DKW 86 7,425 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 http://www.al.com/sports/huntsvilletimes/i...4020.xml&coll=1 Croom: Bulldogs finally have bite Saturday, May 20, 2006 By PHILLIP MARSHALL Times Sports Staff pmarsh9485@msn.com Mississippi State ready to compete in SEC, coach says OPELIKA - Sylvester Croom, heading toward his third season as Mississippi State football coach, has a message for the big boys in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs, he says, will be pushovers no more. "I think this is the first time we think we can go in on an even keel in the big-time games," Croom said. "The last two seasons, we weren't really good enough at a lot of positions to compete with the other SEC schools, especially when you consider five of the teams we played last year were in the top 10 the day we played them. "This year, we feel like we can go toe-to-toe with them." Croom, a former All-America center and assistant coach at Alabama and NFL offensive coordinator, took over for Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State in 2004. The first black head football coach in SEC history, he took on a daunting task. "If it was going to be easy, they wouldn't have hired me," Croom said. "Guys don't leave jobs in this conference when things are going well. The program was in tough shape. We've only had three players drafted in the last three years. I think that's an indication of where our talent level has been." Mississippi State was 3-8 in each of the last two seasons, but last season ended on a high that Croom says he believes was a sign of things to come. The Bulldogs pounded arch-rival Ole Miss 35-14 in the game known as the Egg Bowl, breaking four years of Rebel domination in the series. "It was huge," Croom said. "Some of our guys had never even seen the golden egg (trophy). We're going to build a case with no key on it so we don't lose it." Croom says the Bulldogs' talent level will be dramatically higher in the coming season, high enough to take a dramatic step. "We still have to improve our depth and we have to improve our play on special teams," Croom said. "I don't have any question we are going to be better offensively. The guys understand the system better. We have some receivers now so we can throw the football. The big things is we have very good senior leadership. That excites me." Croom was one of dozens of coaches and athletes in town at the invitation of Auburn trustee Jimmy Rane, founder and chief executive officer of Great Southern Wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoAU 1,600 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Regardless of what he says, I still think MSU's going to get shoved all over the field this year by most of the teams it plays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombigbeetiger 223 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 state is going to be better than most folks think,wait and see....the days of an easy time in starkvegas are over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 MSU lost to Maine. Could they get any worse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bammanmr 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 i like croom and i hope they're better, but not too much better. i think what we're going to see with state is what we saw from ole piss in the 90s; a team with good first-team talent, but ZERO depth, that just runs out of gas late in the 3rd quarter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoAU 1,600 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 MSU lost to Maine.Could they get any worse? 243638[/snapback] Not if they are staying in Div 1 - but the question is, will they get any better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietfan 233 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 ...last season ended on a high that Croom says he believes was a sign of things to come. The Bulldogs pounded arch-rival Ole Miss 35-14 in the game known as the Egg Bowl... He takes beating Ole Miss as a sign that they're ready for the Big Boys? I would love to see them just good enough to beat Croom's alma mater, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinCrimson 61 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Croom and MSU will never be a contender... not even a pretender. And no, he'll never beat his alma mater. With that said, I like Sly and I hope he does well over there. I just know that isn't possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaGrad03 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 He said the same exact stuff last year on Finebaum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,425 Posted June 27, 2006 Author Share Posted June 27, 2006 MSU lost to Maine.Could they get any worse? 243638[/snapback] NO, they could only get better. So what Croom is saying is not that unreralistic. When you are the bottom, thereis only one way to go...UP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerOne 1,144 Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Croom and MSU will never be a contender... not even a pretender. And no, he'll never beat his alma mater.With that said, I like Sly and I hope he does well over there. I just know that isn't possible. 243654[/snapback] never say never, Vandy did beat Tenn. The biggest chance of losing is thinking you won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProgRock 0 Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 His job maybe on the line this year,what's he supposed to say "we're going to stink up the field as usual". I see them going maybe 5 wins at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietfan 233 Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 His job maybe on the line this year,what's he supposed to say "we're going to stink up the field as usual". 243753[/snapback] Well, he did learn from the Bear, and Bear was notorious [...among other things ] for downplaying his teams in the press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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