STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Preseason camp wasnt kind to Mississippi States veteran cornerbacks.In the span of a few days, the Bulldogs lost senior Tolando Cleveland to a torn ACL in his left knee and senior Cedric Jiles to a broken right arm. Cleveland is out for the season while Jiles is likely out at least half the year.That means some young players are going to get a bigger-than-expected opportunity in Mississippi States season opener against South Alabama on Saturday.If Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen is concerned about the inexperience at cornerback, he hasnt shown it.Theres the opportunity, and you need to take advantage of your opportunity, Mullen said. Guys work hard in our program. We like to play a lot of players.Junior Jamoral Graham is among those who Mississippi State needs to improve in a hurry. Graham came to Mississippi State as a receiver but converted to defense last season and made 21 tackles.Junior college transfer Lashard Durr is listed as the other starter at cornerback while redshirt freshman Chris Stamps and sophomore Chris Rayford are the primary backups.Senior defensive end A.J. Jefferson said the losses in the secondary make putting pressure on the quarterback even more important. If the quarterback has less time to throw, the cornerbacks dont have to defend for as long.At the end of the day its going to make us better, Jefferson said. Were going to be out there trying harder and harder because in the back of our mind, we know theres a bunch of guys down in the secondary. Im sure all of them can hold their own, but we just want to make it as easy as we can for them.---Some things to watch in Mississippi States opener against South Alabama:MSU TRIES TO FIND A QB: Mullen said hell use at least two quarterbacks in the season opener -- sophomore Nick Fitzgerald and junior Damian Williams. Fitzgerald was Dak Prescotts primary backup last season and completed 11 of 14 passes while Williams made one start in 2013 as a true freshman. Depending on how the game goes, the Bulldogs could also use redshirt freshman Nick Tiano.SOUTH ALABAMA DEBUTS NEW QB: Sophomore QB Dallas Davis is set to make his first career start for the Jaguars. Davis played in six games last season as the backup, completing 11 of 23 passes for 108 yards, one touchdown and one interception.MULLENS A VETERAN: Mississippi States coach Mullen is entering his eighth season with the Bulldogs, which makes him the third-longest tenured coach in the league behind LSUs Les Miles and Alabamas Nick Saban. Mullen has a 55-35 record, including a 26-30 mark in the SEC. Hes led Mississippi State to six straight bowl games, including four postseason wins.JAGUARS NEED JOHNSON: With a first-year quarterback taking the snaps, South Alabama will likely need a big game from running back Xavier Johnson to have a chance on Saturday. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound junior had 1,477 total yards last season, including 956 on the ground.THE RUBBER MATCH: This is the third of a three-game series between the two schools. Mississippi State won 30-10 in Starkville in 2012 and 35-3 in Mobile, Alabama, in 2014.-----Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP . 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But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. An injury-marred Navy will have to rely on some backups to earn its 15th consecutive victory over Army in the 117th meeting between the archrivals Saturday in Baltimore.Midshipmen starting quarterback Will Worth and slotback Toneo Gulley suffered season-ending injuries in the American Athletic Conference championship game last week against Temple. Tago Smith, who opened the year as the starting quarterback, and linebacker Daniel Gonzales, a co-captain with Gulley, went down earlier in the season.As a result, the Black Knights have a prime opportunity to end a 14-year losing streak, the longest drought in the history of the series. However, Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is 8-0 against Army and the Black Knights know he will have an effective game plan ready to maintain that success.I feel terrible for the guys that got injured in that last game, said Army coach Jeff Monken, whose team enters the game with six wins for the first time since 2010. Those kids have had great seasons. They mean so much to their team, and playing in this game means so much to them. Its tough to lose players like that, but Kenny does such a great job that hell have somebody step in at each one of those positions and theyll be ready to go.Another challenge is that Navy (9-3) did not have the usual extra week to prepare for Army because of the AAC championship game. The Black Knights, on the other hand, have not played since Nov. 19 when they beat Morgan State 60-3.This will be the first time since 1941 the Midshipmen have not had more than one week to prepare for its game against Army (6-5).You dont want to make excuses, but its not the most ideal situation, Niumatalolo said. When we joined the league, we saw that was going to be the schedule. The championship game would be right before this game. I dont think you want to do anything to change (Army-Navy) being a standalone game and what it represents to our country. Obviously, youd like some time in-between.This is also the second time Navy has to thrust a new quarterback into the starting lineup to run the triple option. Worrth took over the job when Smith went down with a knee injury in the season opener.dddddddddddd. Worth then broke a bone in his foot in the 34-10 loss to Temple, forcing sophomore Zach Abey into action.Abey completed 7-of-13 passes for 104 yards with two interceptions. He also had 70 yards on 14 carries, including a 47-yard scamper late in the third quarter.Abey hopes the extended reps this week in practice will get him ready for the biggest game of not only the season, but of his life.It is going to be a big responsibility, and I will be up for it, said Abey, who will be making his first career start. As a second stringer, you have to warm up every game as if you are going to play, which showed today. My preparation is going to be the same and act as if I am going to play anyway. I will be ready to play next Saturday if that comes to it.Slotback Darryl Bonner was also lost for the season against Temple. The Midshipmen, however, are deep at that position and Niumatalolo is confident other players will take advantage of playing time, with Calvin Cass Jr. likely to serve as the primary back.Nonetheless, this appears to be an advantage for the Black Knights defense, which is ranked second nationally behind Michigan in total yards allowed (3,178). Army is led by a pair of talented linebackers in Andrew King and Jeremy Timpf. King has five sacks, while Timpf who managed 88 tackles, including nine for a loss.This game is the biggest game of the year, Timpf said. The guys are going to come out fired up in Baltimore.Navy leads the all-time series, 60-49-7, and is 3-0 against the Black Knights in games played at M&T Bank Stadium.Navys focus, however, is solely on this year and not the previous 14 victories.We never really talk about the streak, Niumatalolo said. We just talk about beating Army. Nothing from any other years matters this year. Its not like you can carry over points or anything. We just have to get ready for this game. ' ' '
