Scheduling and 2014

[Matt3467]

After reading a bit of what Mullen and others are saying I realize I never thought seriously about what IF we didn't have Bama on our schedule every year?

I'm curious do any of you all think we would've made the playoffs and potentially the NC game in 2014 if we didn't have to play Bama on the schedule? I realize, embarrassingly, that we lost the TSUN and GTech but I believe those we're due a lot to losing momentum after the Bama game. We definitely were the better team than those two losses. It's crazy to believe that we were #1 in the very first college playoff rankings to come out. We dropped LSU, AU, and aTm back to back to back. Incredible year with an incredible let down. I sincerely believe if not for Bama on our schedule the course of MSU would've changed dramatically following that year.

[BrunswickDawg]

It's a blessing and a curse. We consistently have a Top 25 SOS because we face 4-5 Top 25 opponents automatically. It helps us attract talent, because we play the best competition available.
The flip side is that it is a meat grinder of a schedule - everyone not named Bama has had a tough time negotiating it. You give us any non-SEC schedule with that 2014 team and I'd lay good odds we are in the title game. Give us an SEC East schedule in 2014 and we are in the SEC Title game with a shot at the playoffs even with a loss.

[Tbonewannabe]

Thinking about that, we have played Bama more than any other West team. How does our program look if we did what Ole Miss did and basically schedule weak enough to get to a bowl game every year at a minimum?

The Bama game every year was the point where Mullen started looking for a new job. If we won then he would be the hot name and could get a premier job, when we lost he interviews for jobs like Maryland. I think as much as we had a Bama hangover every year, the team lost focus because Mullen did.

The Egg Bowl was only important in 2016 where it was what kept bowl hopes alive.

[Maroonthirteen]

No. If we didn’t meet Bama in the regular season, we would have meet them in the SECCG that year.

We win.... sure we make the playoffs.

We lose the SECCG...... no we don’t. Herbstreit and espn were hyping Ohio st prior to the egg bowl that year. Espn wanted Ohio State in that #4 spot.

[Todd4State]

I've said it before- we don't do 1A/1B we win both Alabama and the Egg Bowl in 2014.

[Pipedream]

I've said it before- we don't do 1A/1B we win both Alabama and the Egg Bowl in 2014.

Defense isn't the reason we lost the 14 Bama game. We lost because Dak threw 2 interceptions deep in Bamas territory and had a safety put on us. That's, at worst, 8 points.

[Todd4State]

Defense isn't the reason we lost the 14 Bama game. We lost because Dak threw 2 interceptions deep in Bamas territory and had a safety put on us. That's, at worst, 8 points.

We also trotted our 1B defense out there on the game's most critical possession- and promptly allowed a TD. A stop there with the momentum we had gained and the outcome may have been different.

Also- our 1B defense allowed something like a 94 yard TD against Ole Miss.

If we play 1A- 67-75% of the game or mixed guys like Chris Jones in with the 1A defense I think things turn out very differently.

[Pipedream]

We also trotted our 1B defense out there on the game's most critical possession- and promptly allowed a TD. A stop there with the momentum we had gained and the outcome may have been different.

Also- our 1B defense allowed something like a 94 yard TD against Ole Miss.

If we play 1A- 67-75% of the game or mixed guys like Chris Jones in with the 1A defense I think things turn out very differently.

I don't disagree with you on the Egg Bowl that year, although our OL performance/gameplan were horrific in that one, but in that Bama game we only gave up 25 points and that's with the offense giving up a safety. Only allowing 23 to that Bama team with the offense we had was enough to win the game if we had executed in the red zone. 1a/1b didn't lose that one-two bad Dak intereceptions did.

[Tbonewannabe]

I don't disagree with you on the Egg Bowl that year, although our OL performance/gameplan were horrific in that one, but in that Bama game we only gave up 25 points and that's with the offense giving up a safety. Only allowing 23 to that Bama team with the offense we had was enough to win the game if we had executed in the red zone. 1a/1b didn't lose that one-two bad Dak intereceptions did.

When Dak took a cheap shot by that little shit safety and it didn't start a damn fight, that told me all I needed to know about our fight that game. Mullen was checked out and it seemed like it trickled down to the team. We kind of sleep walked that game.

[MedDawg]

Defense isn't the reason we lost the 14 Bama game. We lost because Dak threw 2 interceptions deep in Bamas territory and had a safety put on us. That's, at worst, 8 points.

Was 2014 the year that Bama's QB ran for first downs on three consecutive 3rd and longs late in the game? Those beat us. Helped by blatant holding not called, of course.

[Tbonewannabe]

Was 2014 the year that Bama's QB ran for first downs on three consecutive 3rd and longs late in the game? Those beat us. Helped by blatant holding not called, of course.

I think that was their last TD so they gave it back to us with like 4 minutes left with a 12 point lead. We hold them on any of those 3rd downs and we have the ball back down 8 at worst.

[Johnson85]

We also trotted our 1B defense out there on the game's most critical possession- and promptly allowed a TD. A stop there with the momentum we had gained and the outcome may have been different.

Also- our 1B defense allowed something like a 94 yard TD against Ole Miss.

If we play 1A- 67-75% of the game or mixed guys like Chris Jones in with the 1A defense I think things turn out very differently.

We played the entire Ole Miss game without our two best free safeties and we got torched by Evan Engram on seems and post routes. Not sure how much of that was 1a/1b's fault. The bigger issue is that Robinson wouldn't just take what was available that game. Shumpert was more effective than him because he didn't keep looking to get outside.

[Tbonewannabe]

We played the entire Ole Miss game without our two best free safeties and we got torched by Evan Engram on seems and post routes. Not sure how much of that was 1a/1b's fault. The bigger issue is that Robinson wouldn't just take what was available that game. Shumpert was more effective than him because he didn't keep looking to get outside.

It felt like Joe Lee Dunn days of never covering a TE.

[R2Dawg]

Defense isn't the reason we lost the 14 Bama game. We lost because Dak threw 2 interceptions deep in Bamas territory and had a safety put on us. That's, at worst, 8 points.

I think the 1A and 1B was a factor but I agree, two bad throws in that game killed us. The other thing was some Mullen playcalling. Dak up the middle 15 times was a drive killer.

We could have beat Bama that year and made playoffs.