Author: Craig Ford

Another SEC football coach fired

Brian Kelly (LSU Athletics)

LSU has fired football coach Brian Kelly becoming the third SEC school to get rid of its head coach this season with Arkansas and Florida already making the same move.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports Kelly addressed his team Sunday night following his dismissal, which came one night after the Tigers were blown out by Texas A&M 49-25 dropping the team to 5-3 this season. One of those losses happened in Oxford when Ole Miss defeated LSU 24-19.

Kelly came to LSU from Notre Dame in 2021 and produced a 34-14 record in his four seasons in Baton Rouge. However, his teams never made the College Football Playoff, and there were expectations this would be the season the Bayou Bengals would finally reach the CFP.

LSU started the season 9th in the AP Top 25 college football rankings. The Tigers fell out of the poll with Saturday’s loss.

Bruce Feldman and Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic report Kelly and athletics director Scott Woodward had a disagreement earlier in the day over proposed changes to the coaching staff.

The university says terms of the separation are being negotiated. It’s reported Kelly’s buyout is in the neighborhood of $53 million.

Associate head coach Frank Wilson will coach the team the remainder of this season.

LSU has a bye next Saturday before facing Alabama the following week.

Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde with the big picture look at college football following Brian Kelly’s firing (and it includes Lane Kiffin)

Moves made to make MSU football games safer

Mississippi State University says it’s boosting security efforts at home football games, starting with Saturday’s homecoming game against Texas.

Those efforts include adding more surveillance cameras and increasing the presence of security.

University officials also want people who suspect something is going on that could be a problem to call 911 or call or text (662) 325-2121.

They also ask people coming to the game to carry a valid photo ID and cooperate with those handling security.

Thursday’s announcement follows shootings this month during or after homecoming football games in Mississippi.

A mass shooting after Leland High School’s football game killed seven. Three died in a shooting at Heidelberg High School.

One died in a shooting at Alcorn State University about an hour after the school’s game. No one was killed in the shooting outside Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in the tailgate section of Jackson State’s game.

State executes convicted killer

Charles Ray Crawford (Mississippi Department of Corrections)
Charles Ray Crawford (Mississippi Department of Corrections)

The state of Mississippi executed Charles Ray Crawford Wednesday for the 1993 killing of Northeast Mississippi Community College student Kristy Ray.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections declared him dead at 6:15 p.m. at the State Penitentiary.

Crawford kidnapped and raped the student from Tippah County before taking her life. She was 20. He was 26.

A jury in Lafayette County Circuit Court found him guilty of capital murder a year later. The execution came more than three decades after he was sentenced to die.