Jumbo Package: How might heavy rain affect the Keelon vs Kamario show?

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Happy Gump Day, everyone. College football fans will wake up and start their day with a battle of two quarterbacks who are trending to be the top two picks in the 2028 NFL Draft. Keelon Russell has blown us all away with his performance.

Over four games, Russell has posted exemplary EPA/play (0.51) and EPA/pass (0.41) figures while completing 69.4% of his passes, per Hudl IQ. He’s averaging 14.3 yards per completion and is creating chunk pass plays 29.1% of the time and explosive plays on 11.9% of all completions, per Hudl IQ. 

Those numbers are almost unheard of for a quarterback four games into his first campaign. They’re so impressive that he’s surpassing much more experienced quarterbacks across the SEC, like Texas quarterback Arch Manning, LSU’s Sam Leavitt and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, and lapping the likes of Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, two players with College Football Playoff experience from a year ago. 

He’s not just completing easy passes to wide-open receivers, either. He’s notched an incredibly impressive 7.4% completion percentage over expectation (CPOE), which is an indicator of how often he completes passes given the difficulty of his throws.

Sadly, Mother Nature is trying to put a damper on the fireworks show. Weather is expected to be so bad in Mississippi on Friday night that high schools are moving games up.

Severe weather is expected to hit the state this week and could disrupt Mississippi high school football games.

High schools across the state in MHSAA and MAIS have already moved their games from Oct. 2, to Thursday, Oct. 1. According to AccuWeather, there’s a 77% chance of rain ahead of Friday afternoon, with heavy showers and thunderstorms.

Saturday isn’t looking much better as the entire southeast is set to get drenched this weekend.

The saving grace is that Mississippi State’s grass field drains well, but wet conditions always introduce some additional randomness and injury risk.

Any time you play in Starkville, the topic of cowbells is raised.

“You hear them for awhile,” Alabama defensive back and Mississippi native Bray Hubbard said. “Defensively, we really don’t have to worry about it much. If they gain a couple yards, they’re going to ring them. If they gain 10 yards, they’re going to ring them. No matter what, they’re going to ring them.

“That’s kind of their way of yelling is ringing cowbells.”

But Kedrick Bingley-Jones is used to the Cowbells. The Alabama defensive lineman played two seasons at Mississippi State before transferring to the Crimson Tide.

“I try to tell my teammates you really can’t simulate it,” Bingley-Jones said. “It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be a hostile environment. I mean, we just have to keep our composure and be able to go in and execute.”

The SEC allows Mississippi State fans, and only Mississippi State fans, to use noisemakers in their home stadium, because it’s a tradition and they are typically a doormat. When their team is actually competitive, the cowbells become a hot topic.

Alabama fans are also questioning the decision to drive to Starkville on Saturday morning, rather than Friday. The players don’t seem concerned about it.

“We’re a morning practice team, so I don’t think it’s going to affect us as much as people are worrying about right now,” Bingley-Jones said. “We have to do what we have to do. I don’t feel like it’s going to affect us as much as people think it’s going to.”

One Alabama player even compared the trip to one the team makes when going on the road against its in-state rival. When playing on the road against Auburn, the team will stay in Montgomery and make the drive over on the day of the game, another example of not staying in the same city as the game while on the road.

“We’re used to it. We practice in the morning, so it won’t be a big deal,” wide receiver Rico Scott said. “It’s the same as going from Montgomery to Auburn. We’ve done it before. This is the first time we’ve played at Mississippi State since I’ve been here, but it’s the same as Auburn.”

They’re essentially adding an hour to the morning commute from Columbus, MS where they would likely stay otherwise. Interestingly enough, it’s been mentioned that other schools have sometimes stayed in Tuscaloosa for their trips to Mississippi State in the past, when Alabama was out of town and hotels are empty. They don’t exactly have 4-star accommodations in Columbus.

Kendrick Bingley-Jones was asked about why he chose number 22, and you will love his answer.

“This has been the standard of college football for so many years. I was a fan when I was little,” he said. “I had a Mark Ingram jersey, that’s why I wear No. 22, so it was an opportunity I could not pass up.”

Bingley-Jones added he missed the chance to meet Ingram when he was in Tuscaloosa last weekend while being honored for his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

“I saw him in the tunnel, but we were already running out. I wish I could’ve shaken his hand. Being a Bama fan, and a Saints fan also, he was an idol for me for sure,” Bingley-Jones said.

That man is a Gump, folks.

Last, Aden Holloway’s charges were dropped.

A charge against Alabama basketball guard Aden Holloway for a drug arrest in March 2026 has been dropped.

Holloway, a rising senior, entered a second-chance program following his arrest for marijuana possession in March and has met the requirements for his first degree marijuana charge to be dismissed, per court documents from Monday, Sept. 28.

Court docs also indicate that Holloway’s marijuana charge was dismissed on Sept. 17.

I would expect him to be fully cleared to return very soon.

That’s about it for now. Have a great day.

Roll Tide.

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