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PAGE 8B August 2023
JSU to begin second year under Head Coach Rich Rodriquez
CAMPING WORLD KICKOFF - The 2023 Camping World Kickoff will be a top 10 season opening battle. The game will feature the Eighth ranked Florida State Seminoles and Fifth ranked LSU Tigers. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, Sept. 3 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The game, will air live on ABC. This year’s Camping World Kickoff will mark the 11th all-time contest between the Tigers and Seminoles. The teams’ most recent head-to-head meeting came last September, with Florida State claiming a 24-23 win at the Superdome in New Orleans. “The atmosphere at Camping World Stadium is going to be absolutely electric, and we look to having the eyes of the college football world on Orlando this Labor Day weekend," Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said. For ticket details and additional information visit CampingWorldKickoff.com/Tickets/. AUBURN BASEBALL - The Auburn baseball program is set to participate in the inaugural 2024 Jax College Baseball Classic, which will be played in Jacksonville, FL, on February 23-25. The Tigers will be joined by Virginia, Iowa and Wichita State in the four-team round robin. Auburn will face Iowa at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23. The Tigers will turn around and play Wichita State on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Auburn will conclude the event against Virginia at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25. ROCKET CITY CLASSIC - The Auburn men's basketball team will play reigning Big South Conference champion UNC Asheville in the Rocket City Classic presented by Akima on Saturday, December 13, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. For the first time in 20 years, the Tigers return to the VBC and Huntsville. It will mark the third time in program history to play a neutral-site game in the Rocket City next to Grambling in 2003 and Tennessee Tech in 1989. Auburn is coming off a season that saw the Tigers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, compiling a 21-13 record under head coach Bruce Pearl. New hospitality suites and courtside tickets will be available for the game. Tickets for the Rocket City Classic went on sale on August 16 (CT) on Ticketmaster and at the Von Braun Center Box Office. OLE MISS FOOTBALL - The Ole Miss football team is ranked No. 22 in the 2023 AP Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Rebels will open the 2023 season at home against Mercer on Sept. 2 and the program is set to travel to New Orleans to take on Tulane on September 9. Ole Miss returns back home the following week and will host ACC foe Georgia Tech on September 16 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Lane Kiffin and the Rebels will open SEC play in Tuscaloosa vs. Alabama on September 23 followed by a home contest against LSU on September 30. A home game vs. Arkansas (Oct. 7) opens the month of October followed by an open date (Oct. 14). A road match-up against Auburn on October 21 awaits the Rebels in mid-October before back-to-back home SEC games against Vanderbilt on October 28 and Texas A&M on Nov. 4. Ole Miss will travel to Georgia on November 11 for the first time since 2012 and then host ULM on November 18 to close out the Rebels’ non-conference slate. The Rebels will travel to Mississippi State on Thanksgiving Night (Nov. 23) in the annual Battle for the Golden Egg to close out the regular season. AUBURN GYMNASTICS - The Auburn gymnastics team has announced the home portion of its 2024 schedule. After kicking off the season on the road, the Tigers will host back-to-back SEC meets in January. The Kentucky Wildcats come to Neville Arena on January 12 to kick off the team’s home schedule. Auburn follows with a big meet against defending SEC champion and national runner-up Florida on January 19. Auburn will host three meets in Neville Arena in February, starting with a quad meet on February 2. The Tigers will welcome Temple, Fisk and Talladega to the Plains. The team follows with its rivalry meet against Alabama on February 9. The Tigers have topped the Crimson Tide in three of the last four meetings inside Neville Arena. The final home meet of the year will be held February 23 against Missouri. The contest will serve as the team’s Senior Night. The rest of the 2024 schedule, including away meets as well as postseason competition, will be announced at a later date. ALABAMA GYMNASTICS - Alabama gymnastics was named a 2023 Scholastic All-America team and the program had 16 gymnasts earn individual Scholastic All-America honors/ The Crimson Tide, who finished 10th in the nation last season and second in the Southeastern Conference, earned a 3.66 team grade point average. The announcement marked the 18th year in a row that the Crimson Tide gymnasts have posted a team GPA of 3.4 or higher. The Tide’s 2023 Scholastic All- Americans included NCAA champion and All-American Luisa Blanco, and two-time Olympian and All-American Shallon Olsen, as well as Corinne Bunagan, Ella Burgess, Karis German, SEC champion Gabby Gladieux, Zoe Gravier, All-American Lilly Hudson, Lillian Lewis, Lauren Little, Cameron Machado, Isabella Martin, Sania Mitchell, Jordyn Paradise, Rachel Rybicki and Mati Waligora. With its 16 Scholastic All-Americans in 2023, Alabama has now posted double digit honors the last 13 consecutive years and 17 times since 1999. Overall, 143 Tide gymnasts have earned Scholastic All-America recognition 331 times since the award’s inception in 1991. Over the last decade, a total of 74 Tide gymnasts have earned 172 Scholastic All- America honors. College Notes
The Jacksonville State University football program is transitioning from fall camp into game preparation mode for the 2023 season opener on August 26 at home against UTEP. It will mark Jax State's first game as a member of Conference USA. It will also be the first of six home games in 2023 for the Gamecocks. Jax State Head coach Rich Rodriguez saw some good and some bad at his team's final 2023 scrimmage on the turf of Burgess-Snow Field, but the most important thing for the second-year head coach of the Gamecocks was that he thought his team got better. "I thought the intensity was good at the beginning of the scrimmage but it looked like we got a little tired and a little hot at the end." Rodriguez said. The veteran head coach is pleased with the progress that his team has made since fall camp started on July 26, but he also knows there is a lot of work left to be done before kicking off Jax State's first season in FBS and Conference USA against UTEP. With a roster that features several new faces, Rodriquez and his staff are working to see where those guys fit in the depth chart. "I think we've made steps forward but we still have a lot of young players that have to be in our
two-deep, and they have to progress really well this week," Rodriguez added. "That's going to be a big point of emphasis. We have to get these young guys that haven't played a lot - or played at all - ready to play in the first game." Rodriguez said there's been some scouting on the opponent, but now he and his staff have an idea of what weapons the Gamecocks have in their arsenal for the upcoming season. One of the Gamecocks veterans, senior defensive lineman Jackson Luttrell lit up when he was asked about moving from fall camp into game preparations. "I'm excited about game prep," Luttrell said. "Fall camp is always grueling, the practices are tough and the schedule gets exhausting. I'm really ready to start getting ready for game week. And knowing it is my last ride, everything will be that much more important for me - all the details and trying to make it the best I can in my last year." When any of the Gamecocks are asked about the biggest thing about Rodriguez' practices, they almost always point to the tempo. Senior wide receiver Perry Carter enters his second season at Jax State and his third in Rodriguez's offense after playing the 2021 season for him at ULM. The Houston, TX
Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
JSU Head Coach Rich Rodriquez
native also feels he had a leg up on his teammates after playing for Rodrigez when he was the offensive coordinator of the Warhawks. He's seen more than anyone the difference that tempo can make. "Coach has a lot of plays," Carter said. "He's one of the smartest coaches in the game, so it can be a new play every day. I already knew how he operates and I already knew his system, so I feel like I had an advantage. I already knew the formations and personnel groups, but most of all his tempo. That's the main thing. We want it where nobody can keep up with us." Luttrell credits the Gamecocks offense and the speed in which they operate to making the defense better. He said that fall camp has done a lot, but helping with conditioning is the thing he pointed to right off the bat.
"Getting in shape," he said of the biggest thing he's seen from fall camp. "And our offense's tempo is huge for that. I feel like last year, the first couple of games were almost easy compared to practice from how fast we move and how high-tempo everything is. Carter echoed Luttrell's thoughts when asked about the offensive progression. He pointed out that both the offense and defense were on the same page and expects that to be a factor in helping JSU get ready for the season. "I think the team is doing good and that we've made a lot of good strides with the tempo and everybody being on the same page offensively and defensively," Carter said. "You can see a lot of improvements on both sides of the ball, and I feel like we are ahead of where we were in the spring and where we were last year."
Miss State coach says fans are what makes Starkville special
By Brandon K. Pierce The Sports Ledger
First year Mississippi State Head Football Coach Zach Arnett believes that all his players are an important part of the program, but he also thinks that the Bulldog fan base is one the best in the country. “Fans are a very big part of what makes Starkville, Mississippi such a special place,” he said during the 2023 SEC Media Day. “Our fan base has much to be proud of.” Last year, Mississippi State finished the football season with a winning record of 9-4 and the Bulldogs capped off the season with a 19-10 victory over Illinois on New Year’s Day in the Reliaquest Bowl, which was held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. Mississippi State has the talent to be competitive this coming season, and the program hopes to improve upon last year’s 4-4 SEC record. The Bulldogs are also hoping to reach the college football playoffs, or at least a trip back to the Sunshine State for a New’s Year Day Bowl Game. Mississippi State is set to open the 2023 football season with a home game against Southeast Louisiana on Saturday, September 2. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
The Mississippi State Bulldogs enter the field for a game last year in Starkville, MS.
Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter (#27) follows his blockers during the Tiger's game against Western Kentucky last fall. Hunter rushed for 675 yards as a sophomore in 2022, including 109 yards and a touchdown against WKU. Auburn is expecting an even better season from Hunter this fall, who was recently named third team All-SEC. Auburn is set to open the 2023 football season on Sept. 2 against UMass. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Jordan Hare Stadium. Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger Auburn set for 2023 football season
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