State of State Football Questions and Outlook

[StarkVegasSteve]

While some wait on pins and needles regarding Ace Reese, I figured we'd delve into a season almost upon us. So I will pose my kind of State of Mississippi State football questions:

1. What are your REALISTIC expectations for this coming season?

2. Historically, what have your expectations been of Mississippi State football and how have they changed since, say, 2000?

3. What does Lebby have to do to win you over? Or if you are in the Lebby camp, what would he have to do to lose you?

4. If you go to Starkville every home Saturday, what has kept you coming? If you don't, what would get you to come back?

5. Pie in the sky, we catch every break, and our record will be ______ in 2025?

[sleepy dawg]

1. What are your REALISTIC expectations for this coming season? I expect at least 3 wins. I won't be happy with that, but I expect at least that. I also think we should be a little better than next year, but our schedule is brutal yet again.

2. Historically, what have your expectations been of Mississippi State football and how have they changed since, say, 2000? My expectations just follow what talent we have. Right now we're just not that good. I don't expect much except to put in effort to continue to improve.

3. What does Lebby have to do to win you over? Or if you are in the Lebby camp, what would he have to do to lose you? I'm in the Lebby camp. If we only win 1 game, I'll be out I guess, but our talent is just bad in comparison to the rest of the SEC. I won't be calling for him to be fired this year no matter what, even if I think he underperforms. We're so far in the hole right now, we really don't need another football coaching search.

4. If you go to Starkville every home Saturday, what has kept you coming? If you don't, what would get you to come back? First year in many years I haven't bought season tickets although I still expect to go to a game or 2. Winning helps a lot. Also, I can't handle the afternoon games the first couple of weeks anymore, so I'm not doing that anymore.

5. Pie in the sky, we catch every break, and our record will be ______ in 2025? Every break, 12-0. Realistically if we just are lucky and a good bit better than I think, we could probably go 7-4. Pretty unlikely though.

[Brobi-wan]

1. 4-5 wins are my realistic expectations. I think some of the teams we play will be worse and we will be improved. Is it enough? We are going to find out.

2. I was born in 1998. I really only remember Dan. My expectations for MSU football are for us to be moderately successful. Sometimes even mostly successful. Being this bad is a new experience for me.

3. I like Lebby. Honestly, it was probably a miracle to get someone like him because we sucked….big time sucked. I don’t think there’s anything besides going 0-12 that would move me out of the camp this season. Schedule is brutal again.

4. I did not renew my season tickets this year, but it had less to do with our team and more to do with planning a move and a wedding (got engaged last month). I did buy tickets to ASU and may get some more later. Depending on where I am geographically in the next few years, I do plan on renewing.

5. Everything goes our way, 8-4. But we aren’t as lucky as Ole Miss

[viverlibre]

4 wins is a must, anything less and we have to seriously consider getting rid of Levee. 5 wins means we?re heading in the right direction, 6 wins, Levee is coach of the year. Our schedule is such a killer, we can be improved and only win 3 games.

[DawgFromOxford]

1. 4-8
2. Looking for us to go 7-5, give or take a win every year. If the stars align and we get a double digit win total, great.
3. I need to see a type of football being played that gives hope that we can be bowl eligible next year. The defense last year gave 0 hope, be it due to talent or coaching or both. The offense struggled to move the ball and score, be it due to talent or coaching or both.
4. I would go more often if we had a competitive product on the field to give the other SEC teams a run for their money. If we are going to get crushed by Tennessee anyways, might as well keep my hundreds of dollars and half my Saturday.
5. 7-5

[trob115]

While some wait on pins and needles regarding Ace Reese, I figured we'd delve into a season almost upon us. So I will pose my kind of State of Mississippi State football questions:

1. What are your REALISTIC expectations for this coming season?

4-8


2. Historically, what have your expectations been of Mississippi State football and how have they changed since, say, 2000?

With Dan it was 8 wins. Now it's pure apathy

3. What does Lebby have to do to win you over? Or if you are in the Lebby camp, what would he have to do to lose you?

He could've won a lot of people over by shaking up the defensive coaching staff. They better be much improved, otherwise it'll cost him his job.

4. If you go to Starkville every home Saturday, what has kept you coming? If you don't, what would get you to come back?

We live in the area and make most games. With our kids getting more involved in sports, I could see us not attending many games in the future.


5. Pie in the sky, we catch every break, and our record will be ______ in 2025?


6-6

[MoreCowbell]

While some wait on pins and needles regarding Ace Reese, I figured we'd delve into a season almost upon us. So I will pose my kind of State of Mississippi State football questions:

1. What are your REALISTIC expectations for this coming season?

2. Historically, what have your expectations been of Mississippi State football and how have they changed since, say, 2000?

3. What does Lebby have to do to win you over? Or if you are in the Lebby camp, what would he have to do to lose you?

4. If you go to Starkville every home Saturday, what has kept you coming? If you don't, what would get you to come back?

5. Pie in the sky, we catch every break, and our record will be ______ in 2025?

1. Win 3 or more games and look improved in all three phases

2. Born in 88. Started watching State in Mid 90s. First game ever was sideline tickets with grandad at 98? Egg Bowl when we stormed the field. Besides the end of Sherril and Croom I have witnessed the Highs of our program historically. I use to expect at minimum a bowl birth. Now, making a bowl will be equal to a previous 9-10 win season.

3. Nothing. Hard to judge how good a coach is in the situation he is in. We are the toughest job in Power 4. If our guys play hard and never quit that?s all I ask. We are gonna get our asses kicked majority of time regardless.

4. Big Games worth saying you were there for. A town and atmosphere worthy of driving to.

5. 5-7

[DownwardDawg]

1- 5 wins minimum and look competitive in all games. Like Mullen in 2009
2- Become bowl eligible. 8 wins should be the goal every season
3- See number one. Also, have an extremely physical team that beats people up.
4- Gave up going to games in person several years ago after having season tickets for more than 20 years. Too busy and NIL and portal have ruined it for my entire family. Even if I decided to start going back, I would be alone.
5- 8-4 in that scenario

[BrunswickDawg]

1. 5 wins is my expectations. That shows improvement from last season, but is grounded in the reality that we are behind and will likely be behind for a couple of more years. I think we flip ASU to a win, with a 4-0 start. Adding 1 SEC win with the schedule we have is a tall order - but I think we have opportunities with TN, MO, and OM to steal one IF we have improved.

2. Historically, how can anyone have expectations for MSU football??? Any time I've had them they've been shot to hell.

3. Improve. That may not be reflected in wins, but show us SOMETHING. Give us hope.

4. I'm lucky to get to 1 game a year being 10 hours away. My daughter is still there and just started her PhD and is working for the Univ., as does her husband - so if that doesn't change, that may increase just because I can. I love Starkville and seeing friends I don't get to see often.

5. Catch some breaks and we are 7-5. Start 4-0; TN NIL sitch blows up to get to 5. MO reverts to form for 6. Win the Egg because that's how rivalries work.

[parabrave]

Go review the Reveille from 1967 - 1973. That should give you a good idea

[PGHBulldogBG]

4 or 5 wins is my expectation. Lebby has to prove he can at least beat 1 SEC team this year for me to believe he could be a good coach for State. We lost all our SEC games by double digits last year, so we have to find a way to remain competitive as well. The problem with the schedule is that the 2 most winnable games in Arkansas and Missouri are on the road. I am truly in a wait and see mode

[R2Dawg]

While some wait on pins and needles regarding Ace Reese, I figured we'd delve into a season almost upon us. So I will pose my kind of State of Mississippi State football questions:

1. What are your REALISTIC expectations for this coming season?

2. Historically, what have your expectations been of Mississippi State football and how have they changed since, say, 2000?

3. What does Lebby have to do to win you over? Or if you are in the Lebby camp, what would he have to do to lose you?

4. If you go to Starkville every home Saturday, what has kept you coming? If you don't, what would get you to come back?

5. Pie in the sky, we catch every break, and our record will be ______ in 2025?

1. 4-6 wins

2. Been following MSU football since late 70s. My general expectations is 500 ball. Only had 2-3 bad stretches in 45 years - Felker, Croom, and the stretch we are in now. Other than that we play competitive ball, hard nosed, football. No one pushes us around but now they do. Unacceptable.

3. He wins 2 games this year and we don't compete and look bad doing it; he has lost me.

4. I bleed maroon; born in Starkville when my dad was in school at MSU, i graduated in 1991, both my kids have done there; my youngest is a senior this year so I bought season tickets one more time. If we don't turn it around, this year may be my last and I'll be back to only going to 1-2 games a year. Love MSU, Starkville and the atmosphere there in a small college town. Good food and great memories at every visit.

5. 8-4 but we never catch the breaks so 6-6 is ceiling.

Few other thoughts. We must fix the junction and pregame stuff. They have killed all the buzz in the junction. It ain't just winning either, lack of institutional control at one game led to demolishing what it was. It is a buzzkill for atmosphere now.

We don't have to win 10 games a year for MSU to have a great football experience. Been that way my whole life but we have fell off the wagon and you can't just blame NIL and portal for all of it. 60-75% yes maybe but some is our own bad decisions, poor leadership and management. If we don't fix it in a few more years, we will be sent to the wilderness of college football and we'll be a 30 for 30 special on what used to be.

[sleepy dawg]

4 wins is a must, anything less and we have to seriously consider getting rid of Levee. 5 wins means we?re heading in the right direction, 6 wins, Levee is coach of the year. Our schedule is such a killer, we can be improved and only win 3 games.

A 2 win difference of being our coach deserving of being fired or coach of the year?

[TrapGame]

5 wins and I can see Lebby is going in the right direction. 6 wins and a bowl should get him a mention for COTY. 4 wins would be disappointing but some improvement. 3 wins or less and Lebby needs to be gone.

If we catch all the breaks with good coaching on both sides of the ball we'll go 7-5. If that should happen Lebby definitely should be in the COTY discussion.

[Bothrops]

I expect 5 wins. Anything less will be very disappointing. No bullshit. We can and should win all the noncon games and at least one lousy SEC game. Really should win two. Regardless, the roster is going to be gone next year anyway. Then back to ground zero. Football success at State from now on will never be more than a seasonal goal. It's not next season, until it's next season. Have to win this year. Have to win now.

[Bothrops]

we can be improved and only win 3 games.

If we win 3 games, we ****ing suck big time and there is no future in this football effort.

[Coach34]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Updated Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings heading into a busy month of July��<a href="https://t.co/q3j02zAK12">https://t.co/q3j02zAK12</a> <a href="https://t.co/gk7WNxu6iY">pic.twitter.com/gk7WNxu6iY</a></p>&mdash; Rivals (@Rivals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rivals/status/1940037124926902659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


speaking of the future

[TrapGame]

https://247sports.com/season/2026-football/compositeteamrankings/

Funny how we're ahead of Ole Miss in this one.

Doesn't matter really. The Portal is more important than high school recruits at this moment.

You gotta hire the best mercs your money can buy.

[StarkVegasSteve]

https://247sports.com/season/2026-football/compositeteamrankings/

Funny how we're ahead of Ole Miss in this one.

Doesn't matter really. The Portal is more important than high school recruits at this moment.

You gotta hire the best mercs your money can buy.

Correct. Because a freshman who balls out a G5, ala Fluff Bothwell, is miles better than even a 5 star recruit these days. Because 1. the G5 guy already knows how to play at the college level and 2. He won't have his hand out from day 1 and you risk a flop that you paid 750K to.

The biggest thing for us, as a lot of us have stated, is we have to win. We have to show transfers and HS recruits alike that we have upward mobility. Lebby will get them if we can show that.

[BuckyIsAB****]

While some wait on pins and needles regarding Ace Reese, I figured we'd delve into a season almost upon us. So I will pose my kind of State of Mississippi State football questions:

1. What are your REALISTIC expectations for this coming season?

2. Historically, what have your expectations been of Mississippi State football and how have they changed since, say, 2000?

3. What does Lebby have to do to win you over? Or if you are in the Lebby camp, what would he have to do to lose you?

4. If you go to Starkville every home Saturday, what has kept you coming? If you don't, what would get you to come back?

5. Pie in the sky, we catch every break, and our record will be ______ in 2025?

The fact that anyone is waiting on pins and needles to see if if a kid is going to bail on his teammates or not, then congratulate him on not doing it is exactly why no one worth his salt gives a shit anymore. Anyway

1. Realistically my expectations are to win 5-6 games but compete in all 12. That means not wanting to turn it off at halftime and not losing to a non conference team at home. You dont need me to tell you that loss may have ended Lebby already.

2. Expectations for the program in my opinion shouldnt Have changed since Mullen left. Cohen hired a train wreck in Moorhead and Stricklin showed his total incompetency by hiring Arnett and holding his nose. To be fair, arnett fooled a lot of us. But he shouldnt have fooled the president of the university. Go to a bow and beat ole miss more than they beat you.

3. Go to a bowl or beat OM. You do neither I think it?s time to move on.

4. I used to and stopped coming after Leach died. My last attended game was Arizona of the arnett year. I have been too disgusted to go back since and spend more money on entitled babies and cheer for them for doing bare minimum.

5. We catch every break we go 8-4.

[BuckyIsAB****]

You cant say HS recruiting means nothing, but it means less than it ever has. But the problem is, it?s all HS kids care about. Offers they can put on X. It has killed JUCO football, it is killing HS football. You used to could tell kids 95 percent of you prolly aint getting a p5 offer. Now it?s 99.9 percent of you aint. Portal and NIL is absolute poison and I dont care what anyone says, it?s a political issue and the Left won in NCAA athletics.

[BrunswickDawg]

The fact that anyone is waiting on pins and needles to see if if a kid is going to bail on his teammates or not, then congratulate him on not doing it is exactly why no one worth his salt gives a shit anymore. Anyway

1. Realistically my expectations are to win 5-6 games but compete in all 12. That means not wanting to turn it off at halftime and not losing to a non conference team at home. You dont need me to tell you that loss may have ended Lebby already.

2. Expectations for the program in my opinion shouldnt Have changed since Mullen left. Cohen hired a train wreck in Moorhead and Stricklin showed his total incompetency by hiring Arnett and holding his nose. To be fair, arnett fooled a lot of us. But he shouldnt have fooled the president of the university. Go to a bow and beat ole miss more than they beat you.

3. Go to a bowl or beat OM. You do neither I think it?s time to move on.

4. I used to and stopped coming after Leach died. My last attended game was Arizona of the arnett year. I have been too disgusted to go back since and spend more money on entitled babies and cheer for them for doing bare minimum.

5. We catch every break we go 8-4.

Um - Stricklin wasn't involved in the Moorhead or Arnett hires. Cohen hired Moorhead. Keenum (technically Bracky Brett was interim AD I believe) hired Arnett

[BuckyIsAB****]

Um - Stricklin wasn't involved in the Moorhead or Arnett hires. Cohen hired Moorhead. Keenum (technically Bracky Brett was interim AD I believe) hired Arnett

I meant Keenum. Brain fart

[Dawgology]

1. Realistically, we are at 2-10 again. Our football program is cooked. We don't have the major booster interest in fixing it, and we are way below SEC average talent-wise. It's just a social club now.

2. I started watching MSU in 1997 and, because of that, I expect a winning season every year with the occasional 4/5 win season due to whatever reason. I think those days are have passed us by and we may not see MSU football in the win column for a very long time. It's amazing how this program was fumbled by everyone invested in it back in the late 2010's. A book should be written on it.

3. 5 wins. And one of those losses needs to be reeeeeeaaaallllyyy close to a win to give the fanbase hope moving forward.

4. A better product on the field and better entertainment/presentation while there. This isn't a church service this is supposed to be pure entertainment.

5. Honestly, 5-7. Every game we play in conference is a top 25 team except Missouri and Arkansas and those are both away games.

[Coach34]

5. Honestly, 5-7. Every game we play in conference is a top 25 team except Missouri and Arkansas and those are both away games.

Lots of people expect Mizzou to be Top 25 or right on the cusp of it. Most predictions have them at 8 or 9 wins. They are 23rd in ESPN's FPI index. UPig is 22nd. We are 52nd

[Mjoelner34]

1. 4-8
2. Looking for us to go 7-5, give or take a win every year. If the stars align and we get a double digit win total, great.
3. I need to see a type of football being played that gives hope that we can be bowl eligible next year. The defense last year gave 0 hope, be it due to talent or coaching or both. The offense struggled to move the ball and score, be it due to talent or coaching or both.
4. I live 10 minutes from my parking spot.
5. 6-6

Quoted DawgFromOxford on answers 1 through 3.

[Bothrops]

Lots of people expect Mizzou to be Top 25 or right on the cusp of it. Most predictions have them at 8 or 9 wins. They are 23rd in ESPN's FPI index. UPig is 22nd. We are 52nd

I'm not sure of there's much difference between us and Arkansas with the exception of starting qb. Which can be big for team outlook. I dont think we really know what we have on the LOS.