The "perception" that we are trending down

[Coach34]

this really has been an odd offseason and pre-camp year.

1. We won more games than our rival and went to a better bowl- and they are being congratulated for the best 6-6 season EVAHHHH
2. While we did struggle to end the season- this is a new year. Auburn was trending down last year- so was UPig. Why is there optimism for those programs to get better but not us?
3. SEC Media picks us 7th in the West

Have you ever seen a team picked to finish last the conference that had these types of players:

Tyler Russell- Maxwell Award, Johnny Unitas, and Walter Camp Award Watch list
LaDarius Perkins- Doak Walker Watch List
Dillion Day- Rimington Watch List
Gabe Jackson- Outland Award watch list
Deontae Skinner- Bednarik and Butkus Award list
Benardrick McKinney- Bednarik and Butkus list
Nickoe Whitley- Nagurski watch list

We've never had this many guys on watch lists in the preseason- and the media is predicting us to finish last...something isnt adding up

[BHildreth3]

Nobody cares about MSU other than us. This Ole Miss "perception" shit is really pissing me off.

[FISHDAWG]

nothing will change until we find a way to beat LSU .... I don't even think a Okie State win would do it ..... I don't mind flying under the radar but this is the same old crap on a different day that we hear year after year

[CadaverDawg]

I agree.

And there are several factors, but the biggest is the fact that we limped through the second half of the season...and #2 is that our own fan base is fueling the negative fire by just agreeing with anyone saying we are trending down instead of knowing what we've got and educating people about it.

It's frustrating, bc often times I feel like one of about 20 MSU fans that "gets it" in terms of what we have got to start doing as a fan base to help our teams recruit and to help our teams win. So many of our fans just think it's fun to talk bad about our team or that it makes them cool to say we suck....I truly do not get it.

Luckily most of the fans that "get it" are over here on this board.

[Goat Holder]

People are mindless sheep, nothing more. They are living off the end of last season since that's all anyone remembers.

I also have no doubt that media members have an agenda, although I don't think it's to keep MSU down. More to get hits up, create stories, and make more money. We don't have the biggest fanbase, so unless we force people to pick us highly (ie win our way out of mediocrity), they are going to pander to the most readers. People don't want to read the truth anyway, they want someone to tickle their gooch.

[BeastMan]

Great post. It shows this perception issue isn't just some of our fans but the media too. To be honest, I don't care. We always play better with these type expectations anyway

[mic]

and for a team that finished 3-3 in their last 6 with a bowl win against a avg at best Pitt team.
Everyone makes it sound like they went 10-3.. winning their last 5 and a huge bowl win..

[MSUDawg4Life]

I don't care about where we're picked preseason. I don't care about people's opinions. That's why we play the game. The only thing that really matters is wins and losses. That's it.

[Coach34]

That's why we play the game. The only thing that really matters is wins and losses. That's it.

exactly

[fishwater99]

nothing will change until we find a way to beat LSU .... I don't even think a Okie State win would do it ..... I don't mind flying under the radar but this is the same old crap on a different day that we hear year after year

I agree, we need an upset win over an upper-level SEC team. We should be better this year, but our schedule is tougher than last years..

[bocfarm]

We can beat LSU in Starkville, need to win the turnover battle and capitalize on it. I still think the most important game of the yr is Auburn though....have to win that game imo.

[hailmari]

I'm okay with it because the players are as aware of it as we are. Them boys mad and the youngins are ready to show out.

[HancockCountyDog]

At the end of the day it seems one portion of our fan base is going to look pretty silly come August 31.

There seem to be those on SPS that are saying we won't even cover a double digit spread, while most on here (myself included) are predicting a win.

If the SPS are right and our talent level is down then we will get beat because OSU is a solid but not spectacular team.

If we are right, we will win because at the end of the day, a talented SEC team beats a solid Big XII team almost every time. Now, something weird could happen with turnovers or injuries, but in my opinion all things being equal we win the game if ED is right and I think the posters here are right.

I think everyone on the pack predicting doom and gloom are simply remembering the negative games last year and are ignoring the beat downs on AU, Ark, UT, MTSU and UK.

Anyway, some portion of our fan base is going to look pretty foolish, and as most of them learned during baseball season, it won't be the ones predicting success for MSU.

[Dental Dawg]

When we beat LSU, be prepared for the Bear Propaganda machine to start spinning that LSU is having a down year, worst LSU team in 20 years, blah, blah, blah. LSU will be down this year on defense, but will still be a quality win.

[Coach34]

Ok State is a solid team and we could lose that one and still be a good team. I think Farm has it right- Auburn is the key. We have to at least split Ok St and Auburn. We'll know alot about our team 3 weeks in

[CadaverDawg]

I'm one of the ones that think we only win 5 or 6, but not because I don't think we will be improved. I am simply not liking the schedule, and I feel like our offense will be about like it was last year.

I definitely think our D improves, and if we come out and show offensive improvement I will immediately say I was wrong, and be glad I was.

I guess the way I look at it is, we could be better than last year and still only win 6 games against this schedule. Winning at Auburn and at Arkansas is never easy no matter how good we are. Even if we're really improved we can lose to LSU, Bama, A&M, and USC. Add OSU to that list and it's possible to be better but have a worse record imo. So, while my prediction may agree with a lot of SPS predictions...mine is based on offense and schedule. I could easily see 7 wins if the offense makes the improvement that I see the defense making.

[HancockCountyDog]

Ok State is a solid team and we could lose that one and still be a good team. I think Farm has it right- Auburn is the key. We have to at least split Ok St and Auburn. We'll know alot about our team 3 weeks in

Yeah, but losing by less than 7 is one thing versus getting beat by 14+ as some on the pack (and evidently Vegas) are predicting.

[bocfarm]

3-1 (1-0 SEC) coming off a bye week for LSU. Not saying we can't beat OSU but after seeing that line, its not likely. If we lose that one we HAVE to beat Aub to avoid a downward spiral, lose confidence and potentially the season going into the tank. Seems like every yr the Aub game is the key.

[CadaverDawg]

Yeah, but losing by less than 7 is one thing versus getting beat by 14+ as some on the pack (and evidently Vegas) are predicting.

I agree. I think we will play all of our tough games close this year. The question is, can we pull a few of them out? Devon Bell could be a key this season.

[MSUDawg4Life]

At the end of the day it seems one portion of our fan base is going to look pretty silly come August 31.

There seem to be those on SPS that are saying we won't even cover a double digit spread, while most on here (myself included) are predicting a win.

If the SPS are right and our talent level is down then we will get beat because OSU is a solid but not spectacular team.

If we are right, we will win because at the end of the day, a talented SEC team beats a solid Big XII team almost every time. Now, something weird could happen with turnovers or injuries, but in my opinion all things being equal we win the game if ED is right and I think the posters here are right.

I think everyone on the pack predicting doom and gloom are simply remembering the negative games last year and are ignoring the beat downs on AU, Ark, UT, MTSU and UK.

Anyway, some portion of our fan base is going to look pretty foolish, and as most of them learned during baseball season, it won't be the ones predicting success for MSU.

Even if we lose, our talent level is not down.

This team has one of the most solid two-deeps that we've had in years. Many of our third-string guys are very good. Quay is not even on the depth chart. Guys like Will Redmond and Torrey Dale aren't on the depth chart, but they are very good players. Anybody looking at our roster (http://www.hailstate.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=90891&SPID=10997&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=16800&SORT_ORDER=6&Q_SEASON=2013&PRINTABLE_PAGE=) and current depth chart (http://www.hailstate.com/fls/16800/pdf/fb/fb_depth_13fall.pdf) and thinks that our talent is down is not very knowledgeable about football. Much less MSU football.

I'm not predicting that we will win in Houston, but I do think we have a very good chance to walk out of there with a victory.

[HancockCountyDog]

Even if we lose, our talent level is not down.

This team has one of the most solid two-deeps that we've had in years. Many of our third-string guys are very good. Quay is not even on the depth chart. Guys like Will Redmond and Torrey Dale aren't on the depth chart, but they are very good players. Anybody looking at our roster (http://www.hailstate.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=90891&SPID=10997&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=16800&SORT_ORDER=6&Q_SEASON=2013&PRINTABLE_PAGE=) and current depth chart (http://www.hailstate.com/fls/16800/pdf/fb/fb_depth_13fall.pdf) and thinks that our talent is down is not very knowledgeable about football. Much less MSU football.

I'm not predicting that we will win in Houston, but I do think we have a very good chance to walk out of there with a victory.

I agree with you to an extent. I agree that in my opinion we have never been this talented before. My concern is that I am a little bit biased and that I am simply hoping that all of these stars and such are actually good football players.

If we are as talented as we both seem to think, then there is very little excuse to lose to an OSU team that is replacing so many starters on the OL. I feel like too many of our fans want to say how talented we are, but then don't want to say we should expect to win games like the OSU game.

I mean we are either talented or we aren't. We have out recruited OSU almost every year, and we have a coach that has his program in its fifth year which means that this is his team and his program. There can't be many excuses about talent gaps from the last coach in year 5.

I guess Im just not scared to say we are good and should expect to beat OSU.

[War Machine Dawg]

I'm one of the ones that think we only win 5 or 6, but not because I don't think we will be improved. I am simply not liking the schedule, and I feel like our offense will be about like it was last year.

I definitely think our D improves, and if we come out and show offensive improvement I will immediately say I was wrong, and be glad I was.

I guess the way I look at it is, we could be better than last year and still only win 6 games against this schedule. Winning at Auburn and at Arkansas is never easy no matter how good we are. Even if we're really improved we can lose to LSU, Bama, A&M, and USC. Add OSU to that list and it's possible to be better but have a worse record imo. So, while my prediction may agree with a lot of SPS predictions...mine is based on offense and schedule. I could easily see 7 wins if the offense makes the improvement that I see the defense making.

We're on the same page aGAIN, CD. For me personally, there's no doubt we'll be a "better" team than last season. Plenty of returning talent, a change in defensive schemes, and a motivated Mullen tell me we'll be "better." I just don't like the schedule and think the record might not show the level of improvement. I think we'll win 6 or 7, but I can't put Arkansas down as a W when we're 0-for-eternity in the state of Arkansas. I don't care if they did lose a lot of talent. I also always mark LSU as an L. If there's a year to break their streak, this is it.....but it's going to take a hell of an effort. This is the first year I've actually thought we have a shot in that game, so we'll see what happens.

You're also spot on with the offensive concerns. That's what's keeping me from going 7+ in my predictions. I just have a strong suspicion all this hype about tweaking the O for Russell is the usual MSU offseason bullshit that never actually happens. Plus a little birdie told me in spring that Russell still has MAJOR issues with his footwork under center. So even if we actually have tweaked the O for him, I'm not entirely sure what it'll look like. We've discussed the RB situation about 850 million times, so I won't get into that aGAIN. I'm excited about the potential of our WRs, but that's all it is right now - potential. We've seen flashes, but until they do it consistently in actual games it's hard to say we're improved there, either.

I also agree with C34 & Farm. If we split Okie State & Auburn, we *should* be pretty good in terms of record. If by some miracle we're 3-0, my wool is going to be itchy as hell. 1-2.....I'll be damn nervous and pissed for being right about the schedule. Hope like hell C34 & others are right, cause I really do believe in terms of raw talent/potential this could be an 8-9 win type of team. Just need to see a few things first, particularly offensively, for me to really get totally on board with that idea.

[gravedigger]

I'd say the pessimism is primarily due to the fact of the way we lost to a 6-6 team last year. Bama, a&m, LSU games were tough beat downs, but they are top teams in the country. We didn't compete against 2 teams we shouldn't have had to work all that hard to compete against with our talent last year. Beast has said it correctly, poor positioning of our talent along with a non aggressive defense and the poor attitudes that came with it produced what we saw in late November and January.

I don't think that has to be the case this fall. OSU will be tough and the Auburn game will be a difficult road trip, but we should see a different product REGARDLESS of the talent we have.

This is Tyler Russell's year to show if he's the stuff of Sunday football. He cannot just use his arm strength. He will have to show he can read a defense and pick it apart. Control the field by changing the play at the line of scrimmage, eating clock when necessary and if not scoring, flipping the field to make it harder on teams to score against us.

We not be very pretty on offense at times but that is not a reason to say we cannot compete with the best in the league.

The OSU and Auburn games can go a LONG way to making a difference in the 2nd half of the season. Winning the egg bowl can take us further. If we have a shot at the Chick fil a at the end of the season, and by some chance get to it, Mullen will have flipped the momentum back to Starkville. The national spotlight will only be so kind to our rival if they win the egg. Lose it and preacher boy is going to have to answer some tough questions.

[biscuit]

I don't care about where we're picked preseason. I don't care about people's opinions. That's why we play the game. The only thing that really matters is wins and losses. That's it.

AMEN

[BHildreth3]

I'm on the fence with Mullen and it can change in the first quarter of the game vs. Oklahoma State. If we don't do some things different in the running game with lead blocking i'm going to be very pissed off. I go back to the bowl game. LaDarius looked good when we pulled a guard, or had a TE blocking in front of him. I know we can't do it every play, but again, we don't have an Alabama line and we can't run out of the Ace formation or Shotgun that well (one back for those who aren't following). We have productive running plays with the Pistol offense b/c most of the time we have an Hback playing a FB type role in the backfield.

Controlling the clock with the ground game vs. OKLA STATE AND AUBURN is a very important thing to watch for early in the season.

[FlabLoser]

I agree, we need an upset win over an upper-level SEC team. We should be better this year, but our schedule is tougher than last years..

If there is anything I am sick and damned tired of reading it is "but out schedule is so tough this year".

The schedule is tough every year. Every damn year its "we could be better and not have more wins". Every year. **** that. We live in the SEC. Deal with it.

We ought to be able to compete with anybody on our schedule this year except for Alabama. I'm not going to predict 11 wins. But don't give me this woe is us our schedule is so hard shit.

[Political Hack]

beat Okie State, A&M, and SC, finish 10-2, and we'll be ranked in the middle of the pack next year in the SEC West. That's the reality of the division.

Out of the watch list players named, who would start at Bama or LSU? I'd say TR at LSU. Gabe and likely BMac at both. I don't think any of the others start at those two. You could also say that TR wouldn't start at A&M. Point being, our talent is as good as it's ever been, but it doesn't negate the fact that we're playing in the NFC SouthEast.

[The Croom Diaries]

If there is anything I am sick and damned tired of reading it is "but out schedule is so tough this year".

The schedule is tough every year. Every damn year its "we could be better and not have more wins". Every year. **** that. We live in the SEC. Deal with it.

We ought to be able to compete with anybody on our schedule this year except for Alabama. I'm not going to predict 11 wins. But don't give me this woe is us our schedule is so hard shit.

I don't buy this at all.

Let's take the last two years.

2011 - going into the season we knew Auburn, Kentucky and Ole Miss would all be trending down while UGA, USC and UPig would be trending up and Bama and LSU are juggernauts. General thought was we had an 8-9 win team. What we didn't know was that we'd lose to Auburn like we did and play horribly against Georgia.

2012 - going into the season we knew Arkansas and UK were trending down, possibly Tennessee. Auburn and A&M were expected to be roughly the same, slightly up (because that was the only place to go) for OM. Bama and LSU are juggernauts. General thought was 8-9 wins. We got that. What we didn't know is how much better A&M and OM would be than everyone thought. But by the same token how bad Auburn and Ark would be.

2013 - going into the season we know no one on our schedule is trending down. Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky all up. South Carolina and A&M are expected to possibly be even better. Bama and LSU are juggernauts. On top of all that we add Oklahoma State - a high level BCS opponent we haven't had in the last few years. What's more is we are facing a MAC team expected to win their division and an always scrappy Sun Belt team. General thought is 5-6 wins, 7 if you're a little more optimistic like myself and others on this board. But the "schedule is so tough this year" is a valid argument. We really could be better just not have as good of a record. Every year in the SEC is tough, but not all schedules are created equal. Just ask South Carolina who has beaten UGA the last 3 years but only won the East once because they had to play a really good Arkansas team in 2011 and LSU in 2012 while Georgia breezed through the easiest road in the conference both years.

[Political Hack]

in 2099, I thought we'd win 6. We won 5.
in 2010, I thought we'd win 8. We won 9.
in 2011, I thought we'd win 9. We won 7.
in 2012, I thought we'd win 9 or 10. We won 8.

In 2013, I think we'll win between 5 and 7.

[Behrdawg]

Good post Coach.

Im excited about seeing this guy play....

Quandry Antoine:


http://youtu.be/fMcDmlH5ULI

[Ronny]

...good laugh at how the rebels always "upward trend" when expected by everybody to upward trend, here's one that'll make your day:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/11280/

"The Rebels Have the Firepower to Shake up the BSC" so goes the claim.

The only shaking up they achieved that year was having Chris Relf stomp them up & down the field in the Egg Bowl.

I could go back 50 years & provide you dozens of similar examples of how these idiots are the biggest ****-ups on the planet once the media climbs up their ass.

Yet every year MSU fan cowers at the looming apocalypse of the Rebel/Bear football juggernaut looming on the horizon.

Grow the hell up & see them for the perennial screw-ups they are.

And that's not me talking; that's history talking.

[CadaverDawg]

...good laugh at how the rebels always "upward trend" when expected by everybody to upward trend, here's one that'll make your day:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/11280/

"The Rebels Have the Firepower to Shake up the BSC" so goes the claim.

The only shaking up they achieved that year was having Chris Relf stomp them up & down the field in the Egg Bowl.

I could go back 50 years & provide you dozens of similar examples of how these idiots are the biggest ****-ups on the planet once the media climbs up their ass.

Yet every year MSU fan cowers at the looming apocalypse of the Rebel/Bear football juggernaut looming on the horizon.

Grow the hell up & see them for the perennial screw-ups they are.

And that's not me talking; that's history talking.

Not only is this your greatest post...it may be my favorite ever about OM. Well done

[biscuit]

...good laugh at how the rebels always "upward trend" when expected by everybody to upward trend, here's one that'll make your day:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/11280/

"The Rebels Have the Firepower to Shake up the BSC" so goes the claim.

The only shaking up they achieved that year was having Chris Relf stomp them up & down the field in the Egg Bowl.

I could go back 50 years & provide you dozens of similar examples of how these idiots are the biggest ****-ups on the planet once the media climbs up their ass.

Yet every year MSU fan cowers at the looming apocalypse of the Rebel/Bear football juggernaut looming on the horizon.

Grow the hell up & see them for the perennial screw-ups they are.

And that's not me talking; that's history talking.

Now that's funny stuff right there.

[PMDawg]

At the end of the day it seems one portion of our fan base is going to look pretty silly come August 31.

There seem to be those on SPS that are saying we won't even cover a double digit spread, while most on here (myself included) are predicting a win.

If the SPS are right and our talent level is down then we will get beat because OSU is a solid but not spectacular team.

If we are right, we will win because at the end of the day, a talented SEC team beats a solid Big XII team almost every time. Now, something weird could happen with turnovers or injuries, but in my opinion all things being equal we win the game if ED is right and I think the posters here are right.

I think everyone on the pack predicting doom and gloom are simply remembering the negative games last year and are ignoring the beat downs on AU, Ark, UT, MTSU and UK.

Anyway, some portion of our fan base is going to look pretty foolish, and as most of them learned during baseball season, it won't be the ones predicting success for MSU.

I don't think the talent level is it. I think the perception is based on our coaching. In 2011, we were supposed to be really good. We won 6 games (7 with the bowl). In 2012, a lot of people pegged us for 9 or 10 wins. We won 8 and lost our bowl. And it has to do with how bad we looked losing those 5 games, especially the last two. That's all anyone from the media remembers. I think the perception from the outside is that we haven't played up to our potential, and that's on coaching. When you look at how Les has called games the last two seasons and what we had at DC last year, it's hard to argue. Now, if we're truly better (as is rumored) at both of those facets of the game this year, we will be substantially improved (at least eye-test wise). Then, the schedule becomes the problem. So, while I think we are a very, very talented team, there are a lot of unknowns and/or things not in our favor right now. I understand the skepticism from the outside. From within our own fanbase though, not so much. I expect to win 7 or 8 games this year. Anything less will tick me off.

[dickiedawg]

Good post Coach.

Im excited about seeing this guy play....

Quandry Antoine:



Seems to draw a lot of flags.

[fishwater99]

in 2099, I thought we'd win 6. We won 5.
in 2010, I thought we'd win 8. We won 9.
in 2011, I thought we'd win 9. We won 7.
in 2012, I thought we'd win 9 or 10. We won 8.

In 2013, I think we'll win between 5 and 7.

So we have peaked under Mullen.
Why shouldn't we be better than last year? TR is a senior and is the best QB in MSU history...

[bocfarm]

So we have peaked under Mullen.
Why shouldn't we be better than last year? TR is a senior and is the best QB in MSU history...

I'm sure Ark fans thought the same thing last yr

[Coach34]

is the best QB in MSU history...


No, no he isn't. He is the best passing QB in MSU history

[CadaverDawg]

So we have peaked under Mullen.
Why shouldn't we be better than last year? TR is a senior and is the best QB in MSU history...

Does this really need to be explained? Have you compared last year's schedule to this year's? If so, you know the answer.

We WILL be better this year, but our record may be worse.

[fishwater99]

Does this really need to be explained? Have you compared last year's schedule to this year's? If so, you know the answer.

We WILL be better this year, but our record may be worse.

We should have won 10 games last year.. I am not saying our schedule is not tougher..

[bocfarm]

We should have won 10 games last year.. I am not saying our schedule is not tougher..


But we didn't because of defense was ****ing terrible down the stretch. Which is why alot of the media isn't real high on us...hell, I'm skeptical as shit right now. We have a new DC, 2 new key position coaches and lost two excellent CB's. Can we be better? Absolutely, but there's no guarantee...we will know very soon tho

[Ghost of Hank Flick]

We should have won 10 games last year.. I am not saying our schedule is not tougher..

Should have? Really, what is that based on? Are you saying we had better players than 10 other teams? Better coaches? We have more money and better facilities? We are a better program?

I really just don't know. We are what we were last year, end of story. We lost to who we should have lost to with probably the exception of Northwestern because Tyler played awful. Bama and LSU are always going to beat us if they bring their A game unless something changes and it goes back to the late 90s. A&M had a dynamic quarterback and better coaching. OM you could certainly say we had better players even though they "out-recruited" us in many classes - but they had a lot of attrition. Still, our coaching and leadership didn't get up for that game like they should have.

Auburn out-recruits us every year and they are a top 15 program in the country. How should we have beaten them? We stomped Arkansas. They had as many preseason All-SEC players as Bama did last year. Tennessee had better recruiting classes and all kinds of better stuff (supposedly) than we do.

I just don't know that we should be doing this or that in any year. We had deadwood on the coaching staff - they were part of the team and a reason for our struggles. But other teams have coaching problems too. If you amass all the talent in the SEC and they all live up to their potential, then combine it with money and tradition, we are going 6-6 every year at best. I don't know what should is.

[fishwater99]

But we didn't because of defense was ****ing terrible down the stretch. Which is why alot of the media isn't real high on us...hell, I'm skeptical as shit right now. We have a new DC, 2 new key position coaches and lost two excellent CB's. Can we be better? Absolutely, but there's no guarantee...we will know very soon tho

I agree, we will see soon enough if Wilson was really the problem with our defense. We had two NFL corners, but we played zone..

[SignalToNoise]

Prognosticators don't give a shit about what players are up for which awards; they will look at this year's schedule, consider how we've matched up with those teams in the past, evaluate any differences in the teams since the last season, and make a prediction. Not everyone follows MSU football as intimately as we do and understands the team's struggles and the adjustments that we are allegedly making to fix them.

I agree with the spirit of your post-- we are not trending down like people seem to think, but players being considered for awards doesn't mean much to bloggers/writers. It also doesn't take into consideration coaching staff's ability. Shitty coaches can waste great talent just like we saw last year.

Until we find a way to put it all together and beat a team or two we will be perceived as pretenders. At the very least, we have to consistently keep it close with the big boys. Remember Arkansas 2010? We gave them all they could handle, and I don't remember anyone calling us a joke or pretender after that.

So here's the perception the casual fan has from last season: "Oh yeah, State. Whatever. They beat up the shitty teams but couldn't hang with the big boys. They even got dominated by their 6-6 in state rival and then lost their bowl game. Yeah they aren't that good."

[Political Hack]

So we have peaked under Mullen.
Why shouldn't we be better than last year? TR is a senior and is the best QB in MSU history...

TR is the best QB in MSU history despite Coach's love affair with Dak and running QBs.

I wasn't suggesting that we've peaked. Just saying that I'm usually 1, maybe 2 W's off at the most with the preseason prediction and this is the first year where I could see us landing anywhere between 5-7 wins. To me, tht means we're a five win team at minimum and an 8 win team at max. The excitement by some is great, and I'm usually Mr. Optimism, but I think we're all going to be drastically disappointed if we're expecting an 8+ win season.

As I've said before, Strick set this schedule up for failure IMO... and I think it has a lot to do with forcing a move on our coaching staff.

[FlabLoser]

As I've said before, Strick set this schedule up for failure IMO... and I think it has a lot to do with forcing a move on our coaching staff.

If y'all think OSU is tough, wait till the SEC expands to 9 games. The rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer. Alabama will have another game to overcome any one loss while low tier teams will struggle to make bowl games.

[maroonmania]

I don't buy this at all.

Let's take the last two years.

2011 - going into the season we knew Auburn, Kentucky and Ole Miss would all be trending down while UGA, USC and UPig would be trending up and Bama and LSU are juggernauts. General thought was we had an 8-9 win team. What we didn't know was that we'd lose to Auburn like we did and play horribly against Georgia.

2012 - going into the season we knew Arkansas and UK were trending down, possibly Tennessee. Auburn and A&M were expected to be roughly the same, slightly up (because that was the only place to go) for OM. Bama and LSU are juggernauts. General thought was 8-9 wins. We got that. What we didn't know is how much better A&M and OM would be than everyone thought. But by the same token how bad Auburn and Ark would be.

2013 - going into the season we know no one on our schedule is trending down. Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky all up. South Carolina and A&M are expected to possibly be even better. Bama and LSU are juggernauts. On top of all that we add Oklahoma State - a high level BCS opponent we haven't had in the last few years. What's more is we are facing a MAC team expected to win their division and an always scrappy Sun Belt team. General thought is 5-6 wins, 7 if you're a little more optimistic like myself and others on this board. But the "schedule is so tough this year" is a valid argument. We really could be better just not have as good of a record. Every year in the SEC is tough, but not all schedules are created equal. Just ask South Carolina who has beaten UGA the last 3 years but only won the East once because they had to play a really good Arkansas team in 2011 and LSU in 2012 while Georgia breezed through the easiest road in the conference both years.

No way is our schedule as tough every year as it will be THIS year. The only schedule Mullen has had to deal with as tough as this was in 2009 where we finished 5-7 and had GT and Houston OOC and also had to play a #1 FL team from the SEC East. If we go 6-6 this year it will be a much better 6-6 than the one in 2011.

[Coach34]

TR is the best QB in MSU history despite Coach's love affair with Dak and running QBs.
.

Based on what? There is more to playing QB than amassing passing yards. If passing yards were the end all for QB's- Texas Tech would have the best QB's in NCAA history.

Our offense was better in 2010 with a healthy Chris Relf than it was in 2012 with a healthy Tyler Russell. That's a fact.

In our 5 losses this year- Russell threw 5 TD's and 9 INT's....Prescott 3 TD's 0 INT's

Tyler has work to do this year if he wants to be the best QB in school history- wins, total offense, 3rd down conversions, turnovers, points scored....they all play a part in deciding where a QB ranks

[The Croom Diaries]

Based on what? There is more to playing QB than amassing passing yards. If passing yards were the end all for QB's- Texas Tech would have the best QB's in NCAA history.

Our offense was better in 2010 with a healthy Chris Relf than it was in 2012 with a healthy Tyler Russell. That's a fact.

In our 5 losses this year- Russell threw 5 TD's and 9 INT's....Prescott 3 TD's 0 INT's

Tyler has work to do this year if he wants to be the best QB in school history- wins, total offense, 3rd down conversions, turnovers, points scored....they all play a part in deciding where a QB ranks

You're cooking those stats in the losses a little bit there, c'mon now.

I'm not so sure the 2010 offense was greater than the 2012 offense to the point of it being a fact. Basically we just traded Chris Relf's rushing yardage for passing yardage. 2010 did have 20 more yards per game but they both averaged 3.6 touchdowns per game. I think the real difference between those teams was the defense. Not only were they not as good in '12 as '10 but they put our offense in holes that didn't allow us to use the entire playbook. The offense will have opportunity to improve just for the mere fact that the defense will be better.

You are right that currently Tyler Russell is the best passing quarterback in MSU history. But his career isn't over and he is well within the grasp of becoming the greatest QB ever without question.

[Bullmutt]

With regards to the "perception" aspect of this thread, one of the few things OM has always been better than us at is "crafting" a perception of themselves nationally. I can't say I understand it, because they have only rarely over the last 20 years or so been any better than us in any of the top three sports. While it's true that nothing can change perception like consistent winning, it appears to me that we need to do a better job as an institution of crafting an image for ourselves. The "Our State" campaign was a good one and helped recruiting, but it's 3-4 years old now and nobody outside of our state really gave a shit about it. It's time now for a pub campaign that casts a broader net and involves more selling of the "sizzle".

[The Croom Diaries]

With regards to the "perception" aspect of this thread, one of the few things OM has always been better than us at is "crafting" a perception of themselves nationally. I can't say I understand it, because they have only rarely over the last 20 years or so been any better than us in any of the top three sports. While it's true that nothing can change perception like consistent winning, it appears to me that we need to do a better job as an institution of crafting an image for ourselves. The "Our State" campaign was a good one and helped recruiting, but it's 3-4 years old now and nobody outside of our state really gave a shit about it. It's time now for a pub campaign that casts a broader net and involves more selling of the "sizzle".

I can agree with you there. People may think I'm stupid but I really hate using "Miss. State". I think we need to get rid of using 'Miss' because it identifies with Ole Miss. That is their name and what they are known for. I think our administration has done a good job of only using 'Mississippi State' spelled out in full on the field and jerseys as well as referring to the school when speaking about it. That is one small step in the right direction. One of the main problems is people outside the state have a hard time differentiating between the two schools so we need to do whatever we can to distance ourselves from them.

[maroonmania]

I can agree with you there. People may think I'm stupid but I really hate using "Miss. State". I think we need to get rid of using 'Miss' because it identifies with Ole Miss. That is their name and what they are known for. I think our administration has done a good job of only using 'Mississippi State' spelled out in full on the field and jerseys as well as referring to the school when speaking about it. That is one small step in the right direction. One of the main problems is people outside the state have a hard time differentiating between the two schools so we need to do whatever we can to distance ourselves from them.

Who is this Mississippi State you speak of, I thought we were MState?

[Political Hack]

The only blemishes on TR's record are a loss to OM and an ugly bowl game. That's it. Other than that, you couldn't ask for more. He's the highest rated passer in the history of the University, has the lowest INT rating, 2nd in pass completion %, and will-barring injury--leave as State's all time yardage leader in passing.

we don't run the wishbone. Tyler Russell is the best QB we've ever had. For whatever reason, and it's become an epidemic, State fans insist that the 2nd string guy is always the best.

[bocfarm]

Russell is the best QB we've ever had...have we ever had a QB drafted? TR will get drafter barring a horrible Senior campaign.