In all of Dan Mullen's tenure, the media predicted State to finish either last place or second to last every single year except two: 2011 picked 4th and 2014 picked 5th. State finished one spot different than the media predicted in 7 of the 9 years (i.e. 2011 predicted 4th, finished 5th. 2015 picked 7th, finished 6th, etc.) The media was dead on his first 2 years, over-valued his 3rd year and under-valued his final 6 years. But the only time State finished higher at least 2 spots difference than predicted was 2014 (picked 5th, finished 2nd) and 2018 (picked 6th, finished 4th). They undervalue State a little bit, but like it was said, 8 of 9 years finishing 4th-7th. And that actually dates back to 2000: it's been 16 of 17 years finishing 4th-7th. In the 26 year history of the SEC West, State has finished in the top 3 five times: 1992 (3), 1994 (3), 1998 (1), 1999 (2), 2014 (2).