The Magnolia State Roundup is a weekly swing through the upcoming college football matchups for in-state schools. Mississippi State fans, enjoy the bye week.

 

Ole Miss at South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.

2:30 p.m., ESPN

For the first four weeks of the season, the Ole Miss offense was a rocket ship, blasting off and dumping a payload of big points and tons of yards on lesser opponents. Last week the Rebels faced a real brawler for the first time and found themselves in a rock fight with the Kentucky Wildcats.

It was the kind of game that Kentucky has regularly won over the years under the direction of Mark Stoops. Anyone surprised by the results must not have watched Georgia almost go down to Kentucky in a similar way earlier this season. The Kentucky defensive line is a disruptive group up front.

 

There is no time for pity parties in the new, larger and more dangerous landscape of SEC football. The opponent on Saturday, South Carolina, boat raced Kentucky by a 31-6 final score earlier this season in Lexington.

 

There will still be plenty of opportunities for Ole Miss to show that it deserved the lofty preseason expectations that included talk of the playoffs. All that will forever be a memory if the no.12 ranked Rebels can’t go to Columbia this weekend and return with a win.

 

LSU, Oklahoma, and Georgia all loom as ranked opponents remaining on the schedule for the Rebs. This game in which Ole Miss is favored by around eight points feels like a must win in early October.

 

Southern Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, Hattiesburg

6 p.m., ESPN+

Will Hall promised that his team would improve during the off week, after the Golden Eagles were beaten 44-7 two weeks ago at a winless Jacksonville State. I grew up and am raising my children in a pro-coach household.

 

We’ve been buying what Hall has been selling and drinking the Kool-Aid since he took the job. If he’s going to save his job, Hall and his staff must manufacture a midseason turnaround in the middle of what will be a daunting Sun Belt schedule.

 

Of the non-power conferences in NCAA football, the Sun Belt is at the top of the rankings in 2024. Last week, Louisiana-Lafayette went to Wake Forest and beat the ACC member Demon Deacons 41-38.

Now you might think that’s not a big deal, since Ole Miss blew out Wake Forest a couple weeks ago and the Deacons have a 1-3 record this season. That doesn’t matter, as any win by a Sun Belt school at a Power-4 program like Wake is massive, even maybe more massive today in the world of NIL money. Wake Forest can spend more on towels than ULL has budgeted for recruiting.

It’s silly to even imagine, but how fun would promotion and relegation be in the world of college football? Imagine Vanderbilt getting booted from the SEC for finishing last and being replaced by a James Madison squad that won the Sun Belt. It’ll never happen, but if there was a world where it did, then the ULL Ragin Cajuns would be among those battling to move up on a year in and out basis.

 

And maybe that’s why so many Southern Miss fans feel so frustrated, because the Golden Eagles were the proverbial “little guy no one wants to play” for a long time. Losing at Kentucky badly in the season opener was one thing, but the Jacksonville State loss was painful and a win against a rival program like ULL would be like a cooling sav.

 

Jackson State vs. Alabama A&M, Mobile, Ala.

4 p.m., ESPN+

They are calling this one the Gulf Coast Challenge as JSU and AAMU will meet in Mobile at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The weekend includes free concerts and parades ahead of the game.

 

The Tigers are 3-2 overall after getting a 43-14 win last week at Texas Southern. Alabama A&M has not played an SEC foe yet but is 2-2 with wins over Kentucky State and Georgetown (Kentucky).

Former Copiah-Lincoln CC wideout Tyquan Henderson caught a touchdown pass last week in the win for Jackson State. Quarterback Jacobian Morgan, a native of Canton who transferred to Jackson State from Syracuse, finished with two passing scores and two rushing touchdowns.

 

JSU will be off next week, before returning to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson for a Oct. 19 matchup with the Florida A&M Rattlers.

 

Alcorn State vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Lorman

2 p.m., HBCU GO

Alcorn State picked up its first SWAC win of the season last week with a 42-21 win over Mississippi Valley State. Former Adams County Christian School running back Jacorian Sewell averaged 13.7 yards per carry in running for 164 yards on just 12 carries to lead the ASU offense.

 

Alcorn State also has a safety, Edwin Summerour, that recorded three interceptions last week in the win over the Delta Devils.

 

UAPB started the season off with a 70-0 loss at the University of Arkansas in a game that was played with 10-minute quarters in the second half. The Golden Lions then beat Arkansas Baptist 73-0. I was today years old when I learned that Arkansas Baptist was no longer a junior college. Pine Bluff also has losses to Tennessee State (41-28) and Central Arkansas (56-17) this season.

 

Delta State vs. Chowan University, Cleveland

6 p.m., Flo Sports Network

Delta State had a matchup against Erskine College cancelled last week due to the hurricane. The Statesmen beat Fort Valley State 27-24 two weeks ago in Cleveland. Like Erskine, Chowan State is a temporary member of the Gulf South Conference this season.

You might remember when DSU played at Chowan last year, the Statesmen were whipping the Hawks thoroughly before Chowan turned the game into a WWE styled battle royal on its own sideline.

DSU coach Todd Cooley shared the fight footage, which looked like it was filmed on a flip-phone, on social media after the game and the conference ended up suspending six players after what Sports Illustrated called a “wild brawl.” I’ll agree with that assessment as during one part of the fight, a Delta State player started taking shots from Chowan fans standing along the sideline fence.

 

I for one am hoping Delta State wins by 70 on Saturday. As they say in Cleveland, respect the Statesmen, but fear the Okra.

 

Mississippi College at West Florida, Pensacola, Fl.

4 p.m., Flo Sports Network

As someone who casually keeps up with the Gulf South Conference, I was a little surprised by West Florida being 1-2 to start the season. The Argonauts won the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship, after starting to field a team in 2016. The architect of that build, Pete Shinnick is now the head coach at Towson University in Maryland and it would appear that the Argonauts are not as powerful as they once were.

 

All that said, you’ll still have them favored over Mississippi College and first year head coach Mike Kershaw. The Choctaws lost 27-25 at Chowan last week in their closest loss of the season. MC did see senior receiver Javier Batiste named as the GSC Offensive Player of the Week in defeat. Batiste hauled in six passes for 111 yards receiving and one touchdown.

 

Belhaven at Huntingdon, Montgomery, Ala.

1 p.m.

First year Belhaven head coach CJ Nightingale picked up his first career win with a 30-12 victory last week at home against North Carolina Wesleyan. Huntingdon lost a tough one last week on a last second field goal to Hendrix. Here is some Huntingdon trivia for the next time you need a fun fact, the school is the alma mater of “To Kill A Mockingbird” author Harper Lee.