Looking at SEC records since A&M came into the league:

To nobody's surprise, Bama and LSU will be the cream of the crop, with Bama still outpacing LSU by a good bit:

Bama - 27-4
LSU - 19-11

Then A&M, UM, and UM are grouped together:
A&M - 16-14
MSU - 16-14
UM - 15-15

Than Auburn and Ark pull up the rear:
Auburn 13-18
Ark - 8-22

If MSU and LSU loses out, that means we'll finish the last four years 16-16, with A&M and UM finishing 2 and 1 game ahead of us, respectively. (assuming Vandy is a win for A&M). We'll still be ahead of Auburn and Arkansas. One of those is weighed down by an 0-8 SEC record under a previous coach. The other had his own 0-8 season, but will have moved from 0 wins, to 2 wins, to 6 wins in three seasons. But we'll basically look like the fifth best team in the West over that time frame.

If MSU loses out and LSU wins out, we'll finish one game behind A&M and tied with UM. We'll basically be tied with UM and just barely behind A&M for the 4th best team in the west over the past 4 years.

If we win out and LSU wins out, we'll finish a game ahead of A&M and two ahead of UM, and be the 3rd best program in the west over the past four years. If LSU loses out and we win out, then there will barely be any separation between LSU, A&M, UM and MSU over the past four years.

It all comes pretty close enough to even over the past four years that taking east opponents into consideration could change the scenario, but it just goes to show (1) how important finishing strong is for perceptions of MSU and Mullen and (2) how the SEC West really has been Bama and then everybody else lately.


Going back over Mullen's entire tenure, there is Bama then a sizeable gap, then Lsu, then a gap, and A&M (averaging their performance), then MSU, then a slight gap to Auburn and Arkansas, with UM pulling up the rear.

Bama 47-8
LSU 38-16
A&M 29-25 (averaging their previous 3 years SEC record to get a 6 year record and adding the performance so far this year to it).
MSU 25-29
Auburn 23-17
Arkansas 23-31
UM 20-34


Looking at this longer track record, it shows you that (1) a boom and bust cycle is actually better for your program's reputation than steady performance and/or (2) we've done a really poor job of marketing our program. I think it's more of #(1), and that highs just make a bigger positive impression than the lows hurt, but it's still a lot of #(2) also.

Getting to 9-3 really will make a difference for Mullen looking over the long haul, because it will give two really good bowls and potentiall two 10-win seasons to go along with having the third or fourth best performance in the SEC W over the last 7 years. Surely that would move the needle on perception.