Last season in the first ever meeting between the Presbyterians from Belhaven and the Methodists from Methodist, the Blazers won 34-27 on the road. Don’t expect it to be that close on Saturday as BU should roll to a big win.

 

Millsaps (1-6) vs. Centre College (2-4)

12 p.m., Jackson

Centre College beat Millsaps 57-3 last season in Danville, Kentucky. Fun fact, Centre College hosted a 2000 vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman.  By doing so, it became the smallest college in the smallest town to ever host a national debate.

And then those crazy kids at Centre hosted another debate in 2012 between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. Do you even remember Paul Ryan being on a presidential ticket?

The Centre basketball team also beat the University of Kentucky 87-17 in 1910. If this game is based on who has the most interesting Wikipedia page, take Centre College to win big over Millsaps.