Check out GameDay in today’s Daily Journal for more …

MSU:Pegues eager to get back on field
By Brad Locke
Daily Journal

STARKVILLE – Derek Pegues was feeling miserable already.

As the clock wound down on Mississippi State’s stunning 22-14 loss to Louisiana Tech last Saturday,
Pegues exited his living room and stepped outside, leaving behind his family to watch the bitter end.

“I couldn’t watch it,” the MSU senior free safety and kick returner said.

He’d seen enough.

He’d seen Wade Bonner muff a kickoff. He’d seen Jamayel Smith do the same with a punt.

“I was slapping myself, because I felt if I had been out there, I would’ve made those plays, and we probably would’ve been in position to win the game,” said Pegues, who was suspended for the game for missing too many classes.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Pegues received text messages from several teammates expressing a what-if sentiment.

Pegues’ response: Blame it on me.

His penance: Be the leader he couldn’t be before or during the game.

The suspension left Pegues hog-tied. The senior is the bellcow of the defense, but leading up to the Louisiana Tech game, he wasn’t much of a rallying point.

“In early practice and training camp, he didn’t say very much,” MSU coach Sylvester Croom said. “He wasn’t in a position to be vocal because he knew he wasn’t going to play.”

That all changed Monday. At an early-morning practice, he was the old Derek Pegues, spreading energy and encouragement to his teammates as they began preparations for today’s opponent, Southeastern Louisiana (1-0).

“Coach Croom told me I’m still a leader on this team, and I know my role,” Pegues said. “I’m just trying to be that leader, be that voice, get the guys ready.”

Anything less than a dominant performance today will unacceptable to a concerned Bulldog fan base, and having Pegues on the field as much as possible will obviously aid that effort. He will return both punts and kickoffs, as he did last year.

“He’s our best football player,” Croom said. “I fully expect his presence to make an impact in a lot of ways.”

The absence of Pegues, who made five interceptions last season, wasn’t as tangibly felt in the secondary last week. Zach Smith, Pegues’ replacement, played well, and strong safety Keith Fitzhugh had two picks.

As important as Pegues’ measurable contributions will be his ability to bolster the Bulldogs’ shaken confidence. The Tech loss notwithstanding, Pegues believes MSU is capable of great things this season.

“I think we have a great chance of competing for an SEC championship,” he said. “We had a couple of setbacks, but we’re going to move on from here.”

Pegues plans to be there every step of the way.

OLE MISS:Today’s forecast: Flashback to ’06

By Parrish Alford
Daily Journal
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – When Riley Skinner thinks back on his visit to Oxford, it’s a very pleasant memory.

Wake Forest was 3-0 at the time but hadn’t secured the respect of the football public.
That would change in the months to come, as dominating Ole Miss 27-3 helped jumpstart an ACC championship season in 2006.

“When we talk about that game we laugh, because we only threw the ball five times, and three were screens,” Skinner says. “Our coaches wanted to test our offensive line, their toughness. We pounded the ball up the middle the whole game.”

Skinner was 4-for-5 passing, but Wake rushed for 240 yards on 53 carries in a game delayed for 1 hour, 52 minutes by a thunderstorm.

The Demon Deacons (1-0) are ranked No. 20 for today’s rematch at 2:30 p.m. at BB&T Field.

Weather will likely play a role again. The campus sits on the western edge of the projected impact area of Hurricane Hanna, but the storm is expected there to be more of a rain event.

The Rebels (1-0) worked with a wet ball in practice this week.

“It really puts a premium on protecting the football, all the center-quarterback exchanges, all the handing off,” Ole Miss offensive coordinator Kent Austin said.

The Rebels had no turnovers and no offensive penalties in their season-opening 41-24 win over Memphis.

They were very successful from the “Wild Rebel” formation, an addition by new coach Houston Nutt in which wide receiver Dexter McCluster takes a shotgun snap and reads the defense.

Rainy conditions could have an effect on how often the formation is used. Ole Miss scored two touchdowns off 10 Wild Rebel plays last week.

A Wake Forest defense with eight fifth-year seniors on its two-deep roster limited Baylor to 2.8 yards per rush in a 41-13 win last week.

“If we execute it we can get it done any time,” McCluster said. “A lot of people will be keying on it, but if we focus and get done what we have to do, it will be very productive.”

While the Deacons ran right at Ole Miss two years ago, they were average in the run game at Baylor with just 3.5 yards per carry.

“We didn’t run it the way we wanted to, and we’ve worked on that a lot this week,” Skinner said.
Wake Forest did pass it, however. Skinner was 27-for-36 for 220 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions.

He completed 72 percent of his passes last year to lead the nation.

Not bad for a guy who was an afterthought, third-string when August camp began in 2006. Wake Forest is 21-7 the last two-plus seasons. Most of those starts have been Skinner’s. In short, he’s evolved from his 4-for-5 day in Oxford.

“I don’t know if it was a statement game. We were pretty banged up and just looking to get a win any way we could,” Skinner said. “We were able to do that and get on a roll.”