Phil Steele doesn't have us in a bowl

[ShotgunDawg]

I love being over looked! We have so much better of a team than what the media or anyone else is giving us credit for. Hopefully, this puts the chip back on our players shoulders. Steele has Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl, which is probably their ceiling, IMO.



http://www.philsteele.com/bowls/13-14/bowlprojections.html

[PMDawg]

He admits its based on our schedule in the mag. Arkansas and auburn both being on the road hurt, so he gives us two L's there. Bowling Green is no gimme either.

[DiligenceDawg]

Tough schedule that is for sure. But this team is not nearly in the dire straits that some have made it out to be.

We'll see what we're made of but I like our chances of 6+.

[blacklistedbully]

Not seeing it for Ole Miss. I think 6-6 is their ceiling, with 4-8 more likely. Last year that team was more like a 4-8 team than 6-6. They should have lost to Arky, and we had to play one of our worst games in a long time at their place to lose. Have never felt they'd have played as intense coming in at 4-7 with no hopes of a bowl and Bucky not getting idolized. IMO, the media just went way overboard with the praise due to their recent records, the close losses to TAMU & LSU, and the wins over way down Arky & Auburn.

LSU is a rivalry game which Ole Miss has often played up for even in years when they suck. TAMU was close only because of the HUGE t/o margin they owned. Instead of bragging about a 3-point loss, I'd be embarrassed to lose a game in which my team enjoyed a +4 t/o margin. But too many folks don't dig deep enough into the details to understand the "how" or "why" something might have happened. While the "how or why" doesn't mean squat in the record books and standings, it does mean something when analyzing a team's relative strength or weakness, and the likelihood of their success going forward.

[PMDawg]

It's hard for me to gauge our team. The talent is there, but we have a hard time playing up to our talent with a pocket passer. If our run game gets better and our D-Line gets better (both entirely plausible), I like us to go 7-5 or 8-4. If its the same as last year (vs teams with a pulse), then I give us 4-5 wins.

[Coach34]

Steele didnt have OM in a bowl game last year- nor did he have Auburn and UPig shitting the bed.

It's a projection

[MSUDawg4Life]

I love being over looked! We have so much better of a team than what the media or anyone else is giving us credit for. Hopefully, this puts the chip back on our players shoulders. Steele has Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl, which is probably their ceiling, IMO.



http://www.philsteele.com/bowls/13-14/bowlprojections.html

Agreed.

When I look at the team, we are a lot more solid than they know.

I kinda like it though because we always seem to play better with a chip on our shoulders.

[maroonmania]

Too many unknowns to make any real accurate assessments on our season. Heck, 3 of our 8 conference games have us playing teams with a 1st year HC. Just like OM did last year, its not uncommon for a team that's at least got some talent to make a jump under a new coach because of a newly inspired attitude. I would be shocked if Ark, Aub and KY aren't better this year than they were last year. Now whether we can still beat an Aub or Ark on the road assuming they are improved is still a question mark. I would assume we would still beat KY at home and, for the record, with the loss of personnel at Ark I'm not looking for them to be as much better over last year as Auburn will be. Fact remains that if we don't beat a good OSU team then we are going to have to win at least 3 conference games to get to a bowl which would mean we would have to win 3 of 4 against Aub, KY, Ark and OM unless we are FINALLY able to beat someone nobody thinks we can beat. To me a 6-6 record has never looked as good as it likely would look this year.

[Ghost of Hank Flick]

It feels sucky to see something like that, but from his objective point of view we have 4 wins (Alcorn, Troy, BG and UK), 3 swing games (Aub, Ark and OM), 5 games with less than probably a 30% chance of winning (OSU, LSU, USC, A&M and Bama). We are just going to have to prove him wrong because right now the schedule shows we are probably a 50/50 team for a bowl this year. My personal opinion is that we are a 80-90% chance of making a bowl, but I also want to be optimistic about my team. Hopefully we play with a chip on our shoulder this year.

[HancockCountyDog]

Its like the first half of the season didn't happen.

We skull drug AU, TN and Arkansas. Sure they weren't the best teams in the NCAA but we play two of those teams this year along with 3 OOC cupcakes and then Kentucky, OM at home, and then we have the rest of our schedule that I agree is tough, but I only see two completely unwinnable games A&M and Bama.

Once Vandy kicks bucky the beaver's teeth in to start the season, this Ole Piss propaganda will come to a halt.

[blacklistedbully]

Its like the first half of the season didn't happen.

We skull drug AU, TN and Arkansas. Sure they weren't the best teams in the NCAA but we play two of those teams this year along with 3 OOC cupcakes and then Kentucky, OM at home, and then we have the rest of our schedule that I agree is tough, but I only see two completely unwinnable games A&M and Bama.

Once Vandy kicks bucky the beaver's teeth in to start the season, this Ole Piss propaganda will come to a halt.

I dunno about TAMU. I've got a sneaking suspicion Johnny Football played a little over his head last year, and is showing signs of becoming a head-case. Wouldn't surprise me much to see them falter this year.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Mullen has his work cut out for him this season. Make or break.
I've got to admit my expectations are low, but I'll be ecstatic to be proven wrong.

[msstate7]

I dunno about TAMU. I've got a sneaking suspicion Johnny Football played a little over his head last year, and is showing signs of becoming a head-case. Wouldn't surprise me much to see them falter this year.

I think aTm and ole miss' offenses will have a tougher go of it this year. I'm not saying they won't score points, but teams will have answers for what they did last year.

[msstate7]

Its like the first half of the season didn't happen.

We skull drug AU, TN and Arkansas. Sure they weren't the best teams in the NCAA but we play two of those teams this year along with 3 OOC cupcakes and then Kentucky, OM at home, and then we have the rest of our schedule that I agree is tough, but I only see two completely unwinnable games A&M and Bama.

Once Vandy kicks bucky the beaver's teeth in to start the season, this Ole Piss propaganda will come to a halt.

I'm interested in how teams play ole miss defensively this year. If I was vandy, on those option plays om runs I'd take away all options from Wallace. I'd force Wallace to run and then punish him. I'd wanna see how his shoulder holds up to some hits

[Political Hack]

Auburn, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Ok State, & LSU are all wildcards this year. There's not telling what's going to happen in any of their seasons.

Auburn has a new coach.
OM will crumble like a paper tiger if they hit some early season adversity.
Arkansas has a new coach and a personnel set to fit the spread. They're also on their 3rd coach in 2 years.
Okie State lost a lot of key players and I think that's being understated in the media.
LSU has a QB that will have his 4th QB coach/Offensive Coordinator in 4 years and they've got a brutal schedule.

I don't think there's anyway to predict all five of those games accurately right now, but if we can win at least 3 of the 5 we're bowling. If we win 2 of the 5, we might be sitting at home. Scheduling Okie State before knowing who we were going to play in the East was a dumb move.

[fishwater99]

He might be right.
If Mullen hasn't made more changes besides the defensive coordinator, we will be lucky to win 5 games.
We lost 5 out of last 6 games to end the season. It looked like the team and our coaches just quit in several games.
I look for us to go 6-6, our schedule is tough as hell this year. OSU will be a good early test for the team.

I see the Bears at 7-5.

[Pollodawg]

I'm interested in how teams play ole miss defensively this year. If I was vandy, on those option plays om runs I'd take away all options from Wallace. I'd force Wallace to run and then punish him. I'd wanna see how his shoulder holds up to some hits

You force him to beat you with his arm for four quarters. Cut off the pitch man and spy Wallace. Give him no choice but to wing it. the rebs are vastly overestimating Logan and Sanders as a WRs. They aren't any where near the level Moncrief is.

[Pollodawg]

So, basically, bracket Moncrief. Even if he catches the ball, it won't be for big gains.

[FlabLoser]

So, basically, bracket Moncrief. Even if he catches the ball, it won't be for big gains.

No way. Let's play him cover 2 with a CB who has a knee sprain.

[Pollodawg]

No way. Let's play him cover 2 with a CB who has a knee sprain.

That's what lost us the last game!!!!!!! Oh, you aren't being serious. lol Carry on.

[Todd4State]

He might be right.
If Mullen hasn't made more changes besides the defensive coordinator, we will be lucky to win 5 games.
We lost 5 out of last 6 games to end the season. It looked like the team and our coaches just quit in several games.
I look for us to go 6-6, our schedule is tough as hell this year. OSU will be a good early test for the team.

I see the Bears at 7-5.

My opinion- our attitude was mainly due to Chris Wilson. I don't think Chris is a bad guy- but there were definitely some big time chemistry issues between him and Dan and maybe even some of the players. I think it trickled down throughout the rest of the team. Dan couldn't make any changes because it's not like you can fire a DC midseason and expect things to go smoothly. It's just not productive. Also, I think Chris's philiosphy on defense hurt because it was more about playing in coverage and sitting back rather than be aggressive and pop someone.

[Coach 57]

Here we go again. Look the TRUTH is this about the defense last year: Todd is right about 1 thing (can't & won't disclose anything else) there WERE chemistry issues with Wilson's personnel. And those personnel issues were a major part of our defense struggling. Those issues created problems within the coaching staff. That's it. Take from it what you will.


As far as Phil Steele he has a kid who has never played a single down of college football 3rd team ALL-SEC? LOL. Guys that's laughable. Don't put in alot of stock in Phil Steele. Btw he has NEVER been right GUESSING (and that's what he's doing) what we are going to do record wise. Calm down.

[Political Hack]

there's a pretty accurate study/projection done every year by one of the large northeast papers (forget which one) that predicts W's and L's based almost solely on the % of snaps that you return up front. Seems ridiculous at first glance, but they've been pretty accurate in the years I've seen it. If that's truly the #1 factor, we should be ok.

The problem is that I see no "in between" for this team. Either they win 8-9 games or they win 4-5. We will either be good enough to win our swing games, or we won't. The one thing we do know we'll get out of a Mullen team is consistency. Outside of last years plummet (some may refer to that as Banks vs Wilson), we've done a pretty good job playing at a consistent level. We beat the teams we should beat and we don't beat the ones who are better than us...

[fishwater99]

I hope you are right about the defense. I am really concerned about our defensive backs this year.

But why does Mullen not make adjustments to the offense? We continue to try to make TR a spread QB, when he clearly is not.
It's like we wasted the best QB in MSU history, instead of adapting the spread or changing to a pro-style offense.
It's too late now, how did Mullen not see this?

[PMDawg]

I hope you are right about the defense. I am really concerned about our defensive backs this year.

But why does Mullen not make adjustments to the offense? We continue to try to make TR a spread QB, when he clearly is not.
It's like we wasted the best QB in MSU history, instead of adapting the spread or changing to a pro-style offense.
It's too late now, how did Mullen not see this?

This is Tyler's 2nd year coming up. By all accounts, he will work under center a decent amount this year.

[fishwater99]

This is Tyler's 2nd year coming up. By all accounts, he will work under center a decent amount this year.

I hope you are right, and that we put a FB in there to block for TR and whoever is the TB...

[HancockCountyDog]

I hope you are right, and that we put a FB in there to block for TR and whoever is the TB...

Wait why in the world would we do this?

Are we going to start running power sets like Croom circa 2008? I think Tyler proved that last year he can be successful in our offense, I think the key is utilizing Dak a little more to give teams more to prepare for. Our OL isn't that great as far as lining up and running over people, that is why the spread is so great, you don't have to line up and whip the man in front of you, you simply have to create angles.

If we are lining up in I formation sets and running ISO and counter plays, we are screwed. We would be giving up the one advantage we have which is a mobile QB. I really don't believe Mullen will do this.

[fishwater99]

Wait why in the world would we do this?

Are we going to start running power sets like Croom circa 2008? I think Tyler proved that last year he can be successful in our offense, I think the key is utilizing Dak a little more to give teams more to prepare for. Our OL isn't that great as far as lining up and running over people, that is why the spread is so great, you don't have to line up and whip the man in front of you, you simply have to create angles.

If we are lining up in I formation sets and running ISO and counter plays, we are screwed. We would be giving up the one advantage we have which is a mobile QB. I really don't believe Mullen will do this.

TR is not a very mobile QB, and he will start unless he gets hurt..

[War Machine Dawg]

Wait why in the world would we do this?

Are we going to start running power sets like Croom circa 2008? I think Tyler proved that last year he can be successful in our offense, I think the key is utilizing Dak a little more to give teams more to prepare for. Our OL isn't that great as far as lining up and running over people, that is why the spread is so great, you don't have to line up and whip the man in front of you, you simply have to create angles.

If we are lining up in I formation sets and running ISO and counter plays, we are screwed. We would be giving up the one advantage we have which is a mobile QB. I really don't believe Mullen will do this.

Uhhh.....Have you SEEN Russell play? He's a statue that compounds his lack of mobility by frequently holding the ball too damn long.

I'll be shocked if we see much difference in the offense from last year. I had a source close to the team tell me Russell has a LONG way to go in terms of taking snaps from under center. He's been a shotgun QB his whole life, so it's not an easy switch. His footwork is awful right now.

Everyone knows where I stand on this. We're ****ing up by not starting Dak. With TR at QB, we're a finesse passing team. Anyone who wants to argue that doesn't know much about football. The Kang always said we'd never out-athlete most other SEC teams or win track meets with them. With TR, that's what we have to do to win: out-athlete teams. But MSU football CAN consistently beat up other teams physically. We've got an OL of 300+ pound behemoths. We need to put Dak at QB and go back to knocking the other team's dick in the dirt. Stomp a mudhole, walk it dry, and make them like it. It's not happening, but we'd be a better offense if we would.

[Political Hack]

WMD, while I agree with your general premise that our offense fits a dual threat type better than a statue, TR did just fine last year outside of the bowl game. He does need to increase his pocket presence some, but him holding the ball too long has a lot to do with the routes and when WRs are breaking open. His vision of the field has improved very year so I anticipate this being less of an issue this year than in years past. If the offense puts up more than 28 points a game, we should be able to win most games. Our W's and L's fall squarely on the defense this year IMO. If the DTs hold up in the run game, I fully expect our D to be pretty stout and our win total to hit 8. If they don't, I think we're looking at a 5 win season with an outside shot at 6. The first half of the season will determine everything. Okie State and Auburn away will define our success this year. If we can make them one deminsional and hit the QB in the mouth, we should be ok come the 4th Qt.

[Coach34]

Russell is a square peg in a round hole. Spread QB's in front of him, spread QB's behind him. But he is a pro-style QB- I dont care how long he's been working in the shotgun.

The problem Fish is that you cant make wholesale changes to the offense with only 1 QB in that style. We completely change the offense, Russell gets hurt in Game 3 vs Auburn- and we are ****ed for the rest of the season in a pro-style offense with 2 QB's that dont fit.

Plus, Mullen has his belief in what offense works- and is not as comfortable running other things. Offensive football is like the law. People specialize in parts of it. You dont want a lawyer that specializes in patent law representing you in a murder case- and I wouldnt want Gus Malzahn or Dan Mullen running an I-formation based offense that hangs it hat on the power game. We made some changes last year to the offense to accomodate Russell- and we didnt look comfortable or in sync all season. The offense was forced and predictable. The run game strategy was awful, especially without the zone read to help it. People want to blame our OL but our scheme caused them to look worse than they really were. Much like our OL under Crooms- we saw once we made some changes, the OL looked alot better.

We are going to have to suffer one more year with Russell at QB. I think the offense will be decent, but it's not going to put up any big numbers from a national perspective, altho it will probably be one of the best MSU offenses. We just need to get better on 3rd downs and hopefully the few changes we make will help the running game.

When we get to 2014 with Prescott and Staley running the offense, you will start seeing a better and much more consistent offense on the field.

[War Machine Dawg]

Russell is a square peg in a round hole. Spread QB's in front of him, spread QB's behind him. But he is a pro-style QB- I dont care how long he's been working in the shotgun.

The problem Fish is that you cant make wholesale changes to the offense with only 1 QB in that style. We completely change the offense, Russell gets hurt in Game 3 vs Auburn- and we are ****ed for the rest of the season in a pro-style offense with 2 QB's that dont fit.

Plus, Mullen has his belief in what offense works- and is not as comfortable running other things. Offensive football is like the law. People specialize in parts of it. You dont want a lawyer that specializes in patent law representing you in a murder case- and I wouldnt want Gus Malzahn or Dan Mullen running an I-formation based offense that hangs it hat on the power game. We made some changes last year to the offense to accomodate Russell- and we didnt look comfortable or in sync all season. The offense was forced and predictable. The run game strategy was awful, especially without the zone read to help it. People want to blame our OL but our scheme caused them to look worse than they really were. Much like our OL under Crooms- we saw once we made some changes, the OL looked alot better.

We are going to have to suffer one more year with Russell at QB. I think the offense will be decent, but it's not going to put up any big numbers from a national perspective, altho it will probably be one of the best MSU offenses. We just need to get better on 3rd downs and hopefully the few changes we make will help the running game.

When we get to 2014 with Prescott and Staley running the offense, you will start seeing a better and much more consistent offense on the field.

This is the part so many of our fans need to understand. TR had a great season last year by MSU standards. No one argues that. The problem is about 60 QBs put up the same or better numbers as TR last season. In terms of offense on a national scale, we were still very mediocre. Offense is undergoing an explosion at all levels - the rules are being changed in the name of "player protection" and points are being scored at a record pace. Just because Russell broke some MSU records, a sizable segment of our fanbase thinks he's the greatest QB since slice bread. aGAIN, about 60 QBs last season would've broken MSU records. It says more about how shitty our offensive record book is rather than how good we were offensively from an objective national standpoint.

If we want to take the next step as a program, we've got to have an offense that is in the top 30, not the 70s & 80s. Our offense is light years better than it was under Crooms, but it still isn't "good" from an objective standpoint.

[TexasDawg]

We're ****ing up by not starting Dak. .

I am looking forward to what the future holds with Dak and our other mobile QB's. With that being said we have to start TR and there shouldn't be much room for debate. Is Dak extremely gifted? Hell yea he is, I don't think anybody would deny that. However the sample size we have with him is very small. The only time we have seen him come into games is when Dan had a play drawn up he was absolutely certain that Dak would be able to execute for positive yardage. Dak has yet to play in a true College Football situation. He needs to get entire drives to himself before it can be determined if he is a better option than TR. Like I said I am excited about him, but you have to go with TR.

[PMDawg]

Uhhh.....Have you SEEN Russell play? He's a statue that compounds his lack of mobility by frequently holding the ball too damn long.

I'll be shocked if we see much difference in the offense from last year. I had a source close to the team tell me Russell has a LONG way to go in terms of taking snaps from under center. He's been a shotgun QB his whole life, so it's not an easy switch. His footwork is awful right now.

Everyone knows where I stand on this. We're ****ing up by not starting Dak. With TR at QB, we're a finesse passing team. Anyone who wants to argue that doesn't know much about football. The Kang always said we'd never out-athlete most other SEC teams or win track meets with them. With TR, that's what we have to do to win: out-athlete teams. But MSU football CAN consistently beat up other teams physically. We've got an OL of 300+ pound behemoths. We need to put Dak at QB and go back to knocking the other team's dick in the dirt. Stomp a mudhole, walk it dry, and make them like it. It's not happening, but we'd be a better offense if we would.

Ah yes, the greatest argument of all time. "If you disagree with me, you don't know anything about xxxx".

For the record, I'm not arguing for or against you. I just hate that "argument".

[maroonmania]

This is the part so many of our fans need to understand. TR had a great season last year by MSU standards. No one argues that. The problem is about 60 QBs put up the same or better numbers as TR last season. In terms of offense on a national scale, we were still very mediocre. Offense is undergoing an explosion at all levels - the rules are being changed in the name of "player protection" and points are being scored at a record pace. Just because Russell broke some MSU records, a sizable segment of our fanbase thinks he's the greatest QB since slice bread. aGAIN, about 60 QBs last season would've broken MSU records. It says more about how shitty our offensive record book is rather than how good we were offensively from an objective national standpoint.

If we want to take the next step as a program, we've got to have an offense that is in the top 30, not the 70s & 80s. Our offense is light years better than it was under Crooms, but it still isn't "good" from an objective standpoint.

The other issue is our offense was pretty good against the mediocre to bad competition we played but it was nowhere near what we needed against the elite competition we played. We looked particularly bad against AL and TA&M and then we were a bit better against LSU and OM but still didn't put near the points on the board we should have given the opportunities we had especially against the Bears. NW our offense was so sloppy with mistakes its not even worth talking about. I agree that the bigger problem was the defense but its pretty obvious that when we hit the talented teams that we are likely going to have to try and win with 20 points or less which doesn't give you much room for error.

[FlabLoser]

The other issue is our offense was pretty good against the mediocre to bad competition we played but it was nowhere near what we needed against the elite competition we played. We looked particularly bad against AL and TA&M and then we were a bit better against LSU and OM but still didn't put near the points on the board we should have given the opportunities we had especially against the Bears. NW our offense was so sloppy with mistakes its not even worth talking about. I agree that the bigger problem was the defense but its pretty obvious that when we hit the talented teams that we are likely going to have to try and win with 20 points or less which doesn't give you much room for error.

So we looked bad against the two best teams in the SEC. OK.

The offense was good enough to beat LSU and OM. The defense just gave up too much, especially against OM.

I have no idea what happened against NW. It is completely unlike Tyler, against any D, to throw that many stupid INTs.

[Sandman14]

Not seeing it for Ole Miss. I think 6-6 is their ceiling, with 4-8 more likely. Last year that team was more like a 4-8 team than 6-6. They should have lost to Arky, and we had to play one of our worst games in a long time at their place to lose. Have never felt they'd have played as intense coming in at 4-7 with no hopes of a bowl and Bucky not getting idolized. IMO, the media just went way overboard with the praise due to their recent records, the close losses to TAMU & LSU, and the wins over way down Arky & Auburn.

LSU is a rivalry game which Ole Miss has often played up for even in years when they suck. TAMU was close only because of the HUGE t/o margin they owned. Instead of bragging about a 3-point loss, I'd be embarrassed to lose a game in which my team enjoyed a +4 t/o margin. But too many folks don't dig deep enough into the details to understand the "how" or "why" something might have happened. While the "how or why" doesn't mean squat in the record books and standings, it does mean something when analyzing a team's relative strength or weakness, and the likelihood of their success going forward.

homer time! take them maroon glasses off! Ole Miss 4-8? Whatcha smokin? Ole Miss has a 7 win floor and looks like 8-9. those bastards. but luckily I care more about baseball than football.

[Sandman14]

So we looked bad against the two best teams in the SEC. OK.

The offense was good enough to beat LSU and OM. The defense just gave up too much, especially against OM.

I have no idea what happened against NW. It is completely unlike Tyler, against any D, to throw that many stupid INTs.

We looked horrible against Ole Miss. HORRIBLE. And just as bad against NW.

The first half against Ole Miss we should have been up 24 points with their piss poor play. At half time, anyone with a brain knew we were about to get skull drug.

The only game all season against a good team in which we actually looked solid was LSU. We could have won that game with some luck. Against all other good teams, we stunk.

But, as is customary, ******* won every game in which his team was favored. As long as he does this, we will be fine.

[fishwater99]

We looked horrible against Ole Miss. HORRIBLE. And just as bad against NW.

The first half against Ole Miss we should have been up 24 points with their piss poor play. At half time, anyone with a brain knew we were about to get skull drug.

The only game all season against a good team in which we actually looked solid was LSU. We could have won that game with some luck. Against all other good teams, we stunk.

But, as is customary, *cough**cough**cough**cough**cough**cough**cough* won every game in which his team was favored. As long as he does this, we will be fine.

When will he get an upset vs a Top 20 team? never?

[Sandman14]

When will he get an upset vs a Top 20 team? never?

don't know, but I was a fan who didn't want to see Stans go for this same rationale. Last year instead of being down to the wire to go to the NCAA tournament, we were one of the worst teams in SEC history. Where the basketball team goes from here, who knows. Hope Ray can do something. But what I know for a fact is that we would have been very good last year and would be gearing up for another good run this year if we still had Stans. So before you go banging on ******** and talking all of this stuff about "we are MSU and we demand a national title and if you demand less than you are settling," we need to take a look in the mirror and realize that while we get all the tens and twenties of millions of dollars by being in the SEC, we have to deal with the fact that all but 3-4 teams have a serious advantage over us.

[blacklistedbully]

homer time! take them maroon glasses off! Ole Miss 4-8? Whatcha smokin? Ole Miss has a 7 win floor and looks like 8-9. those bastards. but luckily I care more about baseball than football.

Homer my ass. Perhaps you need to look up what "homer" means. My post didn't say anything about how great we were or are. I simply took issue with the hype surrounding Ole Miss. No "maroon glasses" involved. Weak attempt to discredit a perfectly legitimate opinion backed by reasons. Your post shows no rhyme or reason whatsoever. I see it more than possible OM loses at Vandy, at TExas, at Bama, @ Auburn (Malzahn is not exactly new there), to TAMU, LSU, & at MSU. They barely beat Arky last year, and Arky was as poorly a coached team as there was. A new coach there will not be a step back. Perhaps not a big step forward at first, but considering they should have won last year, I wouldn't put that one in the bank for OM despite Arky's player losses.

They've got SE Mizzou State, Idaho & Mizzou as likely wins, and Troy as a "should" win, but Troy has a habit of playing big boys tough. OM is fortunate to have this at home. If they knock off Auburn & Arky, they probably get to 6 wins, but I think Bucky will have trouble out-Malzahning Malzahn, and that's a home game for Auburn a week before they play Western Carolina, meaning they are not likely to be distracted in their prep for OM. OM, on the other hand has this game sandwiched between Bama and a TAMU team unlikely to surrender to OM another +4 t/o margin.

Likely losses:
Bama
TAMU
LSU
Texas
MSU

That's 5, putting their ceiling at 7 if they won every other game. But they won't. I think they lose 2 or 3 of:

Vandy
Auburn
Arky
Troy (upset special)

It's certainly not crazy or "homeristic" to think Ole Miss should lose:
Bama
TAMU
LSU
MSU
Texas

+ easily could lose to:

Vandy
@ Auburn

+ might well lose one of:

Troy
Arky
Mizzou

[Sandman14]

Homer my ass. Perhaps you need to look up what "homer" means. My post didn't say anything about how great we were or are. I simply took issue with the hype surrounding Ole Miss. No "maroon glasses" involved. Weak attempt to discredit a perfectly legitimate opinion backed by reasons. Your post shows no rhyme or reason whatsoever. I see it more than possible OM loses at Vandy, at TExas, at Bama, @ Auburn (Malzahn is not exactly new there), to TAMU, LSU, & at MSU. They barely beat Arky last year, and Arky was as poorly a coached team as there was. A new coach there will not be a step back. Perhaps not a big step forward at first, but considering they should have won last year, I wouldn't put that one in the bank for OM despite Arky's player losses.


They've got SE Mizzou State, Idaho & Mizzou as likely wins, and Troy as a "should" win, but Troy has a habit of playing big boys tough. OM is fortunate to have this at home. If they knock off Auburn & Arky, they probably get to 6 wins, but I think Bucky will have trouble out-Malzahning Malzahn, and that's a home game for Auburn a week before they play Western Carolina, meaning they are not likely to be distracted in their prep for OM. OM, on the other hand has this game sandwiched between Bama and a TAMU team unlikely to surrender to OM another +4 t/o margin.

Likely losses:
Bama
TAMU
LSU
Texas
MSU

That's 5, putting their ceiling at 7 if they won every other game. But they won't. I think they lose 2 or 3 of:

Vandy
Auburn
Arky
Troy (upset special)

It's certainly not crazy or "homeristic" to think Ole Miss should lose:
Bama
TAMU
LSU
MSU
Texas

+ easily could lose to:

Vandy
@ Auburn

+ might well lose one of:

Troy
Arky
Mizzou


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHOQAT0-Mk

[mic]

don't know, but I was a fan who didn't want to see Stans go for this same rationale. Last year instead of being down to the wire to go to the NCAA tournament, we were one of the worst teams in SEC history. Where the basketball team goes from here, who knows. Hope Ray can do something. But what I know for a fact is that we would have been very good last year and would be gearing up for another good run this year if we still had Stans. So before you go banging on ******** and talking all of this stuff about "we are MSU and we demand a national title and if you demand less than you are settling," we need to take a look in the mirror and realize that while we get all the tens and twenties of millions of dollars by being in the SEC, we have to deal with the fact that all but 3-4 teams have a serious advantage over us.

Did you really just go there with Stans.??? Down to the wire to go to NCAA last year if he had stayed ?? And we would be gearing up for another good run if we had Stans this year.. ??
You Stans followers are devoted and on the same page I give ya that..

[Coach34]

When will he get an upset vs a Top 20 team? never?

well, he has only played 3-4 games vs top 20 teams...most of the time he's been going against top 8 teams

[Sandman14]

BWAHAHAHA! You have MSU game as a likely loss for Ole Miss? Hilarious. Homer time, baby. Take those maroon glasses off, fella. That game is a toss up at best. There probably is a vegas line for that somewhere. If so, I'd imagine Ole Miss is favored by at least 6.

I'll give you that it is the type of year that MSU will beat Ole Miss. Just like last year with Ole Miss beating MSU. But Ole Miss certainly has an advantage at this point.

[Sandman14]

Did you really just go there with Stans.??? Down to the wire to go to NCAA last year if he had stayed ?? And we would be gearing up for another good run if we had Stans this year.. ??
You Stans followers are devoted and on the same page I give ya that..

Just going off of 15 years of history, that's all.

[Coach34]

don't know, but I was a fan who didn't want to see Stans go for this same rationale. Last year instead of being down to the wire to go to the NCAA tournament, we were one of the worst teams in SEC history. Where the basketball team goes from here, who knows. Hope Ray can do something. But what I know for a fact is that we would have been very good last year and would be gearing up for another good run this year if we still had Stans. .


That's an infraction simply for the stupidity

We would have still been a shit team had Stands stayed with no discipline and no Hood
We were not one of the worst teams in SEC history- as we had 2 teams finish worse than us in the ****ing conference

[I seen it dawg]

Ban the moron.

[mic]

Just going off of 15 years of history, that's all.

It was my fault for even responding to it.. Its not even worth getting into a debate about..

[Coach34]

Just going off of 15 years of history, that's all.

Allow me to correct you:

Stands was head coach at State 14 years- not 15

You want to use history as a guide to performance?

The 2013 basketball team lost all 5 starters from the previous season. The last time that happened was 2006. Stands went 15-15 in 2006, 5-11 in the SEC against an amazingly easy OOC- and did not even make the NIT. There is your history as a predictor

[Coach34]

Ban the moron.

He has a month off to rest

[mic]

He has a month off to rest

HAHAHAHA.... anyone that has a Pro-Stans take should get a mandatory one month suspension...

[Coach34]

HAHAHAHA.... anyone that has a Pro-Stans take should get a mandatory one month suspension...


while I agree with that- can't operate that way. That was his 3rd infraction in the last few days- which is a mandatory month. You have to really get on a roll to get 3 infractions- but by gosh he did it

Constantly defending the "greatness of Oxford"
Being an ass
And now going full retard on Stands is just too much in a 10 day period

[mic]

while I agree with that- can't operate that way. That was his 3rd infraction in the last few days- which is a mandatory month. You have to really get on a roll to get 3 infractions- but by gosh he did it

Having a Pro -Stans take is the equivalent of a player/manager calling an ump /referee a cock sucker.. a trip to the showers..

[Coach34]

Having a Pro -Stans take is the equivalent of a player/manager calling an ump /referee a cock sucker.. a trip to the showers..

It's one thing to talk of him fondly for his overall achievement- but to defend that shitstorm of the last 3 seasons to continue on is ridiculous

[FlabLoser]

I have respect for Stansbury. He did some good for the school over his career. When he bowed out gracefully, I quit calling him Stands.

[blacklistedbully]

BWAHAHAHA! You have MSU game as a likely loss for Ole Miss? Hilarious. Homer time, baby. Take those maroon glasses off, fella. That game is a toss up at best. There probably is a vegas line for that somewhere. If so, I'd imagine Ole Miss is favored by at least 6.

I'll give you that it is the type of year that MSU will beat Ole Miss. Just like last year with Ole Miss beating MSU. But Ole Miss certainly has an advantage at this point.

OM's 7 wins last year is quite likely an anomaly, with 3-4 wins still the norm. OM got bludgeoned by a mediocre Texas club, lost to a great TAMU team, but one that OM owned a +4 t/o margin on. That's TERRIBLE, not something to hang your hat on. Prognosticators look at each t/o as worth a 7-point swing on average. Losing by 3 when you have a +4 is considered as bad as losing by 31 or more all things being equal. But uninformed people, or people looking for a story-line just don't dig deep enough to look at that kind of stuff.

We did play like crap most of last season, yet still should have been up at the half against OM. I truly believe Wilson sunk us defensively last year with a B12 type defense that, if it doesn't work well in the B12, is sure as hell not gonna work in the SEC. We just got snow-balled in the second half. Yes, credit OM with that too, but recognize we sucked just fine on our own against other less-than-imposing teams.

I think there's plenty of reason to think we return to the form that has won us 3 of the past 4 and 4 of the past 6 against OM. OM certainly does not have an advantage at this point. Winning one at home for the first time in years doesn't purchase you that much gravitas.

Home game for us, with our guys turn to have something to prove again, and a DC that appears to be more in the mold of the aggressive, imaginative type we tend to perform better with. Clear advantage MSU in this one.

[Coach 57]

The thing that's gonna tick me off is more & more State fans are going to say "well I only like baseball anyways!" That's a load of bull!

[Coach34]

I have respect for Stansbury. He did some good for the school over his career. When he bowed out gracefully, I quit calling him Stands.

Stands just fits too well in relation to his offense. It's not being disrespectful- just a nickname

[fishwater99]

The thing that's gonna tick me off is more & more State fans are going to say "well I only like baseball anyways!" That's a load of bull!

Yeah...

We went from a baseball school, to basketball schoo, to a football school, and now back to baseball...
Why can't we be competitive in all 3 sports in the SEC for once...

[msstate7]

Yeah...

We went from a baseball school, to basketball schoo, to a football school, and now back to baseball...
Why can't we be competitive in all 3 sports in the SEC for once...

'13-'14 football -- small bowl, basketball -- nit, baseball -- cws. That's pretty good sports year for me