Thursday Injury Report - South Alabama

thecristilmethod — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:00:17 -0000

South Alabama - Saturday, September 22nd

Notes

There is something I could say here about how fortunate State has been to not have an abundance of a certain something that this article ascertains to, but I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to jinx it. Nevertheless, that certain something seems to have a small list of players out for State's game this weekend with South Alabama. Here are the injury notes for this week:

TE Brandon Hill is again listed as questionable for this weekend's game, still fighting with a nagging ankle injury. Hill was listed as doubtful for last weekend's Troy game, and did not end up participating in the game.

TE Malcolm Johnson, who has been out so far this season with a pectoral injury, is also listed as doubtful for this weekend's game. For the first time since his injury occurred, Coach Mullen gave a tentative timetable to when we might see the Mackey Award candidate return:

Mullen says he hopes to have tight end Malcolm Johnson back for Kentucky. That's the first we've heard of a timetable for him.
— Bob Carskadon (@bobcarskadon) September 17, 2012

That goes along the lines of what we suspected - hold Johnson out this weekend in a game that should be manageable, and give him an extra two weeks time to heal before bringing him back against Kentucky. That certainly makes the most sense, and it will be nice to have Malcolm back as a weapon for Tyler Russell when the dogs head up to Lexington.
Mullen also listed RG Tobias Smith as "between questionable and probable" for Saturday. As we noted in some of our Troy post game coverage, Smith was noticeably absent from the field last Saturday, as Justin Malone got the start for him and we never saw Tobias take the field. Although we are unaware of his particular ailment, we certainly wish him a speedy recovery, especially with his noted history of having to battle through injuries. My guess: State will, like they are doing with Malcolm Johnson, hold Smith out this weekend and allow him the extra rest in the bye week before returning to action in two weekends against Kentucky.
Unless I just completely missed it, there is still no word on DT P.J. Jones, and when his indefinite suspension may be lifted. The other two players who at the beginning of the season were suspended along with Jones, DB Jamerson Love and WR Ricco Sanders, have since returned, yet there has been no sign of P.J. yet this season. As always, we will watch pre-game Saturday to see if P.J. is off suspension, as that is generally when Dan likes to indicate such.

Summary - Injuries / Suspensions for the Troy Game

Doubtful

TE - Brandon Hill

TE - Malcolm Johnson

Questionable to Probable

RG - Tobias Smith

Suspended

DT - P.J. Jones

Out for Season

CB Xavier Grindle

MSU News & Notes | Monday, September 17, 2012

thecristilmethod — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:00:14 -0000

Well it wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and I'll take it. After a late scare and a Bumphis TD, State rolls into week 4 at 3-0, a place we have not been since 1999. State has only started 4-0 once since the 1960's, which also coincidentally happened in 1999 as well, during the 8-0 start that year. Now we turn our attention to South Alabama, a school who sits at 1-2 after a 31-7 loss to North Carolina State this past weekend.

Let's get your week started off right with another packed to the brim edition of MSU News and Notes.

We will always tell you to come here, to FWtCT, first for your Bulldogs news, but if you had to also go to a second place, I'd certainly suggest reading Bob Carskadon. Anything my man Bob writes is worth your time, and yesterday's Sunday ThingamaBob is no exception.
I've told you this once, but I'll probably do it once a week: you should be following Kyle Niblett on Twitter, if you aren't already. Kyle is chock full of information. Here's your weekly post-game dose from his Twitter feed:

Chad Bumphis joins Sammy Milner vs. Florida in 1969 (1969!) as only players in @mstatefb HISTORY with 3 TD receptions in a game.
— Kyle Niblett (@KyleNiblett) September 16, 2012

Chad Bumphis ties Eric Moulds and Justin Jenkins for the school record with 17 touchdown receptions.
— Kyle Niblett (@KyleNiblett) September 16, 2012

This is the first time in @mstatefb history that MSU has had a RB and a WR with 175+ yards
— Kyle Niblett (@KyleNiblett) September 16, 2012

Mississippi State is tied for the nation's lead with a +11 turnover margin (Kansas, Alabama also have +11).
— Kyle Niblett (@KyleNiblett) September 16, 2012

LaDarius Perkins is second in the SEC in rushing. MSU is first in the SEC in interceptions.
— Kyle Niblett (@KyleNiblett) September 16, 2012

Tyler Russell is only SEC QB with 8+ TDs and ZERO INTs @aschoffespn
— Kyle Niblett (@KyleNiblett) September 16, 2012

Darius Slay is tied with Jonathan Dowling (WKU) and Sheldon Price (UCLA) for the FBS lead with four interceptions.
— Kyle Niblett (@KyleNiblett) September 16, 2012

Here's the photo gallery from State's 30-24 victory over Troy:

Despite how ugly the win was, State jumped into both the AP and USA Today Top 25 Polls for the first time this season. State entered both rankings at #23, respectively.
Here's your animated drive chart from Saturday's game:

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Animated Drive Chart brought to you by Gameday Depot.

Justin Malone started at Right Guard for Senior Tobias Smith Saturday. Could there be injury concerns with Smith? I imagine it will be asked of Coach Mullen at his weekly press conference this afternoon. I did not notice Tobias at all on the field Saturday, and he is not listed on the game's official list of participants for MSU. Also of note: it will be interesting to see Mullen's comments as to the health of Arceto Clark. Clark took a nasty hit on a crossing route early in the game Saturday night and did not return, although he stayed on the sidelines.
Stat of the game? How about 3 - as in 3 TD passes dropped. State dropped 2 SURE TD passes Saturday night, and 1 that most likely would have gone the distance. Overall the State receiving corps dropped 7 passes, which plagued them severely in the second half. Although we are happy to have come away with a win, that's definitely something that will need to be corrected before opponents Tennessee and Texas A&M come to town in the upcoming months.
State opens as a 35.5 point favorite over South Alabama, according to Wynn (and B Marcello)

Mississippi State is a 35.5-point favorite against South Alabama, according to the Wynn. #entertainmentpurposesonly
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) September 16, 2012

That big matchup State has looming at home on October 13th? It was made a bit smaller Saturday, as the Volunteers of Tennessee took a lump at home, losing 37-20 to Florida in Knoxville. The loss made it eight straight to Florida for the Vols.
Another potentially big matchup in State's schedule was one in week 12 with Arkansas. That matchup has changed dramatically after two weeks, as Arkansas lost to UL-Monroe two weeks ago and followed that up Saturday with a 52-0 loss at home to Alabama. If John L. Smith is still the Razorback coach by the time we play them, then I'll be very surprised.
With 8 TDs so far on the season through 3 games, Tyler Russell already has more TD passes than MSU QB's did... in 10 of the previous 16 entire regular seasons. Russell is on pace to throw for 32 TDs and 2,604 yards for the season. Those averages could also spike after Saturday's game versus South Alabama. Russell is on pace to break the MSU record for passing TD's in a single season... October 20th, half way through the season against Middle Tennessee State. His current pace (217 ypg) would put him at second best all time if he maintains it behind Dave Marler's 220.18 yards per game average in 1978 (all information per the MSU Football Media Guide).
Chad Bumphis, if he increases his average of 78.8 yards per game ever so slightly, could become the first 1,000 yard receiver in MSU history since 1978, when Mardye McDole registered 1,035 yards and 7 TDs on an SEC-leading 48 receptions.
Miss any of our game recaps? Here's Metal Building Dawg's Quick Hits, Justin Sutton's at-the-game recap, and Winstoncountysfinest's game recap. All 3 are suggested reads, my friends.

That's all for today's MSU News and Notes. We'll have more recap material on this past weekend's action, both for MSU and the rest of the SEC, on the blog today and tomorrow, as we begin preparations for South Alabama soon thereafter.

SB Nation - Justin Malone

Thursday Injury Report - South Alabama

MSU News & Notes | Monday, September 17, 2012

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