On the day that Georgia's Aaron Murray and Penn State's Robert Bolden made their college debuts, who would have expected Jacksonville State's Coty Blanchard to make the biggest impact of any freshman quarterback? Blanchard, a true freshman, showed the poise of a fifth-year senior Saturday while rallying his FCS team to a stunning 49-48 double-overtime victory over host Ole Miss. Coty Blanchard isn't the full-time QB, but he led Jacksonville State to a huge upset. Ole Miss led 31-10 at halftime before Jacksonville State began its remarkable comeback. Blanchard and junior Marques Ivory split time at quarterback for Jacksonville State, but it was Blanchard who delivered the two biggest plays of the day. The Rebels were on the verge of victory until Blanchard stunned the Rebels with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Kevyn Cooper on fourth-and-15 in the second overtime. Then, rather than sending the game to a third overtime session, Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe chose to win or lose it on the next play. Blanchard rewarded his coach's faith by delivering a 2-point conversion pass to Calvin Middleton. By the time he was through, Blanchard had led the Gamecock to their first victory over an FBS school in nine years. Jacksonville State beat Arkansas State 31-28 on Sept. 22, 2001. The Gamecocks led Florida State in the fourth quarter last season before falling 19-9. Of course, this victory meant much more than that 9-year-old win over Arkansas State. Arkansas State is a Sun Belt member. Ole Miss plays in the mighty SEC, home of the past four national champions. "I think there were some circumstances we probably couldn't repeat in 100 years if we tried to do it again," Crowe said, "but we'll take it." Blanchard's remarkable performance spoiled the Ole Miss debut of Jeremiah Masoli, who led Oregon to the Rose Bowl last season. Masoli transferred to Ole Miss after off-field problems caused Oregon to kick him off its team. He was eligible to play Saturday only after winning an appeal with an NCAA board a day earlier. While splitting time with Nathan Stanley, Masoli went 7-of-10 for 109 yards with one interception Saturday to help Ole Miss build a 21-point lead. But on this day, he wasn't the best quarterback on the field. "Crazy stuff happens sometimes," Masoli told reporters. "I never expected us to be in overtime." Jacksonville State clearly had the most reason to celebrate and Ole Miss had the biggest cause for concern Saturday, but here's a look at the other winners and losers from the first weekend of the college football season.

Sheer number, sour economy favor GOP in govs races WASHINGTON — Never before have so many governorships been up for grabs — and with so much at stake. The races come just ahead of once-in-a-decade congressional and legislative redistricting to reflect the U.S. population of the 2010 census, a process in which governors will play…

Funds plan irks schools Proposal to save stimulus money questioned A large portion of the money was to be used to help offset cuts to public schools, but educators learned last week that Gov. Haley Barbour and some House and Senate leaders want to put the dollars in Mississippi’s rainy day fund. “I understand fiscal…

Steve Addazio already whipping boy for limitations of Florida offense This year, with Tebow no longer a safety blanket, the pressure builds. Addazio didn’t make it any easier on himself during Florida’s shaky 34-12 victory against Miami of Ohio on Saturday. There were issues all over the place, from bad snaps to an iffy passing…

Analysis: Legislative session will provide gubernatorial hopefuls place to shine The 2011 legislative session will be a platform for Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant to raise his profile as he goes into full-fledged campaign mode to run for governor. Term limits prevent Republican Gov. Haley Barbour from running a third time, so the field is…

Thompson Among Dems Urged To Help Vulnerable Incumbents Bennie Thompson is currently sitting on $2.1 million in a majority-black district that gave Barack Obama 66 percent of the vote two years ago. No national pundits are paying attention to the challenge from Republican Bill Marcy; who while running a spirited campaign obviously faces what most…

Law passed to expend federal funds apparently has loophole JACKSON — In May, the Legislature passed and Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law legislation that detailed how anticipated federal funds would be disbursed during the upcoming fiscal year, which started July 1. Yet, the Republican governor announced last week that about $125 million in those…

Judge Bramlette reveals the sealed deal! Thanks to YallP So now, Judge Bramlette has unsealed the deal, and we have a chance to see what’s in it. Is it really not a settlement at all, but about protecting the state’s investigation (as the AG’s media person suggested)? Was it under seal because there were grand…

Van Hollen fires back at NYT assertion that Dems will give up on vulnerables Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) fired back Sunday afternoon at a New York Times story that said party leaders were planning a “brutal triage of their own members in hopes of saving enough seats to keep a…

Letter to Clarion-Ledger – Liberal paper smears Pickering on State car use Pickering is a fine Christian man and a strong conservative – the kind of candidate liberals hate and will do anything to destroy. Pickering has recovered more money for the state than many of his predecessors and stepped on quite a few toes…