My prediction thread on this incarnation of our beloved Maroons

[Coach 57]

Since we have both sunshine pumpers & (our favorites) dumpster scrapers. Let me give my predictions for this season.

Before I go on let me say this.
1.) As a fanbase we don't need to judge Mullen on this season too harshly. He still has yet to coach HIS qb (one he recruited). And for the dummies who think he can't recruit the more he makes guys like Mckinney & Banks job getting into the NFL get is proving you wrong.

2.) Be ready for a better defense that's far more athletic & faster to tie ball.

Ok State- this game we will be up for! I can assure you. It will be very intense & be up & down. OSU gets up & down the field but I think Collins' defense will be opportunistic & will cause a TO to make it close. Back & forth game but I think we lose. Then Dan's job TRULY begins as in the past we haven't responded well after a heartbreaking loss. (0-1)


Alcorn- win. Best thing after a loss is a pick me up game. This will be a teaching game. Dan will have to break out the pencils & lose leaf paper for this one. We'll win big but.....how much do we learn DURING THIS GAME?
(1-1)


AU- Bogey's favorite CFB team. Gus is a great coach! They will be up for us no doubt. But it MUST be stressed to our kids after the Alcorn game....WE MUST WIN THIS GAME! And after a few well timed crossing routes across the middle of their defense it will set up the back breaker @ the Plains. The mesh corner route! Boom! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y! (2-1)


Troy- is NOT the same team on the road they ate at home. We win late in the 4th though ad their offense is good enough with an experienced QB to keep it close late. Could also be looking tpward LSU the following week too. Very reminiscent of the La Tech game from 11'. (3-1)



LSU- This is the game Dan has been waiting for his entire career. It sets up perfectly for him (of we take care of Troy.....which we should). Our game with them is sandwiched (for them) between two VERY physical SEC EAST teams. They might even make the mistake of overlooking us too. Tyler torched their defense last year moreso than any other QB (295 pass yds). We will WIN this game! It will be Dan's greatest victory in his short career! (4-1)

BG- Hard to get up after a big game from the week before. Plus BG has a great DC who'll be coaching after a better job. He'll use us as a staple on his resume. After a close game, we'll win. (5-1)


UK- This game really worries me. It's a perfect trap game for us. As much as we are one for LSU. They will be ready for us. We will be down & I actually think we won't beat BOTH UK & AU. And the reason I think we beat AU is because of the teaching game (Alcorn) prior to. But I see us.....believe it or not we'll lose. (5-2)


SC- careful......careful.......careful! This game could be catastrophic for us depending on how we play. If we get down early it could get bad for us. We will lose. (5-3)


aTm- loss (5-4)
Bama- loss (5-5)
Arky- our season will come down to these last 2 games. I personally don't think we'll beat both Arky & UM. Loss. (5-6)

UM- FIGHT 4 MISSISSIPPI STATE! This is what it comes down to. I personally think we'll both be seeking bowl eligibility in this game. MSU is 4-0 in home Egg Bowls. I think Tyler has a game that we'll remember for a long time! Our defense will go our there and try to kill Wallace & Moncreif. We will win and send the bears packing! (6-6)

I think this season not only will Tyler break the rest of the passing records. I think it will go down as a season people will still question Dan's leadership. But wait till next year w/ his QB at the helm!

[FlabLoser]

Arkansas is a wildcard running an offense that it isn't built for. I think we FINALLY win in the state of Arkansas.

[Jack Lambert]

I agree totally! They are going to run a Big 10 smash mouth offense with Spread players. They are at lest two years away. As far as Ole Miss we get them at home and KY at home. Both those will be wins.

[bocfarm]

Lose to KY at home on a thurs night prime time? I don't see that one. I agree with it coming down to the last two games but I think we lose either aub or lsu not ky.

[Bass Chaser]

Bye week prior to Ky won't lose that one.

[hailmari]

I agree KY could be a trap game but I think we handle them and Arky. I'm more optimistic about OSU than Auburn, actually.

[Saltydog]

about nothing, IMO. He's had plenty of time to get a QB that fits his system.

[It_Could_Happen]

No way we lose to KY at home. I can easily see us losing at Auburn on the road or LS-Who at home but not Ky. Also see us winning both of the final two games

[Coach 57]

Actually we were REALLY close to having Dak lead THIS YEARS TEAM. Dan halfway through the Houston game told Les to get Tyler ready to go into the game.

The fact is that Dan won't go after another pure pocket passer (IMO). Proof so far we need a dual threat QB to help stabilize this offense.

[cujo]

Differences between mine & your predictions:
We lose to LSU, beat KY, beat Arky
7-5

[Coach 57]

Here's a good question for you guys. Would you rather us beat LSU & finish 6-6 or lose to them & be 7-5?

[SnakePlissken]

Here's a good question for you guys. Would you rather us beat LSU & finish 6-6 or lose to them & be 7-5?Great question. While everyone likes more wins for a better bowl, I think beating LSU would be better overall for the program (and for Dan). I'd take a win over LSU and 6-6 record.

[BogeyGolfer]

1.) As a fanbase we don't need to judge Mullen on this season too harshly. He still has yet to coach HIS qb (one he recruited). And for the dummies who think he can't recruit the more he makes guys like Mckinney & Banks job getting into the NFL get is proving you wrong.

I'm sorry, but I just can't sit by and let you get away with this....as a fan-base we have every right to judge Mullen on his ability to coach Tyler who has been red-shirted and this will be Dak's third year in the program. This is Mullen's 5th year and I want to see continuous improvement. As I stated, in my predication thread, I don't think we will see it this year but I do expect we can make a run in 2014.

I agree that our D-line will be better but our LB's will still be average for SEC. I know I'm beating a dead horse here but to cover back's out of the backfield and TE's with SEC speed, linebackers are key to having a successful defense. Here's a list of SEC preseason LB's, notice we don't have any on the first three teams:

1st Team Pre-season SEC
Mosley-Bama
Johnson-TN
Nkemdiche-Mississippi

2nd Team Pre-Season SEC
Hubbard-Bama
Jenkins-UGA
Barrow-LSU
3rd Team SEC Pre-Season
Jones-LSU
DePriest-Bama
Williams-UK

I can't believe that you think we will lose to UK, hell even Croom was able to beat Kentucky a few times, we won't lose that game. As I stated in my original prediction thread, if we are able to beat AU or ARK it would make a difference in our season. I thought we were the better team in 2011 but AU was still able to beat us....Our record in Arkansas speaks for itself...

[Ronny]

..on Dan Mullen's coaching ability for all you "realists" to keep picking this team to either have a losing record or a 6 win season.

Interesting how this will be Dan's 5th season, yet all I am seeing in the predictions is a deterioration back to his first season, when we had no players.

Do you have players now? Empirical evidence suggests we do. But what use is empirical evidence to people who judge everything according to fear & gut feeling.

Mullen's 5th year + accumulation of SEC caliber players over the last 4 years = minimum of 7 wins.

If Mullen is going to cast this 2013 team back to the throes of 2009 squad like many of you think he is, then Mullen needs to start uodating his resume.

[bluelightstar]

Kentucky shouldn't even be able to stay on the field with us in Starkville

[CadaverDawg]

about nothing, IMO. He's had plenty of time to get a QB that fits his system.

I totally disagree about the QB statement.

Yes, Dan has had time to get "his" QB, and he's got him....Dak Prescott. However, our fans would enter ****ing meltdown mode if he played Dak Prescott (who fits his system better) over the beloved, all time passing leader at MsU, Tyler Russell.

Now, I will admit that Dan didn't get his type of dual threat guy in the first few years, and that is what is forcing us to change offensive schemes right now. But deep down, Mullen would MUCH rather be running the Mullen offense (Relf Coast offense) right now with Dak Prescott, but he knows that he can't bench a Senior that broke all of the school records if he wants to be able to draw in great QBs in the future. It is what it is.

[Political Hack]

..on Dan Mullen's coaching ability for all you "realists" to keep picking this team to either have a losing record or a 6 win season.

Interesting how this will be Dan's 5th season, yet all I am seeing in the predictions is a deterioration back to his first season, when we had no players.

Do you have players now? Empirical evidence suggests we do. But what use is empirical evidence to people who judge everything according to fear & gut feeling.

Mullen's 5th year + accumulation of SEC caliber players over the last 4 years = minimum of 7 wins.

If Mullen is going to cast this 2013 team back to the throes of 2009 squad like many of you think he is, then Mullen needs to start uodating his resume.

I don't think it's an indictment on Dan. The program has headed in the right direction since he arrived, but some people are worried we've peaked. A 6-6 season would go a long ways to suggesting that's the case, but I think it's more an issue of scheduling. Bringing A&M into the West, scheduling SC out of the East, and adding Okie State to the schedule is a possible 3 game W/L curve and the difference between 6 or 9 wins. We can blame Slive and LT for two of those games, but the 3rd one falls squarely on the grasshopper.

[Coach34]

I don't think it's an indictment on Dan. The program has headed in the right direction since he arrived, but some people are worried we've peaked. A 6-6 season would go a long ways to suggesting that's the case.


And when I see people post this I cant help but laugh and wonder how damn stupid they are.

Jackie's 1st 5 years:

7-5
7-5
4-5-2
8-4
3-8

Should we have just fired Jackie after year 5? He had a losing season- obviously he had peeked and was never going to get us anywhere

Any program is not going to have a constant upward trajectory. You will have peaks and valleys along the way. The bottom line is- do you think the guy leading your program is doing a good job and taking care of business?

Too many people think the grass can be greener with Hud- and I hate to tell them, but Hud aint going to have Miss State winning 10+ games per season. It's not going to happen. We can get there- but it will be an occasional occurance- not a year in and year out happening

[Political Hack]

And when I see people post this I cant help but laugh and wonder how damn stupid they are.

Jackie's 1st 5 years:

7-5
7-5
4-5-2
8-4
3-8

Should we have just fired Jackie after year 5? He had a losing season- obviously he had peeked and was never going to get us anywhere

Any program is not going to have a constant upward trajectory. You will have peaks and valleys along the way. The bottom line is- do you think the guy leading your program is doing a good job and taking care of business?

Too many people think the grass can be greener with Hud- and I hate to tell them, but Hud aint going to have Miss State winning 10+ games per season. It's not going to happen. We can get there- but it will be an occasional occurance- not a year in and year out happening

Wait, so do you think we've peaked in the 7-9 win range or do you think we'll become a consistent 10 win team with CDM?

[ShotgunDawg]

Your completely correct Coach. Here is an article in the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday where Theo Epstein is saying essentially the same thing in regards to rebuilding the Cubs:

No wonder team president Theo Epstein happily points to July as having been an all-around winning month for the Cubs.
The team signed top collegiate hitter and No. 2 overall draft pick Kris Bryant, stockpiled more young pitching arms in its farm system through trades, saw its major-league club post a winning record and won City Hall approval of long-sought Wrigley Field renovations.
"It's been a great month for the Cubs," Epstein said Friday before the Cubs fell 6-2 to the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. "Right now, it's a good time for people who are wanting things to go well and looking for progress to seize onto it."
But there's always a "but" the one Epstein says the organization, as much as fans, must remember.
"It's an important time to remind everyone and ourselves that the progress won't be linear," he said.
"There are going to be other really bad months. There are going to be prospects who go through difficult months, half-seasons and seasons. And you think, 'Hey, you thought these guys were going to be impact guys, and now they're scuffling. What's going on" There are going to be times we have really difficult times in the big leagues. Unfortunately, just like a player's development, the progress of an organization isn't always linear."
Keeping a volume of young pitching prospects and maintaining a development process throughout the farm system continues to be the Cubs' focus. That's still the ideal in baseball, even for teams such as the Dodgers that have the option of being big spenders to augment their rosters.
"I'm a big believer in Theo and [general manager] Jed [Hoyer] as people and professionals," Dodgers president Stan Kasten said, "and also in what their plan is and going about the exact right way, in my estimation and they've made real progress. I love the moves they've made this month. So I know they're going to have success here. I think that's the right way to do it."
Kasten built the once-struggling Atlanta Braves into the National League powerhouse of the 1990s largely on pitching and a farm system that produced steady quality.
Times have changed since then in baseball's financial structure and operational rules. It can take longer now to reach sustained success.
Kasten has been able to tap into the Dodgers' lucrative television resources to help turn things around quickly this season.
"But if I could choose one or the other and almost every franchise does have to choose I would choose the Theo and Jed plan because that's what I believe in as well," he said.
Epstein won?t even estimate when the Cubs will turn "potential" into "contender" because he can't.

[Coach34]

Wait, so do you think we've peaked in the 7-9 win range or do you think we'll become a consistent 10 win team with CDM?

peaked means you will never go any higher...Miss State is only capable of being a 7-9 win program. That's all we can do consistently.

Do I think Mullen can have a special season and win 10 games one year? Ab-so-****ing-lutely.
Do I think Dan Mullen can win 10+ games for an extended period? Hayyyyyyle naw

Do I think Mark Hudspeth coaching at State can have a special season and win 10 games? Probably
Do I think Mark Hudspeth could win 10+ games at State for an extended period of time? Hayyyyyyle naw

[Coach34]

""There are going to be other really bad months. There are going to be prospects who go through difficult months, half-seasons and seasons. And you think, 'Hey, you thought these guys were going to be impact guys, and now they're scuffling. What's going on" There are going to be times we have really difficult times in the big leagues. Unfortunately, just like a player's development, the progress of an organization isn't always linear."


and this is what people cant grasp too often- and insist on change before a job is done

[ShotgunDawg]

""There are going to be other really bad months. There are going to be prospects who go through difficult months, half-seasons and seasons. And you think, 'Hey, you thought these guys were going to be impact guys, and now they're scuffling. What's going on" There are going to be times we have really difficult times in the big leagues. Unfortunately, just like a player's development, the progress of an organization isn't always linear."


and this is what people cant grasp too often- and insist on change before a job is done

BINGO

[Political Hack]

peaked means you will never go any higher...Miss State is only capable of being a 7-9 win program. That's all we can do consistently.

Do I think Mullen can have a special season and win 10 games one year? Ab-so-****ing-lutely.
Do I think Dan Mullen can win 10+ games for an extended period? Hayyyyyyle naw

Do I think Mark Hudspeth coaching at State can have a special season and win 10 games? Probably
Do I think Mark Hudspeth could win 10+ games at State for an extended period of time? Hayyyyyyle naw

gotcha. and I agree. we will have a 9+ win season again under CDM, if he's here. BUT, outside of the occasional high and low, we've possibly peaked as a program. At least with this administration.

[engie]

And when I see people post this I cant help but laugh and wonder how damn stupid they are.

Jackie's 1st 5 years:

7-5
7-5
3-6-2
8-4
3-8


Let's get this right. IMO Jackie shouldn't get to call the Langhamgate Bama loss a victory even if the history books do...

[Coach34]

And Hack brings up a good keyword- administration

The football program is so much more than just the coach- Gene Chizik is the poster boy for that.

It's no coincidence the SEC has gone on this great run with Mike Slive as Commish. He stopped most of the tattling on each other- and now the SEC is reaching unprecedented heights. With the SEC office basically telling the NCAA to **** off, you've seen the bigger schools bolster their compliance offices to protect themselves further. But not lil ol State- we have a former PE teacher heading up compliance.

Other Presidents and AD's talk education, but their actions are all about preserving football and raking in the money. When we get a little better at President, AD, and Compliance- football will get better also

[engie]

gotcha. and I agree. we will have a 9+ win season again under CDM, if he's here. BUT, outside of the occasional high and low, we've possibly peaked as a program. At least with this administration.

You know I agree with your premise... but I just hate using the term "peaked". It corresponds to stagnation and otherwise a program that's losing fire and energy... it's counterproductive to what we're trying to do. "Still building" is how it should be phrased IMO.

What Mullen has done(and continues to do) is raise the floor for our program -- and he did that part basically immediately. What we're seeing now is that it simply takes alot longer to raise the ceiling, especially given our positioning in the current landscape of college football(secWest)...

Virginia Tech's "ceiling" pre-Beamer was 8-9 wins(exactly like MSU). It took him to his SEVENTH year to even reach that ceiling(Mullen did it in year 2 and year 4 for us). Took him 2 more to raise that ceiling and win 10 for the first time. So, it took one of college football's greats 9 years to surpass their "ceiling" for the first time. IN THE BIG EAST. After he broke through that first time, he's done it 12 more times in the 17 years since in two different conferences.

I could go into how long it took Holtz and Spurrier at South Carolina. Guys that are Hall-Of-Famers. Were people saying Spurrier had "peaked" there in year 4 and year 5? I don't really remember. But I do know that if they did, they look really foolish now...

It's total insanity to me that our fans EXPECT Mullen to be FAR SUPERIOR to Holtz, Spurrier, and Beamer in actual on-field production. Make no mistake -- he's been better than all 3 on the field in this "building" stage with MORE cards stacked against him. That's not to say that he's ACTUALLY better than any of them because he probably isn't and won't be. However, it's just crazy that as we follow those teams' blueprints for success(doing it better than they initially did), we consider ourselves peaked, begin to lose energy in the program, and a growing minority are ready to go in another direction.

[Political Hack]

agree with you engie, bu under this administration we will be stagnant. until that changes and they get someone in house who cares more about the long term planning than they do a quick pay day, we will cause ourselves to "peak" around 7-8 wins a year (on average).

The Oregon model is the right way IMO. Get the W's and your brand increases in value. That's how to build a long term successful program. Oregon had a rather large investor, but with the new facility and stadium expansion we've made the necessary investments already.

[FlabLoser]

Good point. Oregon was pretty much nothing until somebody high up decided to make something of it (shortly after signing a contract to play a one and one against MSU).

[engie]

We can follow the Oregon model -- IF we have someone infuse half a billion(literally) into our program...and use it as a testing ground for all kinds of new cutting edge apparel/athletics stuff...They got good when Nike/Phil Knight showed up. They were terrible before. Had very little to do with "how much they cared" -- they bought victory and with victory came the caring.

I don't see the problem with Keenum and Stricklin -- other than their(thusfar) refusal to fix compliance -- which means our boosters aren't holding their feet to the fire yet. Strick has been a KICK ASS fundraiser -- and has done a badass job of getting us to be fiscally competitive instead of just saying "we can't". Once the stadium expansion is done(an extra $10mil/yr plus in revenue by my math), we're talking about EASILY being inside the top 30 in total AD revenue. We've NEVER even come close to that before == and he deserves some credit for it.

[Political Hack]

you sort of just refuted your own point. We're on our way to becoming a top 30 program from a revenue standpoint, but we need a billionaire to employ the Oregon model? I don't see it that way. I think we're well enough financially to get by without selling games in exchange for potential losses.

Oregon invested into facilities and apparel then started winning. We're taking a similar approach, but to a lesser degree. I just hate the shortsidedness of taking a $2M pay day and risking a bowl for it... especially considering we had zero clue who our SEC-E away game was against.

[Coach34]

But if we win August 31st- that decision looks like gold.

At some point we have to step up and play one of these games- and win it if we want notoriety and the perks that come with it

[FlabLoser]

I'd be satisfied with proving our worth by beating SEC teams.

But if we win this, and we could, its all good.

Jackie beating Texas twice was good for MSU.

[1bigdawg]

Were people saying Spurrier had "peaked" there in year 4 and year 5? I don't really remember.

Yes, people did say that Spurrier had peaked. And there are more examples like Bowden at FSU or Paterno at PSU. Both were little sisters of the poor prior to those coaches building their program.

We can be like USCe or VaTech and occasionally play for the brass ring. We do not have the resources currently to be Alabama or Ohio State and be championship cometitive every year.

But let's realize that this is Mullen's 5th year. He has only 5 redshirt seniors starting along with 2 Jucos. It happened this way because he had to play skill position true freshmen his first year. Next year is the first time he will have a full, properly age apportioned roster and we will be better next year than this. Two years later, when he has had better recruiting classes to develop (his first two full classes were not strong enough) we might be championship competitive.

6 wins is my prediction for this year, but I do not think we are close to our peak. I do want to see us be more competitive in every game, but believe we will. BTW, some days I get more optimistic about this year.

[engie]

But if we win August 31st- that decision looks like gold.

At some point we have to step up and play one of these games- and win it if we want notoriety and the perks that come with it

Exactly. It only is a bad decision if we lose it.

Win that one and it will be MORE positive publicity for us in the 2 weeks leading into Auburn than the entire 7-0 start got us last year IMO...

If we get by OK State, I will expect us to beat Auburn -- at which point we're staring at being 4-0 and undefeated through September again with an off-week before a HUGE home showdown against the Tigahsss -- a game that as of right now I'm not willing to concede by any means...

[Political Hack]

good Lord I wish I felt as good about things as y'all do. And I sincerely hope y'all are right. My fear isn't about losing to Okie State, it's about seeing our offense sputter aome and seeing them throw up 40 points and embarrassing us the first gem of the season. That happens, the next 11 games are meaningless because we'll never get ranked and, per usual, the bowl reps will want the "sexier" team.

It's a HUGE risk. And an uneccessary one IMO.

[Coach34]

good Lord I wish I felt as good about things as y'all do. And I sincerely hope y'all are right. My fear isn't about losing to Okie State, it's about seeing our offense sputter aome and seeing them throw up 40 points and embarrassing us the first gem of the season.
.

That's the whole thing though- you're creating something that is highly unlikely

Ok State was God-awful on defense last year...80th in the country. Will they improve? Most likely, but they arent going to be a buzzsaw by any means

We return both our QB's, our entire OL, and all of our RB's....if we struggle on offense- then we have much bigger problems than playing Ok State

[engie]

good Lord I wish I felt as good about things as y'all do. And I sincerely hope y'all are right. My fear isn't about losing to Okie State, it's about seeing our offense sputter aome and seeing them throw up 40 points and embarrassing us the first gem of the season. That happens, the next 11 games are meaningless because we'll never get ranked and, per usual, the bowl reps will want the "sexier" team.

It's a HUGE risk. And an uneccessary one IMO.

Hack, this is the first time I've ever really seen the Poor Ole State mentality come out in you. To be clear, I was against the OK State game at first as well, but the more I've looked into it, the more I like the idea of playing them.

If we can't play a single good OOC game in year 5 of Mullen, when will we ever be able to? We went 7-0 last year -- had an undefeated showdown with Bama -- and the national media barely gave a damn about it. Why? Because we PROVED NOTHING before that(and we certainly proved nothing after).

What do they have on paper that makes us think they are THAT superior to us? Bottom line is that we're JUST as talented across the board as they are. If they are enough better than us to blow us out -- if they outdeveloped us to that extent -- then it's time we get REALLY worried about the Mullen regime. I just don't see it going down like that. They very well may beat us -- but it won't be a blowout -- and either way, people are going to leave the game realizing we're better than we've been given credit for..

Using last year's data in conference only games(their score vs the average their opponents allowed -- and their allowed points vs their opponent's average -- and doing the same thing for us -- Us vs them projects at about a 32-25 OK State victory last year(I'll find the math and post it here). I certainly think we're going to be better than last year on both sides of the ball...

[CadaverDawg]

Not trying to speak for Hack, but I somewhat feel the same way. My feelings are not based on talent, they're based off of effort.....and we saw a tremendous lack of effort at times last year. There is no doubt that we CAN be incredible on defense IF we play 4 quarters every week. Will we though? You guys seem super confident and that's great, but you really have no way of knowing that we will get that relentless effort back this season.

I think having some key coaching changes should help that, but I'm not buying into it again this year until I see it. Last year left a bad taste in my mouth, and a lot of this year's team was on last year's team, so I want to make sure they don't fall back in to old habits. Hopefully you guys are right, but I just can't be as confident until it is more than words, and "if's".

I know it sounds negative and all, but I just don't accept quitting and not giving it 100% out there....and our team AND coaches did those things on multiple occasions last year.

[engie]

Not trying to speak for Hack, but I somewhat feel the same way. My feelings are not based on talent, they're based off of effort.....and we saw a tremendous lack of effort at times last year. There is no doubt that we CAN be incredible on defense IF we play 4 quarters every week. Will we though? You guys seem super confident and that's great, but you really have no way of knowing that we will get that relentless effort back this season.

I think having some key coaching changes should help that, but I'm not buying into it again this year until I see it. Last year left a bad taste in my mouth, and a lot of this year's team was on last year's team, so I want to make sure they don't fall back in to old habits. Hopefully you guys are right, but I just can't be as confident until it is more than words, and "if's".

I know it sounds negative and all, but I just don't accept quitting and not giving it 100% out there....and our team AND coaches did those things on multiple occasions last year.

A lack of relentless effort at any point this year = Mullen's seat is SCALDING HOT. Trust me. What happened last year is unacceptable on ANY level. We're ALL on the same page with that. Given context and what we know in hindsight, I can also understand how it happened LAST YEAR. Could you imagine how f'n frustrating it must have been to be Banks and Slay -- two guys trying to go out with a bang at a school they love and be EARLY round NFL talents -- that never got to go press man on anybody? How do you think they felt when Nickoe didn't show up for OTT help -- and made it look like they had just straight up gotten torched(Moncrief just scored again!!1!1)? How was it fair for Nickoe -- who was being asked to do more than was physically(and mentally) possible for him? Did you see his draft stock plummet because we weren't putting him in position to have success? What about the 2nd string guys at DT that no matter how they dominated in their snaps, they still spent the majority of the time sitting behind Cherrington? What about a tremendous rush LB(Wells) only getting unleashed a handful of times all year while having a guy that playing out of position in front of you that NEVER rushed and couldn't cover guys in the slot like he was being asked to do?

I can tell you this speaking from experience -- it's HARD to play with relentless effort when you think your coach is an idiot and is basically sabotaging your success... which I think we all feel about Wilson now given the time to look back on it...

It's just shortsighted and narrowminded to forget ALL of the tremendous effort we gave before all that. Remember 2009? 2010? 2011? Remember Trent Richardson talking about how hard and consistently we hit him in 2011?

[CadaverDawg]

A lack of relentless effort at any point this year = Mullen's seat is SCALDING HOT. Trust me. What happened last year is unacceptable on ANY level. We're ALL on the same page with that. Given context and what we know in hindsight, I can also understand how it happened LAST YEAR. Could you imagine how f'n frustrating it must have been to be Banks and Slay -- two guys trying to go out with a bang at a school they love and be EARLY round NFL talents -- that never got to go press man on anybody? How do you think they felt when Nickoe didn't show up for OTT help -- and made it look like they had just straight up gotten torched(Moncrief just scored again!!1!1)? How was it fair for Nickoe -- who was being asked to do more than was physically(and mentally) possible for him? Did you see his draft stock plummet because we weren't putting him in position to have success? What about the 2nd string guys at DT that no matter how they dominated in their snaps, they still spent the majority of the time sitting behind Cherrington? What about a tremendous rush LB(Wells) only getting unleashed a handful of times all year while having a guy that playing out of position in front of you that NEVER rushed and couldn't cover guys in the slot like he was being asked to do?

I can tell you this speaking from experience -- it's HARD to play with relentless effort when you think your coach is an idiot and is basically sabotaging your success... which I think we all feel about Wilson now given the time to look back on it...

It's just shortsighted and narrowminded to forget ALL of the tremendous effort we gave before all that. Remember 2009? 2010? 2011? Remember Trent Richardson talking about how hard and consistently we hit him in 2011?

I agree with everything you said EXCEPT for that it is "short sighted and narrow minded". If you know sports as well as I think you do, then you know that it is hard to break a mentality. ANd we lost the relentless effort mentality last year. Sometimes it is not just as easy as flipping a switch to get it back. Trust me, I THINK we can. And I THINK Collins will bring a whole new life to our D. And I THINK everything will turn out great. But until I KNOW that we have trashed that shitty mentality we had last year, I cannot sit here and predict 7-8 wins or more. I just can't.

Does that mean I won't be supporting them? Hell no that's not at all what Im saying....Hell, I think this is our most talented team since Sherrill's best. BUT, I guess I am just cautious until I see that last year was not contagious. If we have gotten back to the 2009 and 2010 mentality then we will be a VERY good team this year that can win 7, 8, or even 9 games.

There is no doubting the talent. It's whether or not the coaches can get that talent to reach it's potential and play for 4 quarters. We know it's possible because it was happening until last year. But will we do it? That's the big question.

[Political Hack]

I don't see it as "poor ole Missipi' tate" as much as I see it as a glaringly dumb management mistake. Scheduling a game that can make or break your season in week one is stupid... doing it against one of the more prolific offenses in the country is beyond stupid.

Our defense is STACKED. Best we've had talent wise since the late 90's IMO. But that game still worries me. We already have to play #1, #6, #7, and #13... screw it, let's throw another top 15 team in there for good measure. We don't have enough chances to prove we're good. If we beat OSU and lose the other 4, OSU means nothing.

[Coach34]

I dont think OK State is top 15 when all is said and done.

They could easily lose 4 games this year

[Percho]

But if we win August 31st- that decision looks like gold.

At some point we have to step up and play one of these games- and win it if we want notoriety and the perks that come with it
I agree Coach. If you can't win that game in August you can't get to Atlanta and win that game.

[Political Hack]

they could also easily be 9-0 going into a road game at Texas with the Big 12 title on the line... which I see as much more likely.

Hopefully they'll be 8-1.

[engie]

I agree with everything you said EXCEPT for that it is "short sighted and narrow minded". If you know sports as well as I think you do, then you know that it is hard to break a mentality.
It's REALLY easy to quit on a coach that has quit on you or you feel is sabotaging your success. Ultimately that's what happened. Our offense never gave up I don't think -- they just weren't very good(still statistically the best we've had in a bunch of metrics -- just couldn't get it done when it counted against better teams). Our defense QUIT -- and I already went into detail of why I think that was and why, in hindsight, I think a change was ABSOLUTELY necessary(I took up for Wilson for the first few screw ups(Troy, Bama)-- but I was wrong).

I had a VERY hard time playing with relentless effort my second year of college for a ton of (strictly on field) reasons -- and I'm as relentless of competitor in all walks of life as you will ever meet. Hell, that is probably obvious from my posting style. That said, I'm speaking from personal experience. It was VERY hard to keep competing when my coach had not only quit on me, but done things(even unintentionally) that hurt my future in the game... Catching 18 innings twice/week was brutal -- those mistakes made in the 17th or 18th still went in the books and on my statline. F'ing with my swing DURING the season(after not saying a single word to me in individual workouts in the preseason -- I hit every single day by myself off a tee during the offseason without ANY instruction) and killing 100% of my power numbers. Blaming me for bombs that got hit when pitchers shook my pitch calls. I could go on...


ANd we lost the relentless effort mentality last year. Sometimes it is not just as easy as flipping a switch to get it back.
Again -- IF Mullen "is who we think he is" -- this is an ABSOLUTE MUST. I think it's a non-issue. It's expected. IF that ain't back, then he's done at MSU. And he'll be done THIS year with a spectacular Houston Nutt type of collapse. It's that simple. Our fans will quit on that team and Mullen SO fast it'll blow people's minds -- and Hud is going to win the Sun Belt this year and probably win 10 games.

Freeze took a team that had lost 17 of 18 SEC games and been embarrassed and beaten down repeatedly -- and he managed to get them to play hard 13 times in a row, even while getting blown out. Like I say -- if Mullen can't do that with us this year, he's done at MSU. But he will. Relentless effort and being reenergized from this team is OBVIOUS in every practice report we've seen thusfar. Collins + Deshea = one HIGH energy defense with swag.


Trust me, I THINK we can. And I THINK Collins will bring a whole new life to our D. And I THINK everything will turn out great. But until I KNOW that we have trashed that shitty mentality we had last year, I cannot sit here and predict 7-8 wins or more. I just can't.
The hard part is definitely being able to see this stuff in advance... I just don't see the point in questioning effort based on what happened last year -- while ignoring the first 3 years? It's either there -- we're better -- and Mullen is who I think he is(just like Cohen has proven to be who I thought he was) -- or he's not -- and we start the Hud era. It's really that simple in my mind. Not much inbetween or margin for error in this...


Does that mean I won't be supporting them? Hell no that's not at all what Im saying....Hell, I think this is our most talented team since Sherrill's best. BUT, I guess I am just cautious until I see that last year was not contagious. If we have gotten back to the 2009 and 2010 mentality then we will be a VERY good team this year that can win 7, 8, or even 9 games.
Agreed


There is no doubting the talent. It's whether or not the coaches can get that talent to reach it's potential and play for 4 quarters. We know it's possible because it was happening until last year. But will we do it? That's the big question.
True. We do it -- or we make a change. Again -- really going to be a non-issue IMO

I think people are going to look at our defense against Ok State and see a deeper version of our 2010 Diaz defense...

[engie]

they could also easily be 9-0 going into a road game at Texas with the Big 12 title on the line... which I see as much more likely.

Hopefully they'll be 8-1.

TCU gonna make them quit this year. That's the team that is REALLY the class of the big12 IMO. LSU will have their hands full in week 1...

[Five-tool Poster]

You capitalize ALOT of words. IMO

[Coach34]

TCU gonna make them quit this year. That's the team that is REALLY the class of the big12 IMO. LSU will have their hands full in week 1...

Texas has 20 starters returning- they are probably going to play for the NC

They play @ Texas
@ TTech (who has a pretty damn good new coach)
TCU
State
Oklahoma

at least 4 losses this year

[Coach 57]

Any coach @ MSU and u mean ANY coach that can consistently win 6-8 games every year has no business losing his job! PERIOD!

[engie]

Any coach @ MSU and u mean ANY coach that can consistently win 6-8 games every year has no business losing his job! PERIOD!

If the football team QUITS this year like we QUIT last year -- we won't be winning 6-8 games with this schedule. We'll be struggling and likely not getting #5 when Freeze goes in dry in Starkville...

In my mind, simply losing doesn't get you put on the hot seat NEARLY as quickly as having a team that is VISIBLY not playing with relentless effort. That's what people are so down on Mullen for. Not the fact that we lost those games, but how we lost them...

Give me relentless effort and I don't give a damn about the results. They will take care of themselves...

[engie]

You capitalize ALOT of words. IMO

Good to have you, HD6**

[HancockCountyDog]

If the football team QUITS this year like we QUIT last year -- we won't be winning 6-8 games with this schedule. We'll be struggling and likely not getting #5 when Freeze goes in dry in Starkville...

In my mind, simply losing doesn't get you put on the hot seat NEARLY as quickly as having a team that is VISIBLY not playing with relentless effort. That's what people are so down on Mullen for. Not the fact that we lost those games, but how we lost them...

Give me relentless effort and I don't give a damn about the results. They will take care of themselves...

That is my concern about starting with a quality opponent. If, and it's a big if (because I think we win it) we get beat by OSU in the way we lost to several of the teams down the stretch last year, I'm worried about the team's mental state heading into a must win at Auburn.

That 2010 Bear team quit on Nutt in 2010 after losing to JSU, and though losing to Osu is no where near the same thing, a 20 point loss could have the same impact.

Bottom line is that I don't see that happening thoug, and think we jump into the top 25 after an opening weekend win.

[engie]

Texas has 20 starters returning- they are probably going to play for the NC

They play @ Texas
@ TTech (who has a pretty damn good new coach)
TCU
State
Oklahoma

at least 4 losses this year
Texas should be great for sure -- but they should have been last year as well. Diaz's scheme just hasn't really worked there for whatever reason. I don't really understand it... It was starting to show glimpses late last season though, certainly...

TCU brings back a ton too. They were one of the youngest teams in all of FBS last year and they actually play SEC-type of defense. That defense went from terrible 2 years ago(unforgettable Baylor game) to salty by the end of last season and they bring everyone back. I've noticed that Patterson tends to run his defenses in 3-4 year cycles. He'll sacrifice a given season on that side to get a bunch of young guys experience, and those guys then go on to dominate in their 3rd or 4th year. They bring back EVERYTHING for 2-3 years at a time and then they lose everything at once as well. This is the basically third year of that cycle...

Get back a Heisman darkhorse QB in Pachall as well with his head(apparently) screwed on right. He was tremendous as a soph before getting in trouble his JR year...

[Political Hack]

TCU gonna make them quit this year. That's the team that is REALLY the class of the big12 IMO. LSU will have their hands full in week 1...

TCU won 6 or 7 last year??? I can't see them making a big enough jump to pass Texas, Oki St, or OU. I think those three challenge for the ten team Big 12.

[Quaoarsking]

Texas has 20 starters returning- they are probably going to play for the NC

They play @ Texas
@ TTech (who has a pretty damn good new coach)
TCU
State
Oklahoma

at least 4 losses this year

So after underachieving absurdly over the last 3 years (we have more wins over the last 3 years than Texas does...), Mack Brown and Texas will just magically be good? Yeah, they're talented, but they've had loads of talent the past 3 years too.

[Coach34]

So after underachieving absurdly over the last 3 years (we have more wins over the last 3 years than Texas does...), Mack Brown and Texas will just magically be good? Yeah, they're talented, but they've had loads of talent the past 3 years too.

They won 9 damn games last year- and have 20 of 22 starters returning...what do you mean "will just magically be good"?