Mississippi State: Joe Moorhead got the job at Mississippi State despite no real ties in the Southeast because athletics director John Cohen wanted someone who was cerebral and innovative offensively, two traits that served Dan Mullen well there even though he was a bit of an odd cultural fit having grown up in New Hampshire. But even though their resumes may be similar, nobody would confuse the quality of football being produced by those two coaches. Whereas Mullen consistently beat expectations in Starkville, Moorhead inherited a program loaded with talent and has gone 11-8 with it (the record dips to 6-8 when you just consider Power Five opponents). The low point came Saturday when the Bulldogs lost to Tennessee, 20-10, giving the Vols -- who had only beaten Chattanooga this year -- their first SEC victory. (As an aside, Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt was a finalist for the Mississippi State job when Moorhead got it.) Under Moorhead, Mississippi State just doesn?t seem to have any real purpose or identity on offense. Nick Fitzgerald was an established successful starting quarterback in the SEC but took a step backward in Moorhead?s system. This year, the Bulldogs were supposed to thrive with Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens, who transferred in already knowing the system. Instead, Stevens has been banged up and freshman Garrett Shrader has been more effective with his ability to run. The Bulldogs went back and forth between the two against the Vols and it was a mess offensively. Fans already kind of knew this before Saturday, but losing to Tennessee made it official: This is the most disappointing program in the SEC right now.
By the way, I'm getting the sense that the media folks are blaming Joe for this debacle. Not as much of the "well, what do you expect at Mississippi State" stuff as we saw a decade ago.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ds/3969147002/