Five random midweek thoughts during a busy time on the sports calendar

It's going to be a busy weekend for Mississippi State athletics' department as almost every one of its teams are in action this weekend.

Mississippi State Mascot Bully during the game between the North Alabama Lions and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

This is a busy time of year for college sports.

Football season is nearing the end of its regular season before playoffs and bowl games, men and women basketball are entering their second weeks, volleyball is in its final week of the regular season, cross country NCAA regionals are Saturday, NCAA tennis championships begin next week and the NCAA women’s soccer tournament begins Saturday.

Throw in some of the professional sports and it’s a sports-lover’s paradise.

It also makes it hard to keep on top of everything. So, for the Midweek Random Thoughts, we’ll try and catch up on some of the things that have fallen through the cracks and highlight some things we may not get a chance to before they happen.

Random Thought #1

Mississippi State’s trip to South Dakota wasn’t very pleasant. No. 16 Iowa State handed the Bulldogs a 96-80 loss Monday night.

The Cyclones forced 26 turnovers by Mississippi State and scored 29 points off of those turnovers.

It’s way too early in the season for any major worries to arise. The Bulldogs did win the rebounding battle, 37-31, and made half of its field goals, which normally leads to a win.

But like in any sport, turnovers lead to losses. Fortunately, turnovers are something that can be corrected.

The Bulldogs will get a chance to right the ship Saturday when Southeastern Louisiana comes to Starkville.

Random Thought #2

If you do want something to worry about, check out ESPN senior writer Joe Lunardi’s latest Men’s Bracketology.

The Bulldogs are still in the tournament, but as a No. 10-seed and was one of the last four teams to receive a bye. Previously, the Bulldogs had been a No. 8-seed.

The latest bracket was after Monday’s loss to Iowa State, so that’s likely the reason for the drop. But, again, it’s still too early to worry about things like this.

Random Thought #3

The SEC Championship volleyball tournament is set to begin November 21 and all 16 SEC teams advance to the tournament.

Based on the current standings, the Bulldogs (16-7, 6-7) would be the No. 10 seed in the tournament. They wouldn’t get a first round bye, but would face the No. 15-seed which would be Vanderbilt currently.

But there’s still time for that to change. Mississippi State has two winnable games left on its schedule. The Bulldogs will host Missouri (16-9, 7-6) on Friday and then host Vanderbilt (6-16, 2-11) on Sunday.

A win against Missouri would move Mississippi State to the No. 9 seed, but it’s only the top eight seeds that receive any byes.

Random Thought #4

Mississippi State fans will need to multi-task if they want to watch the Bulldogs’ two biggest games of the weekend.

The Bulldogs’ football game against Missouri is set for 6:45 p.m., while the soccer team’s first round NCAA Tournament game against Lipscomb is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Hopefully, fans attending the soccer match at MSU Soccer Field will get to see the version of the Bulldogs that was able to start of SEC play with a win against then-No. 1 Tennessee.

Random Thought #5

Mississippi State will have eight runners competing in the NCAA DI South Regional Championships on Friday. They are:

Junior Hunter Anderson, junior Gabrielle Boulay, freshman Nelly Jemeli, freshman Naomi Jepleting, junior Ramat Jimoh, freshman Milicent Kemboi, junior Brooklyn Quansz and junior Louise Stonham.

Jemeli had the highest finish for the Bulldogs at the SEC Championships two weeks ago, finishing in 19th place with a time of 20-minutes, 37.98-seconds. Jepleting was next, finishing in 29th place with a 20:50.84.