24

Saturday night could not have brought me greater joy if Ed McMahon had been standing on my doorstep with a check for 22.4 million dollars. (That may or may not have been a gross overstatement on my part.)

Why?

Because this happened.

And then, this happened.

And Ole Miss lost. Which was really the icing on the proverbial football-shaped cake, if you ask me. And y'all, I've been snacking on that cake ever since. And it is G-O-O-D.

A few Monday morning SEC football notes for you:

- All but one SEC West team (can we guess who?) are in the top 25. Only one SEC East team (South Carolina, yay for the Beamers!) is still ranked in the top 25.

- Two weeks ago, everyone (who played) in the West won and everyone in the East (who played) lost. My friends, the SEC tide has turned.

- There are three SEC teams (Auburn, Alabama, LSU) in the top 8 of the BSC standings - no other conference has more than one. Thanks to @SECSportsUpdate for that tidbit of info.

- MSU is ranked for the first time in nine years. The last time the Bulldogs were ranked, I was a freshman in college. And then Florida whooped our hineys, 52-0, in the swamp, and that was the end of our top 25 days. Until now.

- The last time MSU won in The Swamp? 1965. That's a long beating. A long one.

- Feast your eyes on this lead in the game recap:

"GAINESVILLE, Fla. - No intimidation in the Swamp on Saturday. None at all.
In a venue where Florida has historically flexed its muscles with ease against opposing foes, on this particular night it was Mississippi State delivering blow after to blow en route to a 10-7 upset against the No. 22-ranked Gators in front of stunned crowd of 90,517 at Ben Griffin Stadium."

I didn't know Joe Galbraith could be so eloquent.

(Meanwhile, ESPNU is showing the replay of this game and my office TV is tuned and locked in.

Also, this guy...

Vick Ballard. Also known as, a maroon-colored mack truck with a turbo engine. And also known as, officially, my favorite 2010 Mississippi State Bulldog. This kid, this kid is mucho talented. And I'm so glad that Dan Mullen saw something in this kid that no one else saw because, as much as I would have loved Cam Newton to be our quarterback this year (no offense to Chris Relf and Tyler Russell, because I think those two are the best QBs Mississippi State has seen in a sweet forever), I'm glad Mullen got his claws in this one.

I've said it before, and been cautioned about saying it again, but Vick Ballard has Anthony Dixon/Jerious Norwood type qualities and he's going to do great things for Mississippi State football.

In summary, I see a bright future for Mississippi State football. Hopefully, we respond well to the success and make ourselves bowl eligible with a win over UAB this weekend. Then, let's take care of Kentucky, shock the world against Alabama, have a pig roast the week after, and then get rid of the black bear infestation that has come upon the state of Mississippi within the last week.

And GO SEC! (Boo Ole Miss!)