Mississippi State and Southern Miss, two teams desperate for even a little football success, will open their respective seasons Saturday at The Rock in Hattiesburg. State won two games last season. USM won one. Neither won a conference game.

The good news: Somebody has to win this one.

Oddsmakers believe State is the likely victor, installing the Bulldogs as 13.5-point favorites. That seems about right. In this era of NIL and the wide-open transfer portal, the college game has become all about the dollars. From all reports, State likely spends at least 10-fold what USM spends on its football payroll, a word I hate to use in college football but it is what it is.

Nevertheless, this is an intriguing way to start the football season. We’ve got two in-state rivals who used to play every sea

See Full Page