MSU won’t let Collins’ departure affect preparations

STARKVILLE — Change can be difficult.

It hasn’t seemed to bother Dan Mullen.

Columbus girls suffer two tough losses

Rokila Wallace did everything right.

With her team trailing Jackson Jim Hill High School 48-46 with six seconds remaining Saturday night at the Joe Horne Columbus Christmas Invitational, the Columbus High guard grabbed a rebound underneath the Columbus basket and raced upcourt, desperately looking to tie the game. She knifed through the defense and lobbed a layup at the rim in traffic as the final horn sounded.

Smith anxious to face hometown school in Orange Bowl

STARKVILLE – After growing up in the shadow of nearby Atlanta, Georgia native Preston Smith was watching closely when bowl selections were made this season.

MSU looks for bounce-back performance in Jackson

STARKVILLE – With the game already decided, Mississippi State point guard I.J. Ready saw an opening for an easy basket. Knifing through the middle of Arkansas State’s defense, the sophomore point guard was uncontested as he drove through the lane to attempt a last-second layup. He then watched helplessly as the ball rolled off the front of the rim.

Special teams have had signature moments for MSU, Georgia Tech

STARKVILLE — Harrison Butker and Quadry Antoine have likely never met. That’s probably not going to change at the Orange Bowl, either.

That’s because it’s unlikely Butker, Georgia Tech’s sophomore kicker and Antoine, a little-used linebacker at Mississippi State, will be on the field at the same time.

MSU football team adds players for 2015

STARKVILLE — Before his team plays Dec. 31 in the Orange Bowl, Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen fortified his roster for 2015 Wednesday.

On the first day of the early signing period for junior college prospects, Mullen welcomed five Bulldogs into the program, including three junior college standouts, including Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College offensive lineman Martinas Rankin, the nation’s highest-rated offensive tackle, according to recruiting service 247sports.com.

MSU men lose at home to Arkansas State

STARKVILLE — Nearly a half-hour after Mississippi State’s home basketball game against Arkansas State on Wednesday night, the Humphrey Coliseum was nearly empty.

There were the usual noises from brooms sweeping up the aisles between the rows of seats, sports writers banging out stories on their laptops, and folding chairs being stowed away.

There also was the sound of basketballs bouncing on the court and the clanging off the rim and the audible sighs of disappointed players, as MSU senior Trivante Bloodman, junior Craig Sword, sophomore I.J. Ready, and freshman Fallou Ndoye shot jump shots and worked to get better.

That’s what a 69-55 loss to Arkansas State will do to a team.

Cowbells ring — are you listening?

Thanks to their team accepting an invitation to the Capital One Orange Bowl, Mississippi State fans will have the opportunity to ring in the new year in Miami — literally.

Cornerbacks helped deliver signature moments for Georgia Tech, MSU

STARKVILLE — If there’s one image that stands out about the Georgia Tech football team’s 10-3 season to this point, it came in Athens, Georgia.

That’s where junior cornerback D.J. White intercepted a pass by quarterback Hutson Mason to preserve a 30-24 win, Georgia Tech’s marquee victory of the season.

Collins leaves MSU to take same position at Florida

STARKVILLE — For the fifth time in six seasons under coach Dan Mullen, the Mississippi State football team is looking for a defensive coordinator.

The position, filled for the past two years by Geoff Collins, is vacant after Collins accepted the same post at Florida. Collins’ move to Gainesville, Florida, was first reported Tuesday morning and confirmed by the school at noon.

McKinney leads MSU’s All-America honorees

STARKVILLE — The rewards continue to roll in for Mississippi State’s Orange Bowl-bound football team.

A week after five Bulldogs were named All-Southeastern Conference performers, three of those players added All-America status to their list of accolades Tuesday.

MSU taking patchwork group of safeties to Orange Bowl

STARKVILLE — J.T. Gray wasted little time.

A freshman defensive back from Clarksdale who moved to linebacker early in fall camp, the original plan from Mississippi State’s coaching staff was to redshirt Gray so he could have four years of eligibility starting next season.

But plans change.

Similarities between linebackers at MSU, Georgia Tech

STARKVILLE — Benardrick McKinney and P.J. Davis have a lot in common.

Both were unheralded two-star recruits out of high school who escaped the attention of most major college football programs. Both have blossomed into all-conference players, McKinney as an All-Southeastern Conference middle linebacker at Mississippi State and Davis as an All-Atlantic Coast Conference linebacker at Georgia Tech. Both will be the centers of attention in the Orange Bowl, when each player leads his defense into the Dec. 31 showdown between the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets.

Notebook: McKinney, Prescott fill out NFL draft interest form

STARKVILLE – Though their decisions on whether to enter the NFL Draft or return to school for their senior seasons have not been made yet, Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott and linebacker Benardrick McKinney are among a handful of Bulldogs curious about their futures.

MSU working younger players into action at bowl practice

STARKVILLE — It was hard to judge which was more impressive, the pass or the catch.

MSU’s Ray wants Daniels to be more selfish

Travis Daniels was feeling it.

Off to a fast start, piling up basket after basket, Daniels looked to the Mississippi State men’s basketball team’s bench and saw his teammates smiling and laughing, enjoying what turned out to be a 25-point win against St. Louis in a game Daniels scored a career-high 21 points.

The next night, it was gone.

Development, youth key as bowl practice begins

STARKVILLE — Before the final curtain closes on one of the greatest seasons in Mississippi State football history, casting calls are being held for 2015.

The auditions begin today.

Offensive lines have been key to success of MSU, Georgia Tech

STARKVILLE — It’s easy to pinpoint record-setting quarterback Dak Prescott as the central cause of the Mississippi State football team’s 10-2 regular season.

It’s also natural to assume the same thing of quarterback Justin Thomas, who has led Georgia Tech to its second Orange Bowl in the past four years.

MSU boasts more experience, productivity at wide receiver

STARKVILLE – One group got better and better as the season progressed, turning into one of the best units on Mississippi State’s 10-2 team that’s bound for the Orange Bowl.

New Hope basketball teams sweep Caledonia

CALEDONIA — Every time he rises up to throw a dunk down, Shemar Johnson feels the energy rise around him.

“It gets our team going, gets me going,” said Johnson, New Hope’s 6-foot-5 senior guard who has become accustomed to delivering momentum-swinging slams. “It’s a great feeling.”

It’s a feeling Johnson felt plenty Tuesday night.