Who is Dak Prescott?

Tonight's Liberty Bowl match up between the Bulldogs of Miss State and the Rice University Owls will give Miss State fans a last look until next season at their up and coming quarterback, Dak Prescott.

While this season he may best be know on the field for his 4th quarter Egg Bowl victory, when an injured Prescott came off the bench, and with a bold move from Coach Dan Mullens on 4th down threw the winning touchdown pass to defeat Ole Miss 17-10.  It has been his courage off the field this season for which Prescott should also be remembered.

Having lost his mother to cancer earlier in the season, the fans of Miss State rallied around their sophomore QB and both player and fan found inspiration.

The youngest of three sons, Dak Prescott was by all accounts exceptionally close to his mother Peggy.  When victory came in the Egg Bowl just one month after her death, Prescott could be seen on the field pointing upward.  While one can only guess, it would seem Prescott was pointing towards perhaps a source of inspiration.  These are the moments when sports figures honor something greater than themselves, something from which they draw courage and faith.

The Liberty Bowl will air today at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN before a crowd of fans in Memphis, TN and Dak Prescott will have a chance to lead his Bulldogs to another trophy.  While there are mixed opinions on Prescott's ability to find consistency on the field (he threw as many interceptions as he did TD's this year) there is something about Dak Prescott that leads many to believe this young quarterback will be a force in the SEC for 2014.

Tim Tebow Hired as Analyst for SEC Network Launching 2014

Photo: Huffington Post

Former Florida Gator QB Tim Tebow has been hired as an analyst for the SEC Network scheduled to launch in 2014.  According to a press release today by ESPN Tebow will host the SEC Nation show dedicated to pregame coverage.

The former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL player has agreed to a multi-year deal for the show scheduled to air in August 2014.  Tebow fans will get a "preshow" appearance January 6th as the former SEC player appears as an analyst for the BCS Championship coverage.

"He will contribute to the 9 a.m. ET edition of SportsCenter, College Football Live (3 p.m.) and College GameDay Built by The Home Depot (7 p.m.). He will also be part of studio coverage for the new College Football Playoff (semifinals and championship game), which begins next season."

The 2014 BCS VIZIO National Championship features Florida State University (his former college in-state rivals) and Auburn University who looks to continue the SEC's string of national championship titles.

According to the article the SEC Network will air 24/7 and a 20 year agreement has been signed between ESPN and the SEC.  Tebow is not "precluded" from playing in the NFL as terms of this agreement.

Merry Christmas SEC Fans!

Craig Sword emerging to lead Miss State Men's Basketball Team

Craig Sword has racked up points this season as a sophomore guard for the Bulldogs to emerge as a leader in scoring for the Miss State men's basketball team.  The Bulldogs (8-2) are showing momentum and Sword is finding a consistent place in their recent wins.

Nicknamed Chicken, Sword has been the leading scorer for the Bulldogs in six straight games, racking up over 20 points in three of those games.

With the rebounding of Gavin Ware and his additional high scoring abilities, Miss State has seen some exciting basketball in this early season play.

Coach Rick Ray in an earlier article noted that Craig "Chicken" Sword was putting up some phenomenal numbers for his Bulldogs.

"Chicken is playing phenomenal at this point in time. I think he is shooting like 80% right now and that's just unheard of for a guard. Those are big-man Wilt Chamberlain type numbers. He's been phenomenal for us."

Credit: HailState.com

Miss State defeated last year's Dunk City team from FGCU 66-53 last week.  The Bulldogs travel to Las Vegas where they play South Florida later today in the 2013 Las Vegas Classic.

SEC action kicks off with Kentucky January 8th as the Bulldogs take the court in Lexington.

Pressure on Auburn to continue the BCS SEC Dynasty

Southeastern Conference

Auburn may have made it to the big dance, but the pressure is on as the SEC continues its legacy for domination in college football titles.

With seven straight National Championships, can Auburn make it #EightStraightSEC?  Many say yes as they march a powerful offense into Pasadena January 6th and close out the BCS era of National Championship games.

While there are mixed opinions on the BCS era and its popularity, one thing is sure - the SEC has dominated this pathway to the national titles.

Looking back it has been strong programs run by coach Nick Saban at both LSU and Alabama who have contributed to titles for the league in 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2012.  Florida, Auburn and Tennessee have also held title(s) over the course of the BCS era.

In fact the SEC has never lost a BCS title to a team outside the conference.  Their conference's only loss was to another SEC team when LSU lost to Alabama January 9, 2012.  The Tide under the leadership of Saban shut out LSU 21-0.

Will Florida State bring home another title?  The odds are not in their favor playing an SEC team, but they remain atop the list of appearances and will take the field with this year's Heisman winner Jameis Winston.

Nick Saban agrees to contract, will Roll with the Tide long term

Nick Saban

The Nick Saban and University of Alabama combination will roll on according to an article last night Saban has agreed to continue as the university's head football coach.

While the official contract numbers have not yet been released, the rumored multi-million dollar deal is pending approval by the board of trustees.  Much fanfare had circulated that Saban might leave his position after their disappointing loss to Auburn that cost the Tide a shot at this year's national championship.

Not only has Saban agreed to a stay on as head coach, the 62 year-old and highest-paid coach in college football said in a statement, "We are excited about the future and the university of Alabama is where I plan to end my coaching career."

Alabama AD, Bill Battle released the following statement, "Coach Saban is the best in the business and has lead our program to the pinnacle of college football."  With two national titles in three years, Saban has brought to Alabama another legacy that looks to continue into the future.

Often criticized for his intense coaching style and comments, Saban has proved he can build winning programs and is arguably the best in the business.

The Crimson Tide will play Oklahoma January 2nd in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Bowl Game selections for BCS tonight

College football fans it is time for bowl selection, and the 2013 season has been a series of twists and turns the past two weeks.  With Alabama's loss to Auburn, and Florida State emerging as undefeated, this has been an unpredictable ending for many fans of the game.

Auburn's win last night in the SEC Championship game over Missouri (59-42) with an outstanding performance by Tre Mason (46 carries, 304 yards, 4 TD), and an upset with Ohio State losing 34-24 to Michigan State opens the door for the last teams standing - Auburn vs Florida State.

Auburn's Cinderella team may take home a trophy and give the SEC another national title.  You can watch all the bowl selection Sunday excitement tonight on ESPN at 8:30 ET.  Where is your team going bowling?

What happened? Alabama lost, end of story or is there more?

While pundits of the sports media contemplate the mystery and meaning of this past weekend's Iron Bowl, the bottom line will always be Alabama lost the game.

However, when your team is undefeated and you are considered the premier football program in the SEC, not to mention an almost improbable finish by Auburn, people are going to look hard for an explanation.  It just cannot be possible the Crimson Tide simply lost a game.  Fans and media are looking for something other than we didn't execute plays well.

So we have come up with some peculiar occurrences that might have effected Saturday night's game.  After all Nick Saban does not simply lose a football game, but when he does Auburn returns the ball 109 yards.

November 2013 UFO sightings were extremely high? Could this be to blame?

And then there is this...

Or maybe, just maybe it wasn't their best game

Seven SEC Teams in Top 25, but will the conference take home a National Title?

Seven SEC teams make this weeks Top 25 Rankings after the Thanksgiving weekend, but many questions with Auburn's upset over Alabama, will the Southeastern Conference take home this year's trophy?  Either way the SEC continues to dominate college football, and did not disappoint its fans this weekend for edge of your seat action.

Here are this weeks rankings:

1.  Florida State
2.  Ohio
3.  Auburn
4.  Alabama
5.  Missouri
6.  Oklahoma State
7.  Stanford
8.  South Carolina
9.  Baylor
10.  Michigan State
11.  Arizona State
12.  Oregon
13.  Clemson
14.  LSU
15.  UCF
16.  Northern Illinois
17.  UCLA
18.  Oklahoma
19.  Louisville
20.  Duke
21.  Wisconsin
22.  Texas A&M
23.  Texas
24.  Fresno State
25.  Georgia

Miss State vs Loyola celebrating a piece of Basketball History today at The Hump

Mississippi State takes on Loyola today at Humphrey Coliseum, and celebrates a game that made an impact in civil rights history.  In March of 1963 the Bulldogs traveled to play the then banned Loyola team, whose roster of black players were the reason for the controversy between the two schools.

At a time in history when neighboring school Ole Miss required the use of federal troops and U.S. marshals to admit a young, black man named James Meredith as a student, when segregation in the South was at an all time fury, and a man named Martin Luther King, Jr. was fighting a peaceful war against racial divides, Miss State did something quite amazing - they got on the plane and made the trip in defiance of a temporary injunction.

Much of the thanks goes to coach Babe McCarthy and the school's president, Dean Colvard.  Along with the sentiment of a large percentage of Mississippi's citizens, Colvard and McCarthy made the decision to allow the team to play.  

The handshake between Joe Dan Gold and Jerry Harkness just before the opening tip-off was symbolic of the "The Game of Change" and one for the history books as the "Maroons" came to town to participate in the NCAA tournament game.  The Loyola Ramblers defeated Miss State 61-51 and went on to win the first televised National Championship game that same year.

Fifty years later the two team remember the game and honor those whose defiance of both law and society forever changed the game of basketball.

Photo from MSU Media Relations

EDITORS UPDATE December 1, 2013:  Final score Miss State 65 Loyola 64 in OT