Realistic Idea for State to make the College Football Playoff....

[Todd4State]

It's no secret we don't have the NIL money to compete year in and year out....

So why don't we basically go ahead and make it clear that we are tanking and paying zero dollars for the next, say, 3 years. Nothing but guys willing to play for a scholly or as a walk on. And we save 3-4 years worth of stock piled NIL money, and make it clear that in 2028 we are coming for every top tier transfer in the portal and bringing a BAG with us!

Have all the big targets saying "I don't know where I'll be next year, but in 2028 I want MSU throwing a bag at me and being a part of their title contender team"

Bc we can turn a roster over in 1 offseason easily, especially with a ton of cash.

Why not play for one or 2 magical seasons every decade? Better than what we have now. Many will laugh, but why am I wrong? Work smarter since we can't pay the the big bucks to keep up on a yearly basis.

Roast me

The biggest problem with your idea is players want proof of concept. So after you fire sale the team you would have to hire someone like a Kiffin that is a brand name or a guy like Cignetti and have him bring in most of his team.

It's really hard to sell "yeah we were 1-11 but we're really serious now" when they could go to Alabama, LSU, Ohio State or somewhere that winning is a much safer bet.

Proof of concept is one of our biggest problems right now and that's why we lose guys when we offer them more money than Alabama or whoever.

[Todd4State]

Because you would all want to fire the guy who went 6-30 with freebies?

Yeah. The AD would have to basically make an announcement to the alumni and fans to communicate their intent and I'm not sure how the fans would react but it probably wouldn't go over very well. Good chance it would lead to mass firings beyond the football program. And good luck getting people to show up while we are sandbagging it. Who the hell wants to go to an Egg Bowl in Starkville while we're getting beat like Indiana is beating Purdue?

Great chance for the faculty to cash in on their tickets.**

[Todd4State]

And enough Oil money to buy a Top 10 team to go along with buying a few dozen homes for players parents across Town to stay in for home games.

We have an architecture department and landscaping and construction engineering dept. This sounds like a homework assignment for some MSU students.

Build our football player's parents homes and you get an A!

[CadaverDawg]

The biggest problem with your idea is players want proof of concept. So after you fire sale the team you would have to hire someone like a Kiffin that is a brand name or a guy like Cignetti and have him bring in most of his team.

It's really hard to sell "yeah we were 1-11 but we're really serious now" when they could go to Alabama, LSU, Ohio State or somewhere that winning is a much safer bet.

Proof of concept is one of our biggest problems right now and that's why we lose guys when we offer them more money than Alabama or whoever.

That's why you have to announce your plan, and then over pay with big bucks and make that very clear. If you're clear with your intentions, it could work.

Obviously any idea can have holes punched in it, and I was just angry and spit balling when I posted it, I haven't sat down and blue printed the damn thing...nor will I. So you can nit pick it to death, and that's fine...bc we won't do it anyway. Instead, we'll keep spending less than the rest of the league, winning less than the league, and bitching about winning less than the league. At least my idea isn't the definition of insanity, which is what MSU has done and will continue doing for the next 10+ years, instead of thinking outside the box.

[Todd4State]

Right, that's why they won't go to Lubbock tx either

Texas Tech wasn't in as bad a position as we were after Arnett. Not even close.

[justwin]

It's no secret we don't have the NIL money to compete year in and year out....

So why don't we basically go ahead and make it clear that we are tanking and paying zero dollars for the next, say, 3 years. Nothing but guys willing to play for a scholly or as a walk on. And we save 3-4 years worth of stock piled NIL money, and make it clear that in 2028 we are coming for every top tier transfer in the portal and bringing a BAG with us!

Have all the big targets saying "I don't know where I'll be next year, but in 2028 I want MSU throwing a bag at me and being a part of their title contender team"

Bc we can turn a roster over in 1 offseason easily, especially with a ton of cash.

Why not play for one or 2 magical seasons every decade? Better than what we have now. Many will laugh, but why am I wrong? Work smarter since we can't pay the the big bucks to keep up on a yearly basis.

Roast me

80% of it is you have to have a star QB that constantly moves the ball forward. And you have to have that every year and that's why Kiffen was so successful is every year he made sure he had above avg qb play. We have that again in Kamario. Leach could sign them but refused to play them early enough in spot time. Sawyer and parson shouldve gotten much more PT in the 2H of those games we were up. You just can't have an avg guy at qb and you have to commit to playing the best QB early and build the offense around their strengths early.

next, you have to have a great offensive scheme and after seeing the lebby offense in person a few times last few years, it is still the best offense we've ever had here to get to the next level. Mullen's offense was good and safe and removed the catastrophic plays, but definitely had a ceiling and certainly raised the floor. Leach's was a gimmick, player specific and took too many seasons to procure. With Lebby's O, you can win immediately if you have a true playmaker at QB. had we started Kamario game 1 vs USM, we're likely 4-0 headed into Tennessee game and we likely win 4 of our last 8 after he had the reps.

Then, you have to have a physical D and basically stop the run. Arnett's D does stop the run. Arnett's intensity is intentional. Some guys just yell like hutzler.

Then, of course, you have to be smart with your money and fill in the roster with avg to above avg players playing the rest of the reps. everyone is throwing money at the problem. just have to be smart & prudent and that still works.

What Mullen taught MSU is that a roster full of Mississippi kids is still the best path and you have to play the true freshman enough early so they're ready to really contribute the last half of the season. Sure, you have to get most of the top MS kids, but filling in the rest with mostly MS kids who develop is still crucial. that RB from Mizzou would've been on Mullen's roster. that left tackle for Miami would've been on Mullen's roster, etc. the DT echoles would've been on Mullen's roster. that kind of thing. Example, from this recent HS signee class, you have to play Cotton, Crittendon, Addison, Nickerson the first four games enough vs ULM, Minnesota, South Caro, Mizzou, so by the time you get to the last six games, they are basically in the rotation. Our coaches will always wait unil the last four games until they really commit to putting them on the field.

we have plenty of money. just have to be smart with it. our biggest issue in 2025 was not playing Kamario enough early and of course, the defense philosophy of 3 down lineman which will never work at MSU. Looking at 2026, we have the best schedule we've had in a decade so I like seeing all of the defense arnett is bringing in. on 2026 schedule, South Caro has Sellers back and Texas has Arch back. The rest of the teams will all have new QBs, mostly unproven and you can count that most of them will struggle in 2026. So, if Arnett can put the game on those fresh QBs to win and then we counter with Kamario, much better chance to win.

anyway, that's what I've determined after 20+ years of watching SEC / MSU football. preseason predictions are mostly wrong.

[Pancho]

this^

[Todd4State]

That's why you have to announce your plan, and then over pay with big bucks and make that very clear. If you're clear with your intentions, it could work.

Obviously any idea can have holes punched in it, and I was just angry and spit balling when I posted it, I haven't sat down and blue printed the damn thing...nor will I. So you can nit pick it to death, and that's fine...bc we won't do it anyway. Instead, we'll keep spending less than the rest of the league, winning less than the league, and bitching about winning less than the league. At least my idea isn't the definition of insanity, which is what MSU has done and will continue doing for the next 10+ years, instead of thinking outside the box.

Honestly, I don't think your idea is terrible or anything like that but where you lost me is at doing it to be good for one year only.

If we're going to stack money for a year or two or whatever I would much rather the ROI be a 5-7 year period of 9-12 wins during the regular season.

To me, MSU's problem recently has been we have been thinking too much outside of the box. Indiana is great example of how we should build it- get a team that is full of veteran players and go play football with them. And pay them. And I do think MSU is striving to build a team with the same profile as Indiana but 23 year old players start out as 19-20 year old players and that's where most of our most talented players are right now.

It's because our administration was so against paying players for years and we were always looking for a workaround because we were afraid of the NCAA and polishing our "exemplary compliance" trophies that it's hard for our fan base to shift to "Oh, it's Ok to pay a 10K now." Through NIL of course.

[Todd4State]

80% of it is you have to have a star QB that constantly moves the ball forward. And you have to have that every year and that's why Kiffen was so successful is every year he made sure he had above avg qb play. We have that again in Kamario. Leach could sign them but refused to play them early enough in spot time. Sawyer and parson shouldve gotten much more PT in the 2H of those games we were up. You just can't have an avg guy at qb and you have to commit to playing the best QB early and build the offense around their strengths early.

next, you have to have a great offensive scheme and after seeing the lebby offense in person a few times last few years, it is still the best offense we've ever had here to get to the next level. Mullen's offense was good and safe and removed the catastrophic plays, but definitely had a ceiling and certainly raised the floor. Leach's was a gimmick, player specific and took too many seasons to procure. With Lebby's O, you can win immediately if you have a true playmaker at QB. had we started Kamario game 1 vs USM, we're likely 4-0 headed into Tennessee game and we likely win 4 of our last 8 after he had the reps.

Then, you have to have a physical D and basically stop the run. Arnett's D does stop the run. Arnett's intensity is intentional. Some guys just yell like hutzler.

Then, of course, you have to be smart with your money and fill in the roster with avg to above avg players playing the rest of the reps. everyone is throwing money at the problem. just have to be smart & prudent and that still works.

What Mullen taught MSU is that a roster full of Mississippi kids is still the best path and you have to play the true freshman enough early so they're ready to really contribute the last half of the season. Sure, you have to get most of the top MS kids, but filling in the rest with mostly MS kids who develop is still crucial. that RB from Mizzou would've been on Mullen's roster. that left tackle for Miami would've been on Mullen's roster, etc. the DT echoles would've been on Mullen's roster. that kind of thing. Example, from this recent HS signee class, you have to play Cotton, Crittendon, Addison, Nickerson the first four games enough vs ULM, Minnesota, South Caro, Mizzou, so by the time you get to the last six games, they are basically in the rotation. Our coaches will always wait unil the last four games until they really commit to putting them on the field.

we have plenty of money. just have to be smart with it. our biggest issue in 2025 was not playing Kamario enough early and of course, the defense philosophy of 3 down lineman which will never work at MSU. Looking at 2026, we have the best schedule we've had in a decade so I like seeing all of the defense arnett is bringing in. on 2026 schedule, South Caro has Sellers back and Texas has Arch back. The rest of the teams will all have new QBs, mostly unproven and you can count that most of them will struggle in 2026. So, if Arnett can put the game on those fresh QBs to win and then we counter with Kamario, much better chance to win.

anyway, that's what I've determined after 20+ years of watching SEC / MSU football. preseason predictions are mostly wrong.

Dan rarely played freshmen a lot. In his perfect world everyone would redshirt and not start until they were juniors. And yes, there were a few exceptions but more often than not he was going to play a guy like Sr. Zach Jackson over Jr. Beniquez Brown.

Most freshmen just take time to develop honestly. KT is a great example. The KT that played against USM was not the same KT that started the bowl game. Even when fans were clamoring to start him because "what could it hurt" and "Shapen hurt my feelings on instagram" or "his mobility will make up for the bad OL" there were some that said he wasn't ready to start and honestly, it turns out his accuracy wasn't where it needed to be and he still limited us somewhat because of his inexperience.

[CadaverDawg]