Mississippi St. trying to get past pain of close loss, focus on Kentucy

JACKSON, Miss. - The brawn and bravura surrounding college football sometimes hides the fact that emotion drives the sport. Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom was reminded of this Saturday when he saw tears in the locker room following his team&#39;s loss to Georgia despite a chance to win on the final play.<br> <br> That&#39;s a good sign for the Bulldogs, who must quickly rally and prepare for this Saturday&#39;s game with Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky in Starkville.<br> <br> ``To me when you put as much as our players put into that game and not only that game but this entire season if it doesn&#39;t hurt then there&#39;s something wrong with you,&#39;&#39; Croom said during his Monday teleconference. ``It&#39;s supposed to hurt.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Time and the season are running out on the Bulldogs (2-6, 0-4 SEC) and Wildcats (3-4, 1-3). Croom said the game is critical for both as they try to break a pattern of losing seasons.<br> <br> Mississippi State hasn&#39;t won more than three games since 2000. Kentucky has one winning season in that span and is coming off a 49-0 loss at LSU on Oct. 14 before a bye week.<br> <br> Both teams went 3-8 last season. The Wildcats still have a chance to earn a winning record and become bowl eligible with six wins. But a loss this week would guarantee another losing season for the Bulldogs.<br> <br> ``The only way to soothe that hurt,&#39;&#39; Croom said of losing, ``the only way to relieve that sick feeling in your gut is to get ready to prepare and go out and win a football game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Defensive end Charles Johnson ended Mississippi State&#39;s last-minute charge by causing a Michael Henig fumble on a sack and recovering it in the final seconds Saturday. Henig was caught as he brought the ball back to throw after hesitating for a beat.<br> <br> Despite being ready to move forward, Croom was asked to relive the play several times Monday. He said Henig should have thrown the ball away, but wasn&#39;t critical of his sophomore quarterback. He said perspective is important when considering Henig&#39;s performance.<br> <br> Croom compared him to Georgia&#39;s starter, true freshman Matthew Stafford.<br> <br> ``I had to sit back and think,&#39;&#39; Croom said. ``I guess since I&#39;ve been around Mike for 2-1/2 years. (But) the thing is I think that was just his sixth start, and that&#39;s counting the South Carolina game, which he didn&#39;t play very long in (because of injury).<br> <br> ``When I compare Mike to the freshman quarterback over at Georgia, I guess they&#39;ve played about the same number of games. Compared to other quarterbacks around the conference, I still see a lot of upside with him.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> While the team is trying to get over the mental pain of losing, the Bulldogs aren&#39;t feeling the physical pain they&#39;ve become accustomed to this season. The team&#39;s injury list is a short one.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s usually been doom, despair and agony,&#39;&#39; Croom said. ``But right now we&#39;re very fortunate coming out of that ballgame. Just some normal nicks and bruises.&#39;&#39;