Right Place at the Right Time

BY JIMMIE McDOWELL

Hattiesburg---Boise State , unbeaten and untied, and nationally ranked, gave Southern Mississippi a severe spanking before a home crowd estimated at over 30,000, to continue its bid for another Bowl game. Hopes for a post-season appearance by the Golden Eagles dimmed to the chagrin of the Black and Gold.
Meanwhile Mississippi State's win over previously unbeaten Vanderbilt sets the stage for a fine finish for the Bulldogs, a repeat, perhaps, of 2007.
Enjoying an open date Ole Miss has perfect Alabama right where it wants to--a possible repeat of a road victory in Tuscaloosa matching the shocking route of Florida in Gainesville. The Rebels chances of beating LSU in Baton Rouge also looks much better after the Bayou Bengal Tigers were battered by the Florida Gators.
Ole Miss invades Arkansas as well and the Porkers are feeling better after socking Auburn on the Plains, giving Bobby Patrino his best win since he replaced Houston Nutt in Fayetteville.
Ole Miss and State have to finish with a flourish to get into the Bowl picture and it could boil down to the Thanksgiving finale at Vaught Hemingway Stadium for either team.
Southern meanwhile hits the road to play Rice after three straight losses. Jeff Bower led USM to ten bowl trips in 11 years and then was relieved of his duties. If Bower wants to coach again I think he will get that opportunity after this season ends at another school who has to be impressed by his over-all record.
The 1958 perfect record national champion team will celebrate its 50th anniversary this fall. Members of that team had an enjoyable gathering at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame earlier this month to discuss the Reunion. Despite the loss of star running back Bo Dickenson who turned pro after his junior season hurt but George Sekul, J.C. Arban, Richard Johnson, and others took up the slack and Pie Vann and his staff masterminded one of their best coaching jobs ever.
As a Jackson Sports Editor I suggested that two perfect record teams should play in the Sugar Bowl, LSU and Mississippi Southern. Pepsodent Paul Dietzel was not interested in his Baoy Bengal Tigers playing the Southerners. There were not as many bowl games then as now so rather than go back to the Tangerine Bowl the 1958 Black and Gold decided if it could not play LSU they would stay home--and did.,
The 1958 team compares with the 1953 Giant Killers which beat SEC powers Alabama and Georgia quarterbacked by Bart Starr and Zeke Bratkowski. The 1953 Black and Gold suffered a Halloween night setback to Spook Murphy's Tigers. There were even fewer bowl games then and the 1953 team felt it should play at least in the Gator Bowl, but were not invited. The only invitation came from the Sun Bowl in El Paso where they had played the previous year and lost to College of the Pacific.
The 1953 team chose not to go to El Paso in a meeting with Athletic Reed Green and Coach Vann. Green asked me to talk to the team. I told him I would but only if the players and I were in the room. I told the team that we had beaten Alabama and should be playing Rice in the Cotton Bowl, but Alabama, the SEC champion, was invited instead.
I told them the only invitation we received was a return trip to El Paso and you older players know you did not play up to expectations and could go back and make up for this poor showing. Then I looked the freshmen on the team in the eye and said: " You boys who have never been to Juarez and saw those Senoritas, well, boys, you have not lived yet"
The vote was unanimous to return to El Paso. I wanted to go back as well as a single, ex-navy gunner.
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