Fun Fact Time

[BeastMan]

MSU played 3, 10 or more win conference champions and went 2-1 in those games with the only loss to Auburn on a last second TD pass.

MSU played 7 teams w/10 or more wins. Also 9 win A&M, 8 win OM, and 6 win Troy. How bout 9 win Alcorn? Only 2 games were played against teams with losing records and those were Kentucky and Arkansas.

And we still managed 7 wins... Even after losing 2 starting (more or less) Safeties in the first game, Jay Hughes and Dee Arrington. How bout we also lost our starting OG for the season too, Justin Malone? Not to mention we were down to our 3rd string QB in some big game moments this year. When you look at the totality of this 2013 season, you cannot be upset with the final verdict. A good year all things considered.

[CJDAWG85]

Very tough schedule... HUGE to come out with 7 wins

[smootness]

The combined record of our D1 opponents stands at 102-52 right now. If OSU and Auburn both win their bowl games, that win % jumps to .667. I'd like to know if any school in college history has ever had a D1 opponent win % that high. That is absolutely insane.

Take out the bottom two from that group, and our 10 toughest opponents combined to have a record of 97-33. Absurd.

[M.Fillmore]

The combined record of our D1 opponents stands at 102-52 right now. If OSU and Auburn both win their bowl games, that win % jumps to .667. I'd like to know if any school in college history has ever had a D1 opponent win % that high. That is absolutely insane.

Take out the bottom two from that group, and our 10 toughest opponents combined to have a record of 97-33. Absurd.

I know Scott has deservedly caught grief over OK State, but he needs to clip the above post, stick it in his wallet and pull it out the next time Slive calls him "with a great idea to help MSU and the SEC."

[CadaverDawg]

Hell of a tough schedule. Just imagine if we had hung on to beat Auburn. To win 7 was huge against this schedule...beating Auburn would have been insane.

I was hard on Mullen this year, but what he did in the last 3 games was worthy of some major props. Especially with the QB situation. Very impressive. Hopefully we take that momentum and capitalize on it, unlike 2012.

[preachermatt83]

Hell of a tough schedule. Just imagine if we had hung on to beat Auburn. To win 7 was huge against this schedule...beating Auburn would have been insane.

I was hard on Mullen this year, but what he did in the last 3 games was worthy of some major props. Especially with the QB situation. Very impressive. Hopefully we take that momentum and capitalize on it, unlike 2012.

I feel the exact same way.. Mullen really changed my mind about him... I don't know what happened but he really went from a weird "I don't care" attitude to a passionate coach with an unreal will to win.

[CadaverDawg]

I feel the exact same way.. Mullen really changed my mind about him... I don't know what happened but he really went from a weird "I don't care" attitude to a passionate coach with an unreal will to win.

I like to think the fans that held his feet to the fire had a little to do with it.

[smootness]

I like to think the fans that held his feet to the fire had a little to do with it.

I don't. I think fans tried to read too much into his body language and made too many assumptions.

Do we really think Mullen stopped caring at some point, or got lazy? And fans caused him to changed that? Seriously? That's insane to me.

[preachermatt83]

I like to think the fans that held his feet to the fire had a little to do with it.

absolutely.. Agree completely..

[CadaverDawg]

I don't. I think fans tried to read too much into his body language and made too many assumptions.

Do we really think Mullen stopped caring at some point, or got lazy? And fans caused him to changed that? Seriously? That's insane to me.

I didn't just say any of those things. I simply said that I think part of Mullen's late season push came from the fire being lit mid season. Didn't say that was 100% of it, but I think it contributed. If some disagree that's fine, but I think it helped.

[smootness]

But what was Mullen's late season push? Our team definitely had a late season push, but I don't think we struggled at the beginning of the year because Mullen was lazy/content and then came on strong because Mullen became passionate. That's just crazy to me and seems like fans trying to way oversimplify things.

I think our defense struggled some early, and we had issues at QB that stalled the offense. I think late in the year, our defense came on strong, we played Arkansas, and then our team was motivated for the Egg Bowl.

I just think the idea that Mullen lost his fire because there were times when they showed him on the sideline and he wasn't chewing someone out is ridiculous.

[CadaverDawg]

But what was Mullen's late season push? Our team definitely had a late season push, but I don't think we struggled at the beginning of the year because Mullen was lazy/content and then came on strong because Mullen became passionate. That's just crazy to me and seems like fans trying to way oversimplify things.

I think our defense struggled some early, and we had issues at QB that stalled the offense. I think late in the year, our defense came on strong, we played Arkansas, and then our team was motivated for the Egg Bowl.

I just think the idea that Mullen lost his fire because there were times when they showed him on the sideline and he wasn't chewing someone out is ridiculous.

Again, you're reading WAY deeper into this than I am. I am not saying he was lazy in the early season, or that the only reason we won the last 3 was because of Mullen turning a switch on. I'm simply saying that once the fans started grumbling, we started playing our best football. And coincidentally, Mullen became very emotional at the end of the year when we became bowl eligible. Some of that was probably natural, but some of it was because he had worked his ass of to turn things around late in the season and was emotional because the team responded and pulled through.

And yes, I do think he was a little complacent early in the year. I wouldn't say Lazy, or "that he didn't care"...just a little complacent. And if you don't think coaches respond to criticism at times, I can't help you. A perfect example is Bob Stoops last night. You think he has his team playing like that and is THAT fired up with every play if he hadn't been criticized over his SEC comments and lack of beating SEC teams?

But I can agree to disagree.

[Political Hack]

scheduling another tough kickoff game with that schedule was an epic dumbshit move.

[Todd4State]

Again, you're reading WAY deeper into this than I am. I am not saying he was lazy in the early season, or that the only reason we won the last 3 was because of Mullen turning a switch on. I'm simply saying that once the fans started grumbling, we started playing our best football. And coincidentally, Mullen became very emotional at the end of the year when we became bowl eligible. Some of that was probably natural, but some of it was because he had worked his ass of to turn things around late in the season and was emotional because the team responded and pulled through.

And yes, I do think he was a little complacent early in the year. I wouldn't say Lazy, or "that he didn't care"...just a little complacent. And if you don't think coaches respond to criticism at times, I can't help you. A perfect example is Bob Stoops last night. You think he has his team playing like that and is THAT fired up with every play if he hadn't been criticized over his SEC comments and lack of beating SEC teams?

But I can agree to disagree.

We have some fans that want to believe that our coaches are infallible and in control at all times no matter what. I'm sure Dan heard the criticism whether it had an impact on how he did things or not.

I think we were just a young team and we really didn't have very many senior leaders especially after Tyler got knocked out. That caused us to have to find leaders along the way.

[Todd4State]

scheduling another tough kickoff game with that schedule was an epic dumbshit move.

Well, at least it was interesting.**

If we don't play that game, we're talking about how bad we kicked Georgia Tech's ass in the Music City Bowl.

If we had won 8 games with a manageable schedule, there would be some "experts" talking about us as a darkhorse in the SEC west next year.

[CadaverDawg]

We have some fans that want to believe that our coaches are infallible and in control at all times no matter what. I'm sure Dan heard the criticism whether it had an impact on how he did things or not.

I think we were just a young team and we really didn't have very many senior leaders especially after Tyler got knocked out. That caused us to have to find leaders along the way.

I agree. That's why I said I think a small % could probably be traced back to a little applied pressure. Which is never a bad thing for a coaching staff in year 5...especially if things seem to be in a rut at the time. But I agree that a majority was because we were a young team that got better as the season progressed. This team rallied and fought for each other those last 3-4 games and the bowl game. It was a real pleasure to watch. They showed some real grit down the stretch, and it seemed that the coaches did too.

[Barking 13]

Again, you're reading WAY deeper into this than I am. I am not saying he was lazy in the early season, or that the only reason we won the last 3 was because of Mullen turning a switch on. I'm simply saying that once the fans started grumbling, we started playing our best football. And coincidentally, Mullen became very emotional at the end of the year when we became bowl eligible. Some of that was probably natural, but some of it was because he had worked his ass of to turn things around late in the season and was emotional because the team responded and pulled through.

And yes, I do think he was a little complacent early in the year. I wouldn't say Lazy, or "that he didn't care"...just a little complacent. And if you don't think coaches respond to criticism at times, I can't help you. A perfect example is Bob Stoops last night. You think he has his team playing like that and is THAT fired up with every play if he hadn't been criticized over his SEC comments and lack of beating SEC teams?

But I can agree to disagree.

Has anybody noticed Mullen chewing on the play card since the Bama game?

[Coach34]

I dont think Mullen changed one bit during the season.

We got better this season because we were a young football team that suffered alot of injuries early. Those injuries caused us to be in a state of flux the first half of the season.
We made a transition at QB during the season
Young Secondary got better once injuries stopped
Turner's work with the DL started paying off with all the young guys
We stayed healthy the last half of the season on defense and it showed in our play.

Dakota got better all year and was really good his last 8 quarters- his numbers for the 3 Q's vs A&M, 1Q vs OM, and the 3 Q's vs Rice are sick. Over 550 yards passing and 250 yards rushing- in 8 quarters of play.

Our team simply grew during the season and played its best ball at the end once it got healthy.

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

I dont think Mullen changed one bit during the season.

We got better this season because we were a young football team that suffered alot of injuries early. Those injuries caused us to be in a state of flux the first half of the season.
We made a transition at QB during the season
Young Secondary got better once injuries stopped
Turner's work with the DL started paying off with all the young guys
We stayed healthy the last half of the season on defense and it showed in our play.

Dakota got better all year and was really good his last 8 quarters- his numbers for the 3 Q's vs A&M, 1Q vs OM, and the 3 Q's vs Rice are sick. Over 550 yards passing and 250 yards rushing- in 8 quarters of play.

Our team simply grew during the season and played its best ball at the end once it got healthy.

That's a Bingo. Mullen didn't change his whole mindset in a 4 week span just because there was some grumbling on the message boards. We changed our entire offense mid season, and had some big injuries during that period. Once we got healthy and grew up a little on D, we started to look much better.