We all like to get on here and complain about SEC money, this and that....and I'm pretty sure it's easier to do for people who don't live in the south and are far removed from it. It's very easy to complain about what the coaching staff should do, administration should do, etc. Bottom line, if you want to be able to play with the likes of Auburn and Alabama consistently, you have to do what they are doing, which is recruiting well.

The question you must ask is, "How do we get that caliber of player to Starkville consistently?" And I don't mean cheating. That's a short term solution that always ends in disaster.

The only real answer is for the state of Mississippi to improve and grow in good population. We need less people leaving the state. We need more people investing in the state. We need more people in/around/investing/living/playing/working/coming to games in Starkville, and Mississippi. This is it, in its entirety. This creates an attraction situation, a situation where people want to go to school, and a situation where players want to come and play football.

Neither SEC money or decisions made by our AD, nor our coaching staff, can change this. The only thing we're missing is a little bit better baseline of talent....a 'resting pulse'. Right now ours is probably 3*. Georgia's and Auburn's is 4*. Alabama's is 5*. Good coaching can help, it can get you up a notch but over the long haul you are what your talent says you are.

At the end of the day, we're getting there. But more people need to be aware of these facts. Right now our ceiling is probably a consistent 8-4, 9-3 sort of team with a shot at the playoff sometimes. It will stay that way until the above facts come into existence.