Ole Miss and USM made the Associated Press’s Top 25 pre-season poll. But what I want to know is, what about Mississippi State?!

Not that I’m sure the Bulldogs will be as good as the Rebels and Golden Eagles, but State has such a nasty defense that I believe the Dogs are made of Top 25 stuff.

Coach David Cutcliffe’s Ole Miss Rebels start in the AP Poll at No. 18, while Coach Bower’s Southerners are ranked a respectable 23 before it all begins. But I repeat: Jackie Sherrill’s Dogs deserve to be close right there with them.

Ole Miss is 18th and USM 25th, incidentally, in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Still no Mississippi State, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

The rage seems to be defense in the MSU camp, but seasoned quarterback Wayne Madkin heads up a fine backfield that features a trio of outstanding tailbacks in Dontae Walker, Justin Griffith and Dicenzo Miller. So the offensive thing that’s nonetheless real can just be State’s secret weapon, I guess.

&uot;The Deuce,&uot; meantime, is the thing over Oxford way – meaning that crafty runner who can gallop like Tom Mix on Tony used to at the old Star Theatre. He goes by Deuce McAllister. He’s a strong candidate for the 2000 football season’s coveted Heisman Trophy, no less.

But this is to remind that UM can defend on the gridiron as well. That probably explains the rather lofty national ranking. The Rebels’ main man on defense is strong — Eddie Strong, who wears jersey No. 1 for &uot;main man.&uot; They’re even talking &uot;Butkus Award&uot; for the rugged Ole Miss linebacker. But that’s way early.

SEC powers Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee were voted third, ninth, 10th and 12th, respectively, in the Top 25 USA poll. Ole Miss plays Alabama and Georgia in that group, while State takes on Florida and Alabama.

Tenth-ranked Georgia could be the surprise of the SEC this year. Jim Donnan is a respected head coach with a good record, not to mention all the fine players returning – he only lost five starters. And Alabama? Rated No. 3 in the SEC – ’nuff said.

State will also try to hack it with Alabama along its schedule, and Florida isn’t expected to be any less formidable for the Bulldogs.

Not to forget the USM Golden Eagles and the conference they play in, although East Carolina is favored in some quarters to bump USM from its comfortable No. 1 C-USA spot this fall.

Now you know I ain’t going along with that! Who’s East Carolina? (Famous last words, watch).

Perhaps the fact that Mississippi’s two Southeastern Conference football teams ordinarily command a huge share of in-state attention (such as college football discussions by fans and use of media ink) sends a message.

The SEC is almost as old as Mississippi State and Ole Miss football, so one reason could be that USM’s membership in (and dominance of) Conference-USA, a newer, slightly smaller league, is also slightly less impressive. But please note &uot;dominance of.&uot; The AP took note.

But, seriously, Jeff Bower is now an old salt from the old school where defense is treated equal with offense. It’s gotta be that way to carve a reputation like Southern has over the years under Bower.

So what I’ve used this column for is to say that Ole Miss, USM and State are, in my humble opinion, good enough to be in college football’s upper echelon this fall. Things just couldn’t get any better than that, if it happens.

Glenvall Estes is a long-time sports columnist for The Natchez Democrat.