2007 Millsaps Majors football team
| 2007 Millsaps Majors football | |
|---|---|
SCAC Co-Champion | |
| Conference | Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| 2007 record | 9–2 (5–1 SCAC) |
| Head coach | Mike DuBose |
The 2007 Millsaps Majors football team represented Millsaps College during the 2007 college football season. Having established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the SCAC, DuBose and the 2007 Majors, led by a large group of seniors and returning starters, set their goals high, aiming to repeat as SCAC champions and gain another playoff berth. The season began on a sour note, however, when Millsaps suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of Mississippi College in the Backyard Brawl. Millsaps, having led comfortably for most of the game, took a 26-6 advantage into the fourth quarter. However, as the Majors were resting their starters and putting less experienced players into the game, the Choctaws began to find a rhythm. DuBose never returned his starters to the game as his team's lead began to dwindle and Mississippi College roared back with three touchdowns in the final quarter to claim a 27-26 victory.
The Majors managed to rebound from the season-opening loss, though, and by winning their next six games (by an average margin of over 31 points; none smaller than 18) set up another home showdown with Trinity that was, like the previous year's contest, essentially a conference championship game. The events that unfolded that day at Harper Davis Field are now forever etched in football lore, with Trinity claiming a come-from-behind victory on arguably the single greatest play in the history of the sport as time expired. The Majors went on to route their two remaining opponents to earn a share of the SCAC title, but Trinity received the conference's lone automatic playoff bid. Had the Majors won against Mississippi College, a 9-1 record may have been enough to earn them the first at-large playoff bid ever awarded to a SCAC team, but at 8-2 the team was passed over by the NCAA selection committee.
As in 2006, the Majors' success on the field was reflected in the 2007 all-conference superlatives. Junior quarterback Juan Joseph was the SCAC's "Offensive Player of the Year" for the second consecutive season, senior defensive tackle Casey Younger was the league's co-"Defensive Player of the Year" and sophomore return specialist John Milazzo was the SCAC's "Special Teams Player of the Year." In all, 19 Majors were named to the All-SCAC first team, second team and honorable mention lists.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | Result | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 7:00 PM | at Mississippi College (8-2)* | Robinson-Hale Stadium • Clinton, Mississippi (Backyard Brawl) | L 26-27 (0-1) | 5,293 | ||||
| September 8 | 4:00 PM | at Louisiana College (5-5)* | D.C. Bates Stadium • Pineville, Louisiana | W 44-10 (1-1) | 3,877 | ||||
| September 15 | 1:00 PM | at Austin (4-6, 2-5) | Jerry Apple Stadium • Sherman, Texas | W 43-10 (2-1, 1-0) | 1,200 | ||||
| September 22 | 1:00 PM | Rhodes (6-4, 4-3) | Harper Davis Field • Jackson, Mississippi | W 42-0 (3-1, 2-0) | 2,112 | ||||
| September 29 | 1:00 PM | at DePauw (8-2, 5-2) | Blackstock Stadium • Greencastle, Indiana | W 35-17 (4-1, 3-0) | 3,500 | ||||
| October 6 | 1:00 PM | Centre (6-4, 4-3) | Harper Davis Field • Jackson | W 29-7 (5-1, 4-0) | 1,098 | ||||
| October 13 | 1:30 PM | at Sewanee (1-8, 0-7) | McGee Stadium • Sewanee, Tennessee | W 45-7 (6-1, 5-0) | 2,093 | ||||
| October 27 | 1:00 PM | #19 Trinity (9-2, 6-1) |
#24 | Harper Davis Field • Jackson | L 24-28 (6-2, 5-1) | 4,032 | |||
| November 3 | 1:00 PM | at Colorado College (4-6, 1-6) | Washburn Field • Colorado Springs, Colorado | W 68-6 (7-2, 6-1) | 684 | ||||
| November 10 | 1:00 PM | Birmingham-Southern (1-7)* | Harper Davis Field • Jackson | W 58-7 (8-2, 6-1) | 1,899 | ||||
| *Non-conference game. Homecoming. All times are in Central Standard Time. | |||||||||
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