Mississippi State’s looking to bounce back from a disappointing 7-6 record in 2011, and got off to a solid start on that end on Saturday. While the Bulldogs’ overall season started smoothly, however, their pregame “fire up the crowd” ritual did… not, so much.

Former Mississippi State running back Vick Ballard had a bit of trouble coming out of the gate Sunday at the NFL Combine, stumbling into a tripod on his first 40-yard dash attempt. Ballard would eventually run a 4.65, 16th best among the 25 running backs present at the combine. Side note: here’s what a good 40 looks like.

An early frontrunner for football catch of the weekend comes courtesy of Mississippi State’s Chris Smith, who somehow holds onto the ball after being flipped in mid-air by a South Carolina defender. The play would be reviewed — and it would hold up.

The hedges that surround either side of the field at Georgia’s Sanford Stadium like a set of parentheses stand among the most iconic sights in college football. Don’t think, though, that they’re just for aesthetics – Mississippi State’s Nickoe Whitley found another use for the iconic bushes.

LSU sophomore safety Eric Reid made his presence felt last night against #25 Mississippi State, laying a booming (and clean!) hit on Mississippi State running back Vic Ballard.

The third-ranked Tigers stuffed the Bulldogs’ rushing attack, which had been ranked first in the SEC heading into last night’s game, and won 19-6. Up next: the Mountaineers of West Virginia, ranked 18th in the country.

You might not think a game that produced a 41-34 score would have featured football’s biggest hit of the weekend, but the above (illegal) shot on Auburn’s Emory Blake by Mississippi State safety Nickoe Whitley fits the bill, we think.

D.J. Gardner was a big get for Mississippi State basketball. Rivals ranked the small forward as the 64th-best player in the entire country for the class of 2011. Scout rated him a four-star prospect as well. Now, before it began, his Bulldogs career is over…and Gardner did not go quietly.

It was recently decided that Gardner would redshirt his freshman season. Gardner was apparently okay with the redshirt itself – just not how he found out about it. He thought coaches lied to him. He let the world know it…profanely.

Recently, a radio personality named Scott Moore said he’d heard tapes that made it clear former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton knew he was at the center of a pay-for-play scheme during his recruitment. Is he right? That’s another story.

Scott Moore, a Southern sports radio personality, made the media rounds over the last couple days to discuss the ongoing Cam Newton-Auburn-Mississippi State situation – and if there’s anything to what he said, the story’s far from over.

Hey, remember when Mississippi State cheerleader Taylor Corley posed for Playboy, but it looked like she’d be allowed the remain on the squad? Well, you can forget that.