About the 2015 Football Season

[BulldogBear]

I am "excited" to see that national expectations of MSU football are returning to normal, despite our change in "perception," which I don't think really occurred. Oh, it's all the usual, blah blah, tough opponents, blah blah, Starkville, blah blah, losing all our experience and crap. Bwahahahahahah. All the usual misperception of our roster, etc. has me really confident going into the new season. Almost feeling woolly again!

[justwin]

I am "excited" to see that national expectations of MSU football are returning to normal, despite our change in "perception," which I don't think really occurred. Oh, it's all the usual, blah blah, tough opponents, blah blah, Starkville, blah blah, losing all our experience and crap. Bwahahahahahah. All the usual misperception of our roster, etc. has me really confident going into the new season. Almost feeling woolly again!

you're spot on about Nat'l perception. Case in point today is another glowing article about OM & Tony Conner by Asschaps. Asschaps goes out of his way to lay excessive praise on his weekly OM fluff piece, but doesn't have it in him to write a comparable story on any MSU player, ever. By far, MSU has more local, regional, and Nat'l media against it than any other SEC school....sad, but so true.

I kind of look at the MSU perception growth curve like TCU. It's been a decade of them consistently winning (and winning big) and they still have asterisks, etc. But the perception is changing for them especially with the way they steamrolled OM. I still think they were top 4 at seasons end and were snubbed. And yes, playing GT was the worst possible scenario for us in the bowl game b/c you gain nothing by beating them and kind of lead the trend you elude to by MSU being back to what we always are. I would've liked to have played TCU or Baylor as I thought we would've matched up much better than the illegal chop blockers and been able to boast a NY day bowl win.

The one thing working in MSUs favor is playing in the SEC. If MSU can beat LSU this year for two in a row, that does change the perception more rapidly. Same thing with beating Auburn again in 2015. Beat Auburn this year and that's 3 of the last 5 with the two losses coming in the final seconds both on the road & vs the zebras. Kind of funny when you read how "loaded" auburn is going into 2015 and just the opposite on MSU despite MSU returning more talent and depth and Dak.

MSU's 2015 season is all about the LSU game. Most important game and will be Dak's legacy of getting MSU permanently over the "LSU" mental hump. Under Mullen, MSU has always been up for the first SEC game and this year should be no different. Then, go into Auburn with everything on the line early. It'll be interesting to see if the zebras actually throw the flag on the illegal recently enacted forward pass "malzahn/freeze" rule in auburn, but I doubt it.

As for feeling "wooly", I've thought all along that Ross should be in the slot and the coaches are now putting him there which will be huge. The slot WR is the marque spot in Mullen's offense and we finally have a guy that resembles one of those Oklahoma State WR studs from the past...quick, elusive, tall, fast, good ball skills, etc. Also, more wool is that I think hiring Diaz is one of the top 3 offseason SEC moves. The pundits have no clue how good our defense will be under him....no clue whatsoever. The other SEC offseason moves that rival Diaz' hire would be Muschamp to Aub & Chavis to TXAM.

another "wooly" feeling came about a week ago when I saw an interview of Coach Turner after practice about Chris Jones and he basically said all he wants Chris to do is focus on Chris and not so much everyone else. I thought that was fantastic advice and coaching. If Chris can be selfish enough to devote himself to being what he can be, he has the ability to posterize some of these SEC OL he'll face this year which would be special. Hopefully, he won't go ape shit from making a sack like he's never done it before and kind of let multiple big sacks per game be the norm for him. I really want Chris to embarrass and LSU OL, or two on the way to demoralizing Jenning's confidence very early in that game.

Final wooly is I think Walley is going to really blossom full time at TE and have much better production than MoJo. He's taller, bigger, and faster with better hands.

[Todd4State]

If we want to change our national perception, we have to beat Alabama. Beating LSU and Auburn were great and no doubt those wins helped elevate our program. But if we take Bama down, I think it will change a lot of things for us.

[spiritual_machine2005]

Bama is the last SEC West team Mullin hasn't beaten yet. We get them at home. It's as good a chance as ever to take them down.

[Dawgface]

If we want to change our national perception, we have to beat Alabama. Beating LSU and Auburn were great and no doubt those wins helped elevate our program. But if we take Bama down, I think it will change a lot of things for us.

Yes, beat Bama and consistently have 9+ win seasons then the perception will change. One ten win season followed up with 7-5 seasons won't change much from a national view.

[maroonmania]

you're spot on about Nat'l perception. Case in point today is another glowing article about OM & Tony Conner by Asschaps. Asschaps goes out of his way to lay excessive praise on his weekly OM fluff piece, but doesn't have it in him to write a comparable story on any MSU player, ever. By far, MSU has more local, regional, and Nat'l media against it than any other SEC school....sad, but so true.

I kind of look at the MSU perception growth curve like TCU. It's been a decade of them consistently winning (and winning big) and they still have asterisks, etc. But the perception is changing for them especially with the way they steamrolled OM. I still think they were top 4 at seasons end and were snubbed. And yes, playing GT was the worst possible scenario for us in the bowl game b/c you gain nothing by beating them and kind of lead the trend you elude to by MSU being back to what we always are. I would've liked to have played TCU or Baylor as I thought we would've matched up much better than the illegal chop blockers and been able to boast a NY day bowl win.

The one thing working in MSUs favor is playing in the SEC. If MSU can beat LSU this year for two in a row, that does change the perception more rapidly. Same thing with beating Auburn again in 2015. Beat Auburn this year and that's 3 of the last 5 with the two losses coming in the final seconds both on the road & vs the zebras. Kind of funny when you read how "loaded" auburn is going into 2015 and just the opposite on MSU despite MSU returning more talent and depth and Dak.

MSU's 2015 season is all about the LSU game. Most important game and will be Dak's legacy of getting MSU permanently over the "LSU" mental hump. Under Mullen, MSU has always been up for the first SEC game and this year should be no different. Then, go into Auburn with everything on the line early. It'll be interesting to see if the zebras actually throw the flag on the illegal recently enacted forward pass "malzahn/freeze" rule in auburn, but I doubt it.

As for feeling "wooly", I've thought all along that Ross should be in the slot and the coaches are now putting him there which will be huge. The slot WR is the marque spot in Mullen's offense and we finally have a guy that resembles one of those Oklahoma State WR studs from the past...quick, elusive, tall, fast, good ball skills, etc. Also, more wool is that I think hiring Diaz is one of the top 3 offseason SEC moves. The pundits have no clue how good our defense will be under him....no clue whatsoever. The other SEC offseason moves that rival Diaz' hire would be Muschamp to Aub & Chavis to TXAM.

another "wooly" feeling came about a week ago when I saw an interview of Coach Turner after practice about Chris Jones and he basically said all he wants Chris to do is focus on Chris and not so much everyone else. I thought that was fantastic advice and coaching. If Chris can be selfish enough to devote himself to being what he can be, he has the ability to posterize some of these SEC OL he'll face this year which would be special. Hopefully, he won't go ape shit from making a sack like he's never done it before and kind of let multiple big sacks per game be the norm for him. I really want Chris to embarrass and LSU OL, or two on the way to demoralizing Jenning's confidence very early in that game.

Final wooly is I think Walley is going to really blossom full time at TE and have much better production than MoJo. He's taller, bigger, and faster with better hands.

Two points from me: 1) I actually don't mind people not writing up glowing, praising articles about us. Our players and teams (seemingly no matter the sport) absolutely prepare better, train better and play better in seasons where they have had a chip on their shoulder in the offseason because of being disrespected. Its as routine as the sun rising in the morning that when we have a team that is given a lot of preseason hype that they will fail to live up to expectations because they think too highly of themselves and don't have the hunger that they need to excel at the highest level. 2) We HAVE to FINISH. Last year's season was great and I enjoyed it immensely, BUT there is no doubt if we are honest that after the climax that was the Auburn game and reaching #1, our team was NEVER the same again. We lost to every good team we played after that (Bama, OM, GT) and just scraped by against average teams (KY, Ark) and only looked really good against one of the worst Vandy teams I've ever seen. This year I would like to see us play at a high level and be able to maintain that through to the end. Most years I believe Mullen teams have actually played their best the last month of the season but that certainly wasn't true last year.

[Political Hack]

Remember when I complained about playing GT in the Orange bowl the day it was announced and everyone blasted me because it should be an "easy" win??? Yeah... It was a terrible match up for us.

To 2015: Last year was our best chance to beat LSU and we took advantage. This season is our best chance to beat Bama. Will we take advantage?

The schedule is brutal, but LSU being the home opener is a big plus for us. It should be rocking. Then we really get two weeks to prep for Auburn. @A&M is going to be tough, tough, tough. We almost have to win @Auburn in my opinion with those two games back to back. If we start the season 2-3, we're praynig for the Liberty Bowl again. If we start it 4-1, we have a shot at the West. The middle of the schedule is manageable and then we get two weeks to prep for Mizzu.

Then the key game to the season, Bama, takes place at DWS. Win that and we're playing for everything going in to the last two, which is the only way I think we sweep those two games.

I expect the offense to win a lot of games early and the defense to win some games late.

[BulldogBear]

Two points from me: 1) I actually don't mind people not writing up glowing, praising articles about us. Our players and teams (seemingly no matter the sport) absolutely prepare better, train better and play better in seasons where they have had a chip on their shoulder in the offseason because of being disrespected. Its as routine as the sun rising in the morning that when we have a team that is given a lot of preseason hype that they will fail to live up to expectations because they think too highly of themselves and don't have the hunger that they need to excel at the highest level. 2) We HAVE to FINISH. Last year's season was great and I enjoyed it immensely, BUT there is no doubt if we are honest that after the climax that was the Auburn game and reaching #1, our team was NEVER the same again. We lost to every good team we played after that (Bama, OM, GT) and just scraped by against average teams (KY, Ark) and only looked really good against one of the worst Vandy teams I've ever seen. This year I would like to see us play at a high level and be able to maintain that through to the end. Most years I believe Mullen teams have actually played their best the last month of the season but that certainly wasn't true last year.

Dang good post. I believe your spot on on both points, and point one is exactly what I was trying to say in the OP.

[HancockCountyDog]

If I had to rank the season schedule, I would say that @Arkansas is our 2nd or maybe 3rd toughest game on the schedule, depending on bad AU's defense is.

At the end of the day, we have the best QB in the country, with maybe the best WR corps in the SEC, I think we can win any game.

[Political Hack]

If I had to rank the season schedule, I would say that @Arkansas is our 2nd or maybe 3rd toughest game on the schedule, depending on bad AU's defense is.

At the end of the day, we have the best QB in the country, with maybe the best WR corps in the SEC, I think we can win any game.

we could literally win every single division game or lose every single division game. I can't remember a year like that.

[RocketCityDawg]

we could literally win every single division game or lose every single division game. I can't remember a year like that.

Last year was pretty much that way, too.

[Political Hack]

Last year was pretty much that way, too.

I didn't think we could lose to Arkansas going in and I didn't think we could beat Bama going in. Obviously that changed throughout the course of the season (which is probably your point), but looking at the schedule prior to the season there were games that you would typically pencil in the W or the L.

[maroonmania]

Remember when I complained about playing GT in the Orange bowl the day it was announced and everyone blasted me because it should be an "easy" win??? Yeah... It was a terrible match up for us.

To 2015: Last year was our best chance to beat LSU and we took advantage. This season is our best chance to beat Bama. Will we take advantage?

The schedule is brutal, but LSU being the home opener is a big plus for us. It should be rocking. Then we really get two weeks to prep for Auburn. @A&M is going to be tough, tough, tough. We almost have to win @Auburn in my opinion with those two games back to back. If we start the season 2-3, we're praynig for the Liberty Bowl again. If we start it 4-1, we have a shot at the West. The middle of the schedule is manageable and then we get two weeks to prep for Mizzu.

Then the key game to the season, Bama, takes place at DWS. Win that and we're playing for everything going in to the last two, which is the only way I think we sweep those two games.

I expect the offense to win a lot of games early and the defense to win some games late.

The problem wasn't GT, the problem was us. We were not playing very well at the very end of the year plus we lost our DC to compound the problem. I totally disagree if somehow people think we would have had a better chance to beat someone like TCU or Baylor. Those teams would have decimated our secondary.

[HancockCountyDog]

we could literally win every single division game or lose every single division game. I can't remember a year like that.

I don't see how A&M, bears, or LSU beat us. I'm probably being optimistic, but I'll be stunned if we don't win at least two of these, and most likely small three. The other 3 are toss ups.

[Political Hack]

I don't see how A&M, bears, or LSU beat us. I'm probably being optimistic, but I'll be stunned if we don't win at least two of these, and most likely small three. The other 3 are toss ups.

I think catching LSU early and at home is going to give us an edge, but I honestly would not be shocked if they ran the table from that point forward.

[Political Hack]

The problem wasn't GT, the problem was us. We were not playing very well at the very end of the year plus we lost our DC to compound the problem. I totally disagree if somehow people think we would have had a better chance to beat someone like TCU or Baylor. Those teams would have decimated our secondary.

It wouldn't have been close with either of those. We could've gotten Boise, Michigan State, or Arizona though if things had fallen correctly. Hell, I would've taken a rematch of the Egg Bowl in Atlanta over the cards we got dealt.

[Statefan]

Two points from me: 1) I actually don't mind people not writing up glowing, praising articles about us. Our players and teams (seemingly no matter the sport) absolutely prepare better, train better and play better in seasons where they have had a chip on their shoulder in the offseason because of being disrespected. Its as routine as the sun rising in the morning that when we have a team that is given a lot of preseason hype that they will fail to live up to expectations because they think too highly of themselves and don't have the hunger that they need to excel at the highest level. 2) We HAVE to FINISH. Last year's season was great and I enjoyed it immensely, BUT there is no doubt if we are honest that after the climax that was the Auburn game and reaching #1, our team was NEVER the same again. We lost to every good team we played after that (Bama, OM, GT) and just scraped by against average teams (KY, Ark) and only looked really good against one of the worst Vandy teams I've ever seen. This year I would like to see us play at a high level and be able to maintain that through to the end. Most years I believe Mullen teams have actually played their best the last month of the season but that certainly wasn't true last year.

You have to wonder if we would have been less tight against UK, Arkansas, and Bama (for a half) if we would have just been #2 all season to FSU. Once we got to #1, all the tv/radio interviews, Gameday segments, etc. really piled up and we either got distracted or too much of a big head.

LSU game will be big next year.... praying it is too early in the season for CBS to get the rights to it. Although i'm still pissed they put a top-12 A&M @ MSU last year at 11am

[Jack Lambert]

If we want to change our national perception, we have to beat Alabama. Beating LSU and Auburn were great and no doubt those wins helped elevate our program. But if we take Bama down, I think it will change a lot of things for us.

Todd we heard the same thing about LSU before we beat them. If we beat Alabama the perception will be Bama is down.

[BulldogBear]

Until TAMU clamps down defensively on a good SEC opponent, I am not a believer. I'm looking for more of the offensive hype BS out of the media this season before a couple schools then proceed to rip them a new one. Until they get with the program and play defense or find another JFF (unlikely but once in a blue moon, they are looking at 8-4 most years at best.