THE BIG 3 Weekly by Jason "Gator" Pigott

Ole Miss

IDLE - Next Nov. 22 nd vs. LSU

(Last: defeated Auburn 24-20)

USM

The Golden Eagles picked up a big road win in C-USA on Saturday beating Houston 31-10. Quarterback Dustin Almond led the USM offense by passing for 237 yards and 2 TD. Anthony Harris had a solid game at tailback as well. Harris rushed for 83 yards on 21 attempts and a TD. The defense also got into the act by scoring on a Cougar fumble in the 3rd quarter.

The Golden Eagles are still unbeaten in conference play entering this weekend's game against Tulane at "The Rock." This is a dangerous game for the men in black and gold and here's why. Tulane is coming off an impressive upset win at UAB last weekend 38-24. They did it without the services of star running back Mewelde Moore who will miss the rest of the season due to a broken bone in his wrist. His backup, Javon Jackson, filled in nicely by rushing for 184 yards that included an 85-yard TD in the 4th quarter to slam the door on UAB. Quarterback J.P. Losman also had a good day, passing for 255 yards and 3 TD.

Tulane is 4-6 overall and 2-4 in C-USA. With only East Carolina left on the schedule after this week, the Eagles should see the Green Wave's best effort on Saturday. This is their bowl game. They defeated the Golden Eagles last year in the Superdome 31-10.

The Eagles could be looking past Tulane to their showdown next Thursday night on ESPN with TCU. That game will be played in Hattiesburg in front of a national audience for the C-USA championship. TCU will more than likely be ranked in top 10 in the BCS rankings and it should be a good one to watch.

The Green Wave's explosive offense should be able to put up some points on the Eagle defense. The Eagles are ripe for an upset in this situation, but I still feel they will win the game. This one will be much closer than the boys in Vegas think.

Gator's Pick: USM 35 Tulane 31

Mississippi State

On Saturday, the misery that is the 2003 season continued as the Bulldogs were shutout by Alabama 38-0 in Starkville. This game was all but over after the first four minutes of play, so I will spare the gruesome statistics. The same should be true this week as the Dogs travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers.

State does have one thing going for them in this game. Tennessee could be suffering from an emotional hangover after defeating the mighty Miami Hurricanes in Miami last week. Conventional wisdom says it will be impossible for the Vols to play with the same intensity this week at home against a team with a losing record. In addition, Tennessee has been known to play down to the level of competition when highly favored.

I'm going to stop short of predicting an upset, but if the Dogs make some plays early and give themselves a reason to show up in the second half, this could get interesting.

Gator's Pick: Tennessee 28  MSU 13