Scooter Tuning Pics » The Swans will be out for blood at the SCG

The past two weekends of Mississippi States football season have been a dramatic roller coaster ride: ascending to a euphoric high and dropping to a sobering low.First, there was a stunning 35-28 win over then-No. 4 Texas A&M on Nov. 5 that shook up the national playoff picture. Then last weekend, the Bulldogs were totally dominated in a 51-3 loss to No. 1 Alabama.Theres certainly no shame in losing to the Crimson Tide, but the fact that the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) werent competitive was frustrating for the program. Now Mississippi State must win its final two games, starting with a home game against Arkansas (6-4, 2-4) on Saturday, to become bowl eligible for a seventh straight season.We just have our backs in a corner and we have to find a way to win, Mullen said.Mullen didnt seem concerned that the lopsided Alabama loss blunted momentum from the Texas A&M win. Sometimes, he said, you just have to acknowledge a tough game and move on.I think Alabama has done a great job of separating themselves a little bit, Mullen said. But I think when you watch every other game, I dont know if there is a result with any two teams that would shock anyone within the SEC West.With that in mind, the Arkansas-Mississippi State matchup appears to be much more fair fight.Mississippi State has a fairly balanced offensive attack, but leans toward the run game. Sophomore quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is tied for seventh in the SEC with 854 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. He often teams with running back Aeris Williams, who has improved as the seasons progressed, to form a potent combo when running the Bulldogs read-option offense.Williams, a 6-foot-1, 217-pound sophomore, became a bigger part of the offense when starter Brandon Holloway missed a few games with an ankle injury. Now Holloway is back, but Williams is still getting plenty of playing time.He was given that opportunity and certainly made the most of it, Mullen said.Arkansas has struggled to stop the run. The Razorbacks are giving up 217.6 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 12th out of 14 league teams.Mississippi States current predicament is similar to 2013, when the Bulldogs were 4-6 in November and had a young team, but rallied to beat Arkansas and Ole Miss in the final two weeks to make the postseason.Mullen hopes the current young nucleus that includes Fitzgerald, Williams, freshman defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons and linebacker Leo Lewis can pull off a similar feat.There are a lot of similarities, Mullen said. Both teams were very young we suffered a lot of injuries that year. We had some tough games and there we are with two games left having to go battle and fight.-----Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP . AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org . Fake Yeezy . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Clearance Yeezy . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. https://www.fakeyeezywholesaleonline.com/ . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Yeezy China . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. Cyber Monday Yeezy . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. NEW YORK -- Not long after Alex Rodriguez revealed his farewell plans, Mark Teixeira showed he still has plenty left in the tank.Masahiro Tanaka rebounded from two rocky outings, Didi Gregorius homered on his bobblehead day and the New York Yankees held off the Cleveland Indians 3-2 Sunday after announcing that Rodriguez will play his final game in pinstripes this week.Teixeira, two days since disclosing his own plans to retire at the end of the season, hit an RBI double and dove toward first base to get a crucial out on defense. He has an extra-base hit in four of his past five games.Alexs thunder is always a little louder than mine anyway, a smiling Teixeira said, drawing laughs.Dellin Betances got four outs for his second save as New York took two of three from the AL Central leaders and won the season series 5-2.Cleveland, which remained two games ahead of Detroit, has dropped five of seven. Cleanup hitter Mike Napoli was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barrett after getting called out on strikes in the eighth inning.An irate Napoli, who jawed extensively with Barrett after strike two as well, screamed and pointed in the umpires face and might have nicked him with the bill of his helmet.Its been a difficult week, but I think everybodys ready to move on, Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis said.Hit hard by the Mets in a Subway Series loss last week, Tanaka (8-4) was lifted with a 3-0 lead following Rajai Davis leadoff double in the seventh.Carlos Carrasco (7-6) also bounced back from a poor start and struck out nine in seven solid innings for the Indians, who tried to rally late.We just didnt get that big hit, Davis said.Davis scored when Adam Warren gave up an RBI single to No. 9 batter Roberto Perez, his second hit of the day after entering 2 for 40 (.050) this season.With two on, the 36-year-old Teixeira went to his knees for a sliding stop of Francisco Lindors two-out grounder behind first base. Teixeira gathered himself and barely beat Lindor to the bag with his outstretched mitt as both players dove headfirst.The effort drew cheers from a crowd of 39,720 that also gave Tanaka a warm ovation as he walked off the mound.A really impressive play, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. Thats Tex. He gives everything hes got.Cleveland scored an unearned run on a wild pitch in the eighth and nearly got something going in the ninth.Chris Gimenez short-hopped the left-field fence with a leadoff drivee but was held to a single by Brett Gardner.dddddddddddd Second baseman Starlin Castro then started a difficult double play on Carlos Santanas sharp grounder, and Betances struck out Kipnis to end it.Gardner hit a leadoff triple in the first and scored on Jacoby Ellsburys sacrifice fly.Tanaka struck out eight and walked none.It might have been his best start of the year, Girardi said. I thought he was tremendous.About 2 hours before the game, Rodriguez and the rebuilding Yankees (56-55) announced the slumping slugger will play Friday night against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium and then be released. After that, he plans to become a special adviser and instructor with the organization next year.This is a tough day. I love this game and I love this team, the 41-year-old Rodriguez said, often choking up. And today Im saying goodbye to both.New York will pay A-Rod the remainder of the approximately $27 million hes owed as part of his $275 million, 10-year contract.Rodriguez, relegated to the bench again Sunday, said the agreement arose out of conversations over the past few days with Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner.Hopefully Friday will be a great day for Alex, Teixeira said. Were going to miss Alex in this clubhouse.HARD TO EXPLAINEllsbury was inexplicably doubled off first base on a foul popup near third. (His) answer made about as much sense as him going. All I can tell you was it was a brain cramp -- a real brain cramp, Girardi said. Thats a first for me.TRAINERS ROOMYankees: Rookie catcher Gary Sanchez was rested after playing consecutive games behind the plate. Austin Romine caught Tanaka, and Brian McCann was the DH. ... Castro also was rested in favor of Rob Refsnyder but entered on defense in the eighth and appeared in his 1,000th major league game.UP NEXTIndians: Following a day off, Cleveland opens a two-game interleague series at NL East-leading Washington. RHP Trevor Bauer (7-5, 4.08 ERA) starts Tuesday night against All-Star RHP Max Scherzer (12-6, 2.87). RHP Josh Tomlin will pitch Wednesday for the Indians instead of RHP Mike Clevinger.Yankees: RHP Luis Severino (1-6, 6.02 ERA) makes his first major league start since May 13 when New York begins a three-game series Tuesday night in Boston. RHP Rick Porcello (14-3, 3.46) goes for the Red Sox. ' ' '