Croom ready for game two at MSU

By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
September 8, 2004
STARKVILLE Sylvester Croom's first game at the helm for Mississippi State University was largely smooth sailing.
Croom's historic debut he is the first African-American head football coach in Southeastern Conference history against Tulane last Saturday started out on choppy waters.
The Bulldogs failed to move the ball past the Green Wave's 24-yard line in the first half, but MSU cruised to 21 unanswered points at the start of the second half en route to a 28-7 win at Davis Wade Stadium.
"We were very fortunate to win by the margin that we did," Croom said. "They had us on the ropes early. We were fortunate to make some plays at the end of the game to win late in the game."
The coaching waters will only get rougher for Croom this week, as he enters his first SEC game as the Bulldogs head coach.
MSU (1-0; 0-0 SEC) opens conference play against No. 18 Auburn (1-0; 0-0 SEC) at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium. The game will be broadcast by Jefferson Pilot, which can be seen locally on WMDN.
"Outstanding football team, outstanding talent and outstanding depth," Croom said. "I see no real weakness."
Auburn blew out Louisiana-Monroe 31-0 last weekend. Quarterback Jason Campbell tossed two touchdowns and running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown ran for a combined 158 yards and one touchdown.
The Bulldogs will focus in on the Tigers' running attack.
Last year, Williams ran for 161 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in a 45-13 Auburn rout of MSU.
"Their offensive line is huge and very athletic, and they have two outstanding tailbacks," Croom said.
Auburn doesn't just provide MSU with a big challenge, it also makes for a fitting first SEC game for Croom as a head coach.
Croom, who played at Alabama from 1972-74 and was a Crimson Tide assistant coach for 11 years, said he still gets fired up thinking about his "Iron Bowl" rival.
It always has,'' said Croom, who went 2-1 against Auburn as a player and 8-3 as an assistant coach. It always will.''
Croom's past success against his old rival will not be enough for MSU to walk away with a win in its first SEC game of 2004, which is something the Bulldogs coach knows all too well.
We can't waste a minute this week,'' Croom said. We have to improve every single minute just to have a chance.''