Mississippi State is relying heavily on its defense this season, as it has in the last few years. The Bulldogs are out of bowl contention just a season removed from an 8-5 season and their first bowl win in seven years. Arkansas looks to remain in the race for a 6-6 season and bowl eligibility, while the Bulldogs will be looking to shatter the end of coach Bobby Petrino’s first season with the Hogs.

Arkansas may play two quarterbacks this week, and that’s been all the rage in the Natural State, but what’s been going on in Starkville, Miss.?

Veazey fills us in on the latest at Bulldog Land.

SLOPHOUSE: Give us a brief overview of the Mississippi State season, the state of affairs and how the fans have been reacting to the fact that there’s yet another postseason without a bowl coming up. How did the Bulldogs go from an eight-win season to yet another possible three-win finish?

KYLE VEAZEY: I’m not sure that can be handled briefly, but I’ll try my best. Bottom line: State’s offense still can’t score enough points for the Bulldogs to win. State benefited from some good bounces last year and have gotten bad ones this year, and MSU’s offense gives the team a small margin to survive those bounces. There was an incident in the offseason with gunfire on campus that claimed five players for 2008. Three, and maybe four, of those guys would be starting right now, and State’s depth, while improved over past seasons, still can’t overcome something like that.

Oh, and then there’s the little matter of special teams snafus, which have popped up at inopportune times especially over the last two losses. Add it together, and it’s 3-7.

SH: Is Coach Sylvester Croom in danger of losing his job or is he pretty safe for another year? Why?

KV: There’s danger, yes. How much? Now THERE’S a tough question to answer with any degree of definition. It’s firmly up in the air as to what will happen at the end of the year.

SH: Why can’t Mississippi State score the points it needs? Is it talent, the system or, as it seems from the outside looking in, a curse?

KV: Those around the offense, Croom included, have said this offense requires 11 perfect assignments on every play. This year, it hasn’t gotten that. Many fans wonder if it’s just flat out the wrong offense to use in college, with this talent.

SH: Really, who’s the answer at quarterback - Tyson Lee or Wesley Carroll?

KV: Lots of people think the answer is Tyler Russell - a senior at Meridian High School who seems firm in his commitment to Mississippi State. He’ll get a chance to play next year and win the job. In the meantime, State has gotten more consistent play from Tyson Lee in 2008 than Wesley Carroll, which has been an interesting story to follow.

SH: The defense at MSU has been strong the last few years. Has the defense been living up to expectations this season with a change in coordinators?

KV: I think so, yes. It played Alabama pretty tough last week and is ranked 19th in the country in total defense and 47th in scoring defense. One thing it hasn’t done this year is been opportunistic - man, I hate that word - in terms of turning turnovers into points, or getting turnovers, period. But can you really count on that year in, year out, anyway?

SH: Has the defense been preparing differently for both Casey and Nathan Dick at QB for the Hogs or does it really matter?

KV: I’m not sure that it matters, but I’m sure that they’re preparing for any and all possibilities.

SH: Who do you think will impact the game on offense for the Bulldogs? Why?

KV: I look for State to get Anthony Dixon the ball a lot Saturday, which is something it hasn’t done much of this season. He’s a powerful runner and can rack up yards in bunches if he goes straight ahead and has good blocking.

SH: Who do you think will impact the game on defense for the Bulldogs? Why?

KV: Dominic Douglas at middle linebacker is a team leader and can impact a game. He had six tackles in the first quarter alone against Alabama.

SH: Give us one word to describe the Mississippi State Bulldogs this season.

KV: Perplexing.

SH: Give us one word to describe the Arkansas Razorbacks this season.

KV: Regrouping.

SH: Give us your score prediction and how you see the game unfolding.

KV: I have a time-honored policy of not offering predictions, one that I’m not going to break here. I think this game hinges on an intangible: In a matchup of 3-7 and 4-6 teams, who’s motivated to win more?

SH: Thanks for the time, Kyle.

– Brandon Marcello
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(FINAL)

Arkansas’ Courtney Fortson scored a team-high 16 points and forward Michael Sanchez had his first career double-double to propel the Hogs to a 2-0 start to the season.

The difference in the game was rebounding, which the Hogs had a plus-15 advantage and the play of Sanchez and Fortson during different stretches of the game. Rotnei Clarke was shut down and hit just 2 of 8 shots and failed to connect on a 3-pointer. UC-Davis just hounded him all night.

Make sure and check out the Northwest Arkansas Times Friday for more from the game. Arkansas travels to Missouri State Saturday for the Bears’ opening of their new arena. That should be an interesting one.

Arkansas 61, UC-Davis 52

(second half)

8:40 p.m.: Cal-Davis can’t seem to hit a shot for stretches, but can hit back-to-back 3-pointers and they get right back in this game.

Arkansas isn’t helping matters with missed layups and ill-advised jumpers. Rotnei Clarke is 1 of 7 from the field and hasn’t hit one trey. It’s been up to the UA big men and guards Courtney Fortson and Stefan Welsh in this one.

But those same guys are making mistakes and committing turnovers. Forward Michael Washington, in fact, just committed a turnover.

We’ll see you after the game. There’s 5 minutes remaining.

Arkansas 48, UC-Davis 44

(second half)

8:18 p.m.: Talk about a heck of a 13 seconds. Arkansas’ Michael Washington fouled Joe Harden on a 3-pointer and coach John Pelphrey went nuts on the foul call and drew a technical foul with 16:21 remaining. What resulted was five free throw conversions for the Aggies. But then Rotnei Clarke took a hard foul from Kyle Brucculeri in the corner on a 3-pointer that rimmed out on the very next possession. He hit all three free throws.

UC-Davis is doing a better job cutting to the lane. They got a dunk from Mark Payne after such a cut to the lane on the possession after Clarke’s three free throws and Dominic Calegari swished a trey at the 13:42 mark to cut the UA’s lead to 48-44.

I’ll try to update once more before the game ends and I go to the media room for post-game interviews.

Arkansas 36, UC-Davis 27

(halftime)

7:47 p.m.: Courtney Fortson went off there for a while, but the Hogs cooled down a bit when they switched to a four-guard look late in the first half.

Fortson scored nine of Arkansas’ 11 points between the 7:21 and 3:56 marks. Fortson hit the Hogs’ first 3-pointer during that stretch as well to give the UA a 33-16 lead.

UC-Davis guard Joe Harden, who had been relatively quiet earlier, converted three baskets in the final 3 minutes to help cut the halftime deficit to 36-27.

UC-Davis was rushing quite a few shots early in their supposed “Princeton” offense, but started to slow things down and move the ball late. If the Aggies can keep doing that, they may be able to climb back into this game.

I think it’ll be very interesting to see how the UA comes out of halftime. Does coach John Pelphrey stick with a guard-heavy lineup?

Fortson is leading the Razorbacks with 12 points. Forward Michael Sanchez is not that far behind with 8, but he picked up two fouls.

Arkansas hit 48.5 percent of its shots and held UC-Davis to 33.3 percent.

See you in the second half.

Arkansas 22, UC-Davis 10

(first half)

7:22 p.m.: Arkansas has attacked inside tonight and it hasn’t just been forwards Michael Washington and Michael Sanchez. Rotnei Clarke, Courtney Fortson and Stefan Welsh have been slashing to the basket. Welsh blew by one man to give the Hogs a 16-10 lead with 11:57 remaining in the first half.

Sanchez took the rebound of a Jason Henry long two-pointer and converted a layup to give the Hogs their largest lead of the first half so far, 18-10, with 11:16 remaining.

Check that, Welsh found Sanchez open down low for two dunks out of a timeout. It’s 22-10 Hogs with 9:37 remaining.

The Hogs are 10-of-16 inside the 3-point arc.

Pre-Game

6:11 p.m.: Arkansas and UC-Davis will tip off in less than an hour. Keep checking back here for some notes on the action.

This should be an interesting ball game to watch for the fans and an interesting one, I’m sure, to critique for the UA coaches tomorrow.

UC-Davis’ Princeton offense could spell trouble for the young Razorbacks, who have been suspect at times on defense in their season opener and, especially, during the exhibition season.

The Aggies have proven to be dangerous as I mentioned Tuesday. UC-Davis led UW-Milwaukee, 51-27, on Saturday at halftime, but lost 81-75. They also led Iowa State by 14 on Friday before falling, 61-58. On Sunday, the squad beat Loyola Maymount, 64-55. The games were a part of the World Vision Classic in Ames, Iowa.

Arkansas coach John Pelphrey even said Tuesday, “This will not be a blowout, this will not be a non-competitive match.”

UC-Davis is led by sophomore guard Joe Harden (6-8, 210), who transferred from Notre Dame. He’s averaging a double-double with 15.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in the school’s first three contests.

– Brandon Marcello

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The head coach met with the media after practice this afternoon and said he would decide on whether to start senior Casey Dick or brother Nathan Dick, the redshirt freshman, when he meets with the quarterbacks Friday.

“I’ll tell them tomorrow when we’re on the trip and we’re away from all of y’all,” Petrino told the media after practice Thursday.

Both could play against Mississippi State, Petrino said. Petrino likened the situation to his Louisville days, when he would sometimes replace the starter in the second quarter until halftime.

“There’s a possibility we might play them both,” Petrino said. “They both practiced well this week and I liked what I’ve seen from each one of them at times.”

The brothers have been “energized” this week during the competition, Petrino said

– Brandon Marcello
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Jones will soon undergo surgery on a torn ligament underneath his left big toe, according to Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com.

Felix Jones will not don the Star again for the Cowboys this season. (Photo by Associated Press)

Jones was originally sidelined Oct. 12 because of a hamstring injury.

Here’s more:

Jones returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday, but the team now says that was to evaluate his ability to play with the toe injury. It is the first time the team confirmed Jones had a setback during rehab for the hamstring, which has healed.

Tough news for the rookie and speedy back. I mentioned just this morning that it had been a tough year for Jones and Darren McFadden. McFadden, who had suffered two big toe injuries this season, returned to action for Oakland last week after missing three games.

Jones was the talk of D-Town at the beginning of the season. He became the first Cowboy to score touchdowns in his first three games as a rookie. He’ll end his rookie season with 266 rushing yards, three touchdowns and a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD.

– Brandon Marcello
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Before you give your pick, lets recap the South Carolina picks from two weeks ago. Arkansas never seemed to get anything going on offense and South Carolina’s defense beat up the Razorbacks. They even knocked quarterback Casey Dick out of the game in a 34-21 win.

Brandon Marcello of the Northwest Arkansas Times was the closest “expert,” predicting a 34-21 Gamecocks win. Reader wyohog was the closest in our comments section with the prediction of a 21-17 South Carolina win. He was the only commenter to pick USC.

With that, I open it up for your Arkansas-Mississippi State projections.

Give us a stat line, your comments and whatever else comes across your noggin. And don’t forget your score prediction.

Here’s how we see it:

Times staff picks

Arkansas (4-6, 1-5) at South Carolina (3-7, 1-5)

Brandon Marcello
Arkansas 17, Mississippi State 10

Terry Wood
TBD

Joe West
TBD

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Denver Broncos fullback Peyton Hillis (22) is tackled by Miami Dolphins safety Yeremiah Bell (37) Nov. 2 in Denver. The Broncos lost rushers Michael Pittman and Andre Hall for the season during the game. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File)

McFadden was sidelined for nearly a month with two toe injuries and Jones’ hamstring has been a problem since Oct. 12. McFadden returned to the field Sunday, but logged only three carries for 13 yards against Miami. Jones’ hope of returning to the field for the first time in more than a month seemed to be strong this week, but he recently suffered a toe injury, according to a report from the Dallas Cowboys.

So that leaves Hillis and McFadden in the strangest of circumstances. Hillis, once so deep on the depth chart for the Denver Broncos that you may have needed a few minutes to find his name, has more touchdowns than McFadden and Jones.

That will happen when five — yes, five — tailbacks yield to injury in Denver and your two former college mates are sitting on the sidelines in Oakland and Dallas. Hillis, now with three touchdowns this season, rushed for two scores in a 24-20 win at Atlanta Sunday.

McFadden will get a chance to rectify that touchdown total head-on Sunday, when his Oakland Raiders travel to Denver.

Here’s more from the Rocky Mountain News:

As much as McFadden expressed frustration at his own inability to stay on the field, he, too, is “proud” of what Hillis has accomplished. But he’s not surprised, though he was shocked Hillis was drafted 227th overall in the seventh round, 223 spots after McFadden was taken.

“Coming out of high school, me and Peyton were 1-2 in the state of Arkansas in rushing. . . . At Arkansas, he ran the ball several times,” McFadden said. “So I knew he’s very capable of running the ball.”

Hillis and McFadden got a few chuckles when describing each other in the story. Both were pretty good.

“I haven’t seen him go to a game this year,” McFadden said Wednesday, punctuating his words with a chuckle. “But I can imagine he’s going to have a button-up shirt on with the top three buttons not buttoned, chest hanging out and his neck showing - and wearing cowboy boots”

Hillis then got a chance to poke a little fun later in the article.

“How would he be dressed?” Hillis asked. “Some Fubu jeans, an Oshkosh B’Gosh shirt and some braids. That’s how he’d be dressed.”

We’ll see who gets the final laugh Sunday. The game airs at 3:05 p.m. on CBS.

– Brandon Marcello
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Here’s a synopsis:

Down the Stretch (Episode 26): Northwest Arkansas Times sports editor Terry Wood and sportswriter Brandon Marcello discuss Arkansas’ battle at quarterback, the return of Michael Smith and the Razorbacks’ first basketball game of the season.

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– Brandon Marcello
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Marcus Monk, right, played for the basketball Hogs as a freshman during the 2004-05 season.

Monk may be able to join the team for practices at the end of the fall semester at the UA. The UA’s finals testing schedule ends Dec. 17, according to the UA Web site.

Pelphrey was interested in the prospect in October but wasn’t too sure of the technicalities of adding Monk, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Chicago Bears in April, to the roster.

But that looks to be clearing up.

“I fully anticipate that happening,” Pelphrey said of Monk becoming eligible to play with the team. “I don’t know if there is a final word but I haven’t seen anything yet that will get in the way to stop that.”

Best case scenario, Monk could play in the Hogs’ game Dec. 17 against Austin Peay at Bud Walton Arena. That probably won’t happen, though. He does need a little practice before he gets in a game. As Pelphrey simply put it, “I have never seen him bounce a ball.”

The Razorbacks have 11 scholarship players this season. Monk could help with that lack of depth.

“Worst case scenario, we’re getting added depth to our basketball team,” Pelphrey said.

Monk holds the school record for career touchdown receptions (27) and spent the summer with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants organizations before he was cut. Monk was a two-sport star at Arkansas in his freshman season in 2004 and played sparingly for the basketball team during that time.

Photo by Andy Shupe, Northwest Arkansas Times

– Brandon Marcello
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John Pelphrey

“This will not be a blowout, this will not be a non-competitive match,” Pelphrey said this afternoon.

One just has to look at a box score to see why the Aggies present quite a challenge for the Hogs. UC-Davis led UW-Milwaukee, 51-27, on Saturday at halftime, but lost 81-75. They also led Iowa State by 14 on Friday before falling, 61-58. Both games were a part of the World Vision Classic in Ames, Iowa.

On Sunday, the squad beat Loyola Maymount, 64-55.

So why the successful stretches in games and the oh-so-close to 3-0 start? The Aggies run a Princeton style offense. Many of their frontcourt guys shoot three-pointers and they will look to attack gaps in the Razorbacks’ defense, something the young UA team struggled with in their season opener last week.

“It’ll be a battle of styles, which system can win out,” Pelphrey predicted. “Because of their handling and passing skills, we’re going to find our selves on defense quite a bit.”

UC-Davis is led by sophomore Joe Harden, who transferred from Notre Dame. He’s averaging a double-double with 15.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in the school’s first three contests.

Defense is the “concern right now” with the UA, Pelphrey said. The coach called UC-Davis’ offense “unique” and “different to an extreme.” They tend to take advantage of fastbreaks on missed baskets, which lead to layups, 3-pointers and, when the opponent gets frustrated, free throw opportunities, Pelphrey said.

“We can’t get with the buffet scoring opportunities with this game,” Pelphrey said.

– Brandon Marcello
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Casey Dick

Casey Dick, who suffered a concussion against South Carolina Nov. 8, was held out of practice last week. His younger brother took the majority of the snaps in practice and it seems like he’s impressing his coaches. Even with Casey back in action at practice Sunday, the siblings split repetitions.

Petrino said the opening of the starting job was partly because of Casey’s concussion and his performance of late.

“Kind of a combination,” Petrino said Monday afternoon. “We want to make sure that Casey is back healthy. We do like the way Nathan played when he came in. It wasn’t Casey’s best game of the year against South Carolina. He certainly had some mistakes prior to getting hit in the head. And also we want to make sure that Mississippi State has to prepare for both of them.”

Nathan Dick

Casey Dick has thrown for a career high 2,389 yards, but has also tossed just 11 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions this season.

Petrino said he felt “confident” in both bros, no matter who gets the nod Saturday. He also wouldn’t rule out rotating the siblings in and out during the game Saturday.

“I don’t anticipate doing that,” Petrino said. “But who knows?”

Make sure and read the Northwest Arkansas Times for more tomorrow. Special thanks to Razorbacks beat writer Nate Allen for tossing a few quotes our way.

– Brandon Marcello
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