For Whom the Cowbell Tolls

Softball Bulldogs to Battle Cougars in Regional Action

2012-05-17T15:30:02Z

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (33-22) start their march in the NCAA tournament this afternoon in Eugene, Ore. against the BYU Cougars (43-13), the champions of the WAC, in regional action today at 5 CT. In what could be one of the best regionals, the Bulldogs will face a tricky foe right off the bat.

BYUtv play-by-play announcer Robbie Bullough said the Bulldogs will face a team that is accustomed to winning and playing at this level.

"This is the eight straight year they (BYU) have won forty or more games and the eighth straight year they have made the tournament," said Bullough"This is nothing new to them. They have only been to the super regionals once. It should be a good matchup. Both teams are just within a couple in the RPI. It should be a really fun matchup."

The Cougar offense can pose problems for teams, especially if the top of the line up comes to the plate to start an inning according to Bullough. He said that the line up is set up to get runners on base for clean up hitter Delaney Willard, the WAC player of the year who has 18 homers and 88 RBIs on the season.

"Delaney Willard, as a senior, kind of came out of nowhere," said Bullough. "She was hitting .500 for most of the season. She ended up breaking the WAC single season record for RBIs, and she is second in the country in RBIs. She is able to get the hits and get the power with homeruns."

The Cougars' talent does not end in the batters' box. The team also boasts talent inside the circle with a pitching staff that has an ERA that hovers around two. The Cougars have leaned most on Tori Almond and Hannah Howell.

"Sometimes, they can get a rough start where they walk the first couple of batters and get pulled in the first and second inning, but if they have control, this is a team that does not give up a lot of runs," said Bullough.

One interesting note in the series is that BYU coach Gordon Eakin serves as a hitting coach for the U.S. national team while Mississippi State coach Vann Stuedeman is known for her work with pitchers.

The Bulldog staff led by Stephanie Becker (18-10), who enters the tournament play with a 2.49, will be tasked with keeping the Cougars off of the bases to minimize the damage.

Offensively, Brittany Bell, Jessica Cooley, and Ka'ili Smith, all three potential All-SEC players, will try to crack the BYU pitching staff. With the BYU pitchers being subject to early struggles, the three who all bat in the top five of the line up may get to a starter early.

Smith boasts a .493 on base percentage, Cooley has slugged 15 homers, and Bell leads the team with a .381 batting average. Sam Lenahan, who owns a .329 average, bats in the top part of the order as well.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Robbie Bullough from the Daily Grind.

@justinrsutton

1903: If You Can't Beat 'Em, Steal Their Coach

2012-05-17T13:01:17Z

By 1903, Mississippi A&M fans had been all over the emotional block with their football team. From not winning a game in two years to the disbanding of the program to winning a few games before slipping backwards, they had seen it all. Several captains and coaches had come and gone, and the Aggie faithful wondered what to do next.

In a moment that had to be as shocking as Hulk Hogan joining the New World Order, Daniel Martin left Ole Miss to become the head coach at Mississippi A&M, and just as Hollywood Hogan and the NWO ran wild on WCW, Martin and his team took off in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

The season opened on a Friday in Columbus. The opponent that day was Alabama, a team that had outscored A&M 92-0 all time. Change was in the air, and on that day in Columbus, the Aggies knocked off Alabama 11-0.

The great play continued eight days later as the Maroon and White traveled down to Meridian and dismantled the Meridian Athletic Club 45-0. Without a doubt, enthusiasm once again ran wild in Starkville as a home tilt with LSU waited in the wings.

The Aggies had not been able to knock off LSU in two previous attempts, but again Martin and his boys pushed the right buttons, and A&M raced to an 11-0 victory.

If the year were 2003, the next matchup for the Aggies, against Ole Miss, would have been nonstop news in Mississippi. After all the man who walked the Ole Miss sideline the year before now wore Maroon and White. With a chance to defeat his old squad, Martin coached a valiant effort, but the game ended in a 6-6 tie.

The Aggies closed out their season with a 0-0 at Tulane. Overall everyone should have been pleased. The Aggies had knocked off Alabama and LSU, and they did not drop a decision the entire season. With a 3-0-2 record, Aggie fans could not wait for 1904.

6 Biggest 'What Ifs' in MSU History; #2: What if State had Played all Home Games in Starkville

2012-05-17T11:00:13Z

On Sunday I numbered all the different cities in our great state where MSU has played. In addition to that, there were many times over Mississippi State's football history when the Bulldogs actually played their "home" game in the opponents stadium! Can you believe that nonsense?

From 1932-1970, MSU played LSU in the state of Mississippi three times - 3!! From 1933-1957, MSU played Alabama outside Tuscaloosa only twice! Played Auburn is Birmingham, Tennessee in Memphis, etc. The stupidity of this decision making is beyond comprehension.

Then there's all the games we played in Jackson. That's better than acting like a Division 1-AA school with someone in your own conference, but it didn't really allow for Scott Field to grow like it should have - especially when all the biggest games were played in Jackson.

If Ole Miss had not played in Jackson for years as well we would probably have an easy answer from a comparable school, but they did the same.

There are two main areas where I think MSU was hurt the most: winning and tradition. Is there anything else that matters more than winning and tradition? How do you develop tradition if you aren't playing in Starkville? How do the students rally together at football games if you aren't playing games on campus? How? How do expect to win games if you're playing home games on the road? Bottom line - State would be a better historical program if they would have played their home games at home - in Starkville.

What does a historical program get you? Recruits. Even though 18-year-old have never seen Notre Dame good, they still go there. Nick Saban was able to turn Alabama around in his second year because it's Alabama - he is a great coach and recruiter - but the crimson 'A' on his shirt helped the sales pitch.

It's a shame our past administrators have virtually no foresight. You think Larry Templeton was bad - the guy in charge in the 1930s was horrible. The amazing thing is Mississippi State won big in the 40s despite this. We were a power back then and still played all these games on the road! Good grief, what if.

6 Biggest 'What Ifs' in MSU History; #3: What if State Claimed the 1941 National Title

2012-05-16T21:00:04Z

Mississippi State, and the great people who attend and care about the University, always want to do the right thing. We try to stay objective, we try to stay fair and balanced. Perhaps that's why we don't claim titles that aren't ours. Ole Miss claims a national championship in 1959 and 1962, but where did those come from? Alabama claims 13 national titles, but the NCAA only recognizes 12. The discrepancy: 1941.

In 1941, Mississippi State was 8-1-1. One of those eight wins was a 14-0 defeat of Alabama - AT Alabama. Apparently the 16-0 defeat to #10 Dequensne was enough to boot State out of the Top 25, but whatever. It appears as though rankings didn't matter because Alabama somehow jumped from #18 to a split national championship with Minnesota (who the NCAA recognizes) after beating #2 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. 1941 SEC Champions: Mississippi State. 1941 National Champions: 9-2 Alabama.

Also of note: Mississippi State did not go to a bowl game that year due to extenuating circumstances related to the United States entering World War II. Georgia and Bama represented the SEC instead. I don't know all the politics involved in 1940s bowl selection, but I have to assume that the team that finished 3rd in the SEC (Alabama) would not have gotten a bid over the conference champion.

So what if Mississippi State had claimed the 1941 national championship? I mean, we have every right to, don't we. If Alabama claims it, if Ole Miss can claim two titles that aren't recognized by the NCAA, we could just stick a banner up, right?

Maybe the course of history would be a little different if Mississippi State College (at the time) were 1941 champs. Would Ole Miss have still dominated the Egg Bowl the next 30 years (23-3-4)? Would Darrell Royal have stayed in Starkville instead of leaving and going on to Texas - winning multiple national championships there?

I don't really know how much would be different, but at least there would be four numbers pasted on the side of our stadium: 1-9-4-1. I probably wouldn't even care if it were for the Crimson Tide...they have 12, but they've got to steal ours too.

FWTCT Greatest Games Bracket, RD1: 2004 vs Bama (Basketball) VS. 1963 vs. Loyola (Basketball)

2012-05-16T16:30:15Z

Yesterday our Greatest Games Bracket series kicked off with the introductory post and vote for the "play-in" game. Don't forget to go back and vote in that poll, it closes tonight at midnight!


2004 vs. Alabama (Basketball)	VS.	1963 vs. Loyola (Basketball)

2004 vs. Alabama (Basketball)

2004 was a banner year for Mississippi State, and the final game of the season saw the Bulldogs with a chance to claim a regular season SEC championship for the first time in decades. However, the dogs came out flat, and Alabama took advantage of every opportunity that State gave them, maintaining a 20 point lead at halftime. With 9 minutes remaining in the game, State found themselves still down 16, and the task of coming back to seize a victory seemed all but possible. The video of that final 9 minutes can be found below:

2004 Mississippi State @ Alabama basketball (via sparky39762)

After closing the gap and tying the game to send it end to overtime, the Dogs continued back and forth with the Crimson Tide, until it was 81-80 Alabama. With 10 seconds left, State in-bounded the ball, and Timmy Bowers nailed a driving layup with 1 second remaining to seal the game 82-81 and the SEC regular season championship for Mississippi State in 2004.

This game made the greatest games list becuase it was one of the greatest comebacks in MSU history, and because it was one of the greatest seasons in MSU basketball history. Had it not been for Xavier's hot shooting several weeks later (as Croom touched on yesterday), who knows where that team could have finished up in the records books. Still, an SEC regular season championship is something to be proud of, and Timmy Bowers and Co.'s miraculous comeback in T-Town gave us the crown in 2004.

1963 vs. Loyola (Basketball)

This game needs little introduction or summary for most State fans. Even though it was before many of our times, many of us know about it because it was vital in laying the groundwork for integrated basketball play in the NCAA.

1963 was a great year for Babe McCarthy's Bulldogs, as they compiled a 21-5 record and were named SEC Champions. After completing the regular season, the Bulldogs were invited to postseason play, drawing a first round matchup against the University of Loyola (Illinois). In the previous 3 seasons, an unwritten Mississippi law kept 3 white teams from traveling to play black teams, but coach McCarthy, President Dean Colvard and AD Wade Walker made sure the boys got a chance to play. Here's a clipping from an article on the MSU Kinesiology webpage:

Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett wasn't about to let that happen. Nor was state Sen. Billy Mitts, a former Mississippi State student body president and cheerleader. Mitts even got an injunction prohibiting the team from leaving the state.

But before the papers could be served, Colvard left the state for a speaking engagement in Alabama, while Walker and McCarthy drove north, across the state line to Tennessee.
Early the next morning, trainer Dutch Luchsinger and several reserves drove to a private airport in Starkville, Miss. When they saw the path was safe, a call was made for assistant Jerry Simmons and the starters to hurry and join them.

The plane took off without incident, stopped in Nashville to pick up Walker and McCarthy and headed to Lansing and a warm reception. Back in Mississippi, the Ku Klux Klan and segregationists stewed while many others cheered their team's stance.

"When Babe said we were going, it was like God speaking,'' Shows said. "We didn't understand the politics. But we were all on pins and needles. Just as our plane took off, the sheriff drove through the gate. He'd driven to the wrong airport. It turns out he wanted us to go.''

Loyola guard John Egan, the only white starter on his team, said he didn't understand the implications when Harkness and Mississippi State's Red Stroud shook hands at the center jump in Jenison Field House, as hundreds of flashbulbs popped all around them.

"Jerry is very emotional about this and was crushed when Red just died,'' Egan said. "None of us saw it as 'us' against 'them.' The Mississippi State players were true gentlemen. I guess we showed people the way it could be.''

Although MSU lost that game 61-51, the team really won on that day because they defied the powers that be to take part in something that believed was right. That is why this game made the all-time greatest games list.

Well, we've presented you with the 2 games, now you decide which one moves on! The voting for this game will remain open for one week until May 23 at noon. Make sure you get your vote in and do your part to vote your favorite game onto the next round!

Tomorrow's round 1 matchup: 1996 vs. Cincinnati (Basketball) VS. 2002 vs. Kentucky (Basketball)

Poll

Which game is the greatest?

1902: Not Quite Living up to Expectations

2012-05-16T13:00:56Z

With the Bulldogs claiming two victories in 1901, football frenzy reached a fever pitch in Starkville, but as so many fans of the Maroon and White know all too well, sometimes, the squad does not quite live up to the hype.

In 1902, the Aggies brought on their fourth coach in as many seasons, L. L. Gwinn. His tenure would only last one year as Mississippi A & M regressed in his time in Starkville.

Playing at the Starkville Fairgrounds, the Aggies opened the seasons with two home losses, a 15-6 loss to Cumberland and a 21-0 loss to Ole Miss. If the name Cumberland sounds familiar to you, it is probably because they suffered a 222-0 defeated to Georgia Tech in 1916.

In the third game of the season, the Aggies traveled to Tulane and fought to a 11-11 tie. The next week, Mississippi A&M strolled over to Alabama and dropped a 27-0 decision, marking the third straight time they shut out the Aggies.

The fifth game for the Aggies marked their only win of the season, a 26-0 victory over Howard. The celebrations did not last long as Mississippi A&M fell at home on a Thursday night to LSU 6-0.

As has been the case many times, the Maroon and White faithful left the season with shattered and tattered dreams.

MSU News and Notes | Wednesday, May 16, 2012

2012-05-16T11:00:21Z

So MSU baseball lost to Central Arkansas last night 2-0. Yes, that score is accurate. No further information needed on that mess.
Yesterday, we here at For Whom the Cowbell Tolls started a series of posts called the MSU Greatest Games Sweet Sixteen. The idea behind the post is to collect together the greatest games in MSU athletic history and the fans vote on matchups to ultimately decide which game is the greatest. The games have been arranged in a bracket (visually shown here by our robnoladog) much like the NCAA Tournament. I may be biased (I am), but I think this is a pretty neat idea, and the guys and I took a couple of weeks hashing out which games should be included on the list and which ones shouldn't. No obviously, there will have been some great games left off this list, and we fully expect you guys to bring that to our attention. But even with leaving some off we still couldn't whittle the number of games down to 16, so we decided that the last 8 games would vie for the 16th and final spot. Voting for the play in game is open until Midnight tonight, so if you haven't voted yet, make sure to do so here before the stroke of Midnight! (Link to the introductory post here)
Yay, the first early college football Christmas has arrived! Oh, you may also know it as the arrival of the SEC Helmet Schedule. The annual Schedule that hangs over thousands of office desks in the south can be found at the above link, and a copy can be viewed after the jump

A great read from Marcello on Chris Stratton completing his turn around by winning the Ferriss Trophy Monday. Strat credits this past summer in the Cape Cod league as the defining moment in taking the next step in his career.
Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game released his latest bracketology yesterday, and it listed Mississippi State as the #2 seed in the Eugene, Oregon regional. Oregon is listed as the #3 overall seed in Rogers' latest bracket.
ESPN announced it will produce more episodes of the "30 for 30" series, which is fantastic news. One of those episodes will be about Bo Jackson biking across the state of Alabama for tornado relief. /grabs popcorn
Our friend Bob Carskadon reported yesterday that former Bulldog Mario Haggan has signed a contract with the St. Louis Rams. Haggan had previously been with the Denver Broncos for the past several seasons.
Richie Brown is tired of your non-sense, fans of other SEC teams besides MSU
MLB.com with a mention of how much Chris Stratton's stock is rising in MLB Draft circles.
2 other outstanding series going on at the site right now, Croom Diaries' "What Ifs" series and justinrsutton's "History of MSU football series. Crooms latest: What if Xavier wouldn't have been so hot shooting that day in 2004 is a great read, and yesterday sutton told us about the magical year for MSU football that was 1901.

That's all for today ladies and gentlemen, have a great hump day!

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#HailState

MSU Greatest Games Bracket Sweet Sixteen

2012-05-15T19:00:02Z

Welcome friends to the first ever MSU Greatest Games Sweet 16 Bracket! What is this madness, you ask?

Well, we here at FWTCT have assembled what we consider to be the greatest 16 games in our school's athletics history. Now, did we probably leave off some classic contests out of this list? Absolutely, and we fully expect you all to let us know about them in the comments section. But seriously, if we left one off that you think should have been added, let us know! These types of posts are always great for debate and discussion.

So how does this bracket work, you ask? It's simple, really. Below is the bracket of the greatest games. Each day we'll post a matchup in the bracket, and you - the fan - will vote to decide which game moves on to the next round!

Now enough with my yammerin, here's your 2012 MSU Greatest Games Bracket:

As you'll see, there is a spot for a "Vote-In Game Winner." That's right folks, we couldn't decide on just 16 games to include in our bracket, so we included an extra 7 for your entertainment pleasure.

The bracket officially starts tomorrow in the battle of 1996 vs. Cincinnati (Basketball) vs. 2002 vs. Kentucky (Basketball).

Here are your contestants for the Play-In Game. Whichever game has to most votes will move on to face 1980 vs. Alabama (Football) on Thursday. Remember State fans, your votes decide who moves on. Make sure you vote before you leave the page!

2000 vs. Notre Dame (Baseball)

In 2000, Mississippi State played host to an NCAA Regional that included Notre Dame. After defeating Notre Dame once, the Dogs lost the second game against the golden domers, and suddenly faced a do or die Sunday match to determine who would move on to the Super Regionals. In the bottom of the 9th in a 9-9 game, Senior Bulldog Ty Martin launched a solo shot to center field that just cleared the right field fence, giving the Bulldogs a dramatic regional win.

2005 vs. Ole Miss (Baseball)

The 2005 baseball regular season was a so-so one for Mississippi State, as they limped into the SEC Tournament after losing 2 of 3 at home to LSU to end the regular season. But hope springs anew when the SEC Tournament rolls around each May, and in 2005 that hope culminated in the Bulldogs winning the 3 opening games of the tournament and gaining themselves a berth in the Sunday championship game against arch rival Ole Miss. With a chance to wrap up our 6th SEC Tournament title at stake, the Dogs didn't disappoint, as a red-hot Jeff Butts and pitcher Todd Doolittle powered MSU past Ole Miss 4-1 to secure the tournament victory.

2005 SEC Baseball Tournament Championship Game (via sfslickdawg)

2009 vs. Tennessee (Basketball)

The 2009 season was an up and down one for Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs, but as they often did under Stansbury, the team got hot at the right time, and reeled of 3 wins in a row in the SEC Tournament to earn a Sunday matchup with the University of Tennessee. Tennessee was the clear favorite to win that game, but the Volunteers didn't have Barry Stewart and Jarvis Varnado on their team, and that was a key factor in their loss. The duo, who had enjoyed outstanding tournaments so far didn't disappoint in the championship game either, leading the dogs to a 64-61 win and a SEC Tournament Championship.

1997 vs. #11 Auburn (Football)

This video pretty much sums it up.

The MSU defense forced six turnovers to upset #11 Auburn on the plains. And no play was bigger than Derricks 90-yard pick-six in the 2nd quarter to give MSU a 10-0 lead. MSU led 13-0 in the 4th quarter when Izell McGill picked off Dameyune Craig at the MSU 10. J.J. Johnson sealed the game with a 13-yard TD run a few minutes later.

1941 at Alabama (Football)

If you look in the Alabama record books under the National Championships that the Tide claim, there you will see the year 1941 listed. There's only one problem with that: Alabama didn't really win the National Championship that year, Mississippi State did, because they beat the Tide. Part of that NC run for MSU was a game versus the Tide in which State came away victorious 14-0. Bama may keep claim of winning that National Championship, but Maroon and White fans will forever know the 1941 year as the year of the Bulldog, and this game was a part of that outstanding season. (Link to a quick article on the game via the Bryant Museum)

1909 vs. LSU (Baseball)

None of us probably remember this game, but in 1909 State hurler Willie Mitchell tossed the SEC (and MSU's) first perfect game, striking out 26 in a 1-0 victory over the rival LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. ALSO, Willie mean mugged the camera pretty hard back then. Proof:

(via the MSU Baseball Media Guide, pg.108)

2002 vs. Alabama (Basketball)

2002 was Rick Stansbury's breakthrough season. Two years earlier he landed McDonald's All-American Mario Austin in a recruiting battle against the University of Alabama. It was only fitting that Austin was named SEC Tournament MVP after unranked MSU defeated #8 Alabama 61-58 in the SEC Championship game. Austin scored 15, while Derrick Zimmerman and Michal Ignerski added 13 apiece for the Dogs. This was MSU's 2nd SEC tournament title ever (1996 over UK was the first).

2004 vs. #20 Florida (Football)

2004 was certainly a forgettable year in Bulldog football history, but one particular October afternoon sticks in the minds of many Bulldog fans today. One individual, and one play, more particularly, that is. On October 23, 2004, Sylvester Croom's Mississippi State team rode the back of one Jerious Norwood to a stunning 38-31 victory over the #20 Florida Gators. Norwood had 174 yards on the afternoon and 2 TD's, but no single carry, maybe even in Jerious' career, was more famous than this one to seal the deal late in the contest:

Jerious Norwood 37 yard game winning TD against Florida (via sfslickdawg)

That was the day Ron Zook learned what the term "Croomed" meant, as he was fired shortly thereafter that loss.

So, do you have a favorite game of those 8 above? Make sure you vote in the poll below before you leave the page. Remember: this is a fan contest, so if you want a game to win, you have to vote and spread the word to vote! We will leave the voting open for 2 days and then the winner will move into the "sweet 16" round to try and become the greatest MSU game ever.

Make sure you tune in tomorrow for the first-first round matchup: 1996 vs. Cincinnati (Basketball) vs. 2002 vs. Kentucky (Basketball).

#HailState

Poll

Which game should be included in our MSU greatest games bracket? Pick your favorite from the list below!

2000 vs. Notre Dame (Baseball)

7 votes

2005 vs. Ole Miss (Baseball)

17 votes

2009 vs. Tennessee (Basketball)

12 votes

1997 vs. Auburn (Football)

7 votes

1941 vs. Alabama (Football)

8 votes

1909 vs. LSU (Baseball)

5 votes

2002 vs. Alabama (Basketball)

9 votes

2004 vs. Florida (Football)

25 votes

90 votes | Poll has closed