Crimson White

I have a message for Mississippi State: You suck! Get out of my conference.

How about this? You leave and go to a conference where you can lose to teams such as Tulane every year.

Seriously, can we expect a team like Mississippi State to really stay in the SEC with two shutout losses and then a loss to Tulane? While they didn't lose to UAB this week, it was still too close of a game for comfort.

The SEC has a tradition of excellence when it comes to athletics, and Mississippi State continues to fall short. Sure, they might be pretty good at volleyball, and they were good at baseball and basketball at one time, but that's just not good enough. The focus of SEC sports is football, and Mississippi State just can't compete.

A little history comes from this claim also. Tulane, the team that Mississippi State lost to last weekend, left the SEC in 1965 after almost a decade of futility. The year that Tulane left the SEC, they were also held scoreless their first two games, ultimately being shut out a total of five times that year.

How many seasons like this does Mississippi State need to get the point?

Look for Mississippi State to be shut out by LSU, West Virginia and Georgia. That would be five shut out losses.

Realistically, Mississippi State only has two more chances to win another game this year: Division AA Jacksonville State and Kentucky, and they could lose both of those games, too.

When Tulane left, they went independent for a while in football and started the Metro Conference for the rest of its sports. They merged with the Great Midwest Conference in 1995 to form Conference USA.

You might ask what team I suggest we get to replace the Maroon Bulldogs. I say that we trade for a C-USA team. I thought about Houston or Memphis, and both could be good schools to have, but since we already have two Tennessee schools and we aren't really a part of Texas, we should pick up another Mississippi school: Southern Mississippi.

One concern about Southern Mississippi moving to the SEC from C-USA is that they might not be able to compete on the SEC level. Well, they could do better than Mississippi State on almost all levels, predominantly football.

Southern Mississippi has a larger student population than Mississippi State and has a very strong shot at winning their conference this year. They might even make it to a bowl game, something Mississippi State hasn't done in recent memory.

If Mississippi State fans can swallow their pride, they would realize that this would be a great opportunity for them. Go to C-USA, start winning more than one or two games a season and more kids are going to want to play for you.

It works out very well for C-USA, which now has the fan base and publicity of such a move. A school like Mississippi State could definitely help them out.

For Southern Mississippi, what could boost their recruiting and fan base more than being in the SEC? Start winning a few games and developing some rivalries, and you'll have a much stronger fan base and a much more profitable athletic program.

Finally, for the SEC, it is time for us to protect our dignity. Our schools don't lose games to Tulane. If we want to continue to be the best of the athletic world, then we need to replace our weak links.

Some people might question my motives for wanting Mississippi State to leave.

Others might say that I am a Southern Mississippi fan or that I just especially don't like Mississippi State. I am from Alabama, and I have no motive other than wanting the SEC to remain the dominant force that it is.

Bobby Bozeman is a contributing writer for The Crimson White.

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