Mississippi State is currently ranked 20th in the preseason AP Top 25. The Bulldogs' schedule this year is a lot easier than it has been in the fast few years. State's out-of-conference line-up has one FCS opponent and three other Division 1 teams who are all ranked lower than 78th in the preseason poll with Memphis being ranked second to last. This combined with a middle-of-the-road SEC east schedule made up of Kentucky, on-the-fence Georgia, and hit-or-miss South Carolina means that as a worst case scenario, the Bulldogs should end up with no less than 7 wins. In my opinion, a winning season would only come with 9 or 10 wins, with losses to LSU, Alabama, and maybe Arkansas or South Carolina. On the other hand, I think Alabama is overrated, and every year LSU is a close game. I'm not saying that I think this is our year, but I do think we have a shot at 10 wins.
Now the problems. We lost three, in my opinion, all-American linebackers. Yes the transfer from Clemson will help, but this new unit won't be able to meet the level of play of last year's unit. Losing McPhee on the D-line hurts but whether or not the backs and line can pick up the slack for the LB's is going to determine the strength of our defense. As for the offense, can Relf put together a season like the performance he gave in the Gator Bowl? If so, you can expect to see 9 or 10 wins. However, only time will tell whether or not that was a one-game fluke. Our running game should be solid again even with our loses on the O-line.
The positives? Well, our receiving corps should be better than ever, with Bumphis back from injury, older talent in Clark and Smith, and younger talents Johnson and Lewis. Secondly, our defensive backs should have a solid year behind Mitchell. Also, Ballard and Perkins should make our backfield strong again.
So in summary, if our returning starters and up-and-coming freshmen can fill the holes left by last years seniors then Mississippi State could be looking at a 9 or 10 win season. If, however, the loses on the O-line and at linebacker leads to a loss of cohesion for the team, then expect a season with more like 6 wins.
Schedule:
| Date | Opponent | Time | Home | Prediction |
| Sep. 1 | Memphis | 7:00pm | Win | |
| Sep. 10 | Auburn | 11:21am | Win | |
| Sep. 15 | LSU | 7:00pm | Yes | Loss |
| Sep. 24 | Louisiana Tech | TBA | Yes | Win |
| Oct. 1 | Georgia | TBA | Win | |
| Oct. 8 | UAB | 11:00am | Win | |
| Oct. 15 | South Carolina | TBA | Yes | Loss |
| Oct. 29 | Kentucky | TBA | Win | |
| Nov. 5 | Tennessee Martin | TBA | Yes | Win |
| Nov. 12 | Alabama | TBA | Yes | Loss |
| Nov. 19 | Arkansas | TBA | Win | |
| Nov. 26 | Ole Miss | TBA | Yes | Win |
Very agreeable predictions. Nothing wild here, haha.
ReplyDeleteI really wasn't very impressed with McPhee last year, I think he had 1 sack? Idk. I feel like losing him on the line will go pretty much unnoticed. Our DTs are our stars on the DL in my opinion.
I also will say that I think our defensive backs will have better than a solid year. I think they are one of our biggest strengths. Banks, Broomfield, and Whitley might take exception to you leaving their names off.
But basically, agree with most of what you said. I'm excited for this year.