After reading this I feel sorry for USM. From Clarion Ledger. (LONG POST)

[Jack Lambert]

They are going to put a beat down on them.


STARKVILLE ? The temperature hovered around 95 degrees when Mississippi State opened practice on Monday. The field turf pushed the heat index beyond triple-digits. The start of the regular season waited more than a month away, but the Bulldogs had motivation to push through the heat.








Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott thinks the nation will be impressed by the team's wide receivers. Michael Bonner

During many of the drills, they were reminded where the media picked Mississippi State to finish: last in the West.

?I heard it about 10 times (Monday) at practice,? senior Ryan Brown said. ?It?s going to help us. It?s going to motivate us each and every day to just have that hunger. That?s what it?s all about, that hunger.?

Mississippi State debuted the College Football Rankings at No. 1 last year. Returning quarterback Dak Prescott finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Dan Mullen won the Maxwell National Coach of the Year award.

Yet, the media selected Mississippi State to finish seventh in the West and 13th in the Southeastern Conference.

?Honestly, be picked first or last. If you?re picked first, you get real motivation to stay there,? Mullen said. ?If you?re picked last, you?ve got motivation to prove everybody wrong. If you?re picked fourth, you?re kind of like, well they didn?t pick us last.?

Mississippi State opened spring practice in March quieter than it had in 2014. Last year, the Bulldogs knew the nation doubted them. The chips on their collective shoulders were obvious in practice.

Last March, MSU masked its confidence. A 10-3 season spoke for itself, until national pundits began questioning it during the summer and SEC Media Days.

Prescott tweeted ?Preseason Rankings & Predictions #LOL?

He wasn?t the only player to publicly disagree with the predictions.

?I like it. I tweeted it, I like being last,? senior safety Kendrick Market said. ?I ain?t nothing but 5-9. Everybody said that I couldn?t play in the SEC. We?re going to prove them wrong again.?

Market is a perfect example of why prognosticators overlook Mississippi State. The senior will start at safety after every school but MSU thought he couldn?t play in the SEC.

Mississippi State comprises its roster with Kendrick Markets. Benardrick McKinney, who the Houston Texas selected in the second round of last year?s NFL draft, had one SEC offer: Mississippi State.

?I guarantee you history of the program over the last hundred-some years has to do with where we get picked,? Mullen said.

Mississippi State thrived last year as the underdog. As the hunter, MSU upset LSU on the road and beat Texas A&M and Auburn at home. Having the target on their back wasn?t as easy. The Bulldogs endured losses to Alabama and Ole Miss as well as a late-score win against Arkansas.

?It?s harder to stay at No. 1 than it is to get to No. 1,? Prescott said. ?As you?re going through the season you?ve got to give more intensity.?

Someone had to be picked last in the West ? a division where all seven coaches make more than $4 million. Mississippi State drew the short straw because of its history and losing 15 starters.

?I don?t think there?s any team in the West that doesn?t think they can win it. I know every school in the country right now has the coach talk, ?Hey we feel great. We?re going to find a way to win,?? Mullen said. ?I bet if you took a poll in the Big Ten of people, do they think anyone could win the championship in that league? Probably, they?re not going to say that.

?When you look at the SEC West, you probably can make an argument of how every team could win.?

Mississippi State was picked fifth in the West last year. Mullen and his players thought they were picked to finish last.

They used that en-route to a No. 1 ranking, the program?s first 10-win regular season and a trip to the Orange Bowl.

This year they won?t have to misremember the polls. And it?s exactly where they want to be.

?That?s people. They can judge what they see. But it?s all about the stuff that you can?t see,? Brown said. ?That?s what we go by and that?s what we?ll continue to go by.?

[MSUDawg4Life]

The most insulting thing is picking us 13th in the conference. 13th out of 14 teams.

[TrapGame]

Hell, I feel kinda sorry for LSU after reading this. This is going to be one focused team this season. That last SECW ranking lit a fire under all of them.

[I seen it dawg]

Our guys sound like pros. All business.

[messageboardsuperhero]

The most insulting thing is picking us 13th in the conference. 13th out of 14 teams.

Yep. So we're supposed to be worse than Kentucky? Please...

[BulldogBear]

One Month from today folks!!!! Thirty. One. Days. !!!!!

[codeDawg]

Last I saw, we were only 23.5 pt favorites in that USM game. I can't think of any reason we won't win that game by at least 30.

[Coach34]

Glad we got our extra motivation for the season. Sept 12th please hurry and get here

[Johnson85]

Last I saw, we were only 23.5 pt favorites in that USM game. I can't think of any reason we won't win that game by at least 30.

We'll see a lot of 1A and 1B this game. I think this year our 1B offense will be good enough to win handily, at least at the skill positions, so I still think we should cover 23.5, but we're away, breaking in a lot of new players, and will also be playing a lot of second string players early. I can understand why people are hesitant to throw out a huge line for us to cover.

[Dallas_Dawg]

If we barely cover, I wonder what the LSU line will be. Them favored in starkville?
Man this going to be the longest preseason ever

[DancingRabbit]

We'll see a lot of 1A and 1B this game. I think this year our 1B offense will be good enough to win handily, at least at the skill positions, so I still think we should cover 23.5, but we're away, breaking in a lot of new players, and will also be playing a lot of second string players early. I can understand why people are hesitant to throw out a huge line for us to cover.

We might play the 1A O-line most of the game to work on calls, timing, etc. - unless they just look totally awesome and in synch.

Otherwise, I'd expect heavy substitutions mid-3rd if we're up by 21.

[codeDawg]

We'll see a lot of 1A and 1B this game. I think this year our 1B offense will be good enough to win handily, at least at the skill positions, so I still think we should cover 23.5, but we're away, breaking in a lot of new players, and will also be playing a lot of second string players early. I can understand why people are hesitant to throw out a huge line for us to cover.

It wasn't even a contest last year. We did everything we wanted, when we wanted, and they couldn't do anything. I think the offense is better than last year's. The D may take a little while to sort out, but we shut them out last year. I don't think they have significantly improved.

[scottycameron]

Yep. So we're supposed to be worse than Kentucky? Please...

that's not true, bonner screwed that up. we weren't picked 13th. We were picked 7th in the west. Votes were done by division. Trust me nobody has KY ahead of us, or some of the other east teams for that matter.

[1bigdawg]

It wasn't even a contest last year. We did everything we wanted, when we wanted, and they couldn't do anything. I think the offense is better than last year's. The D may take a little while to sort out, but we shut them out last year. I don't think they have significantly improved.

They believe that they have significantly improved and Monken is coaching for his job this year, if some of their big supporters are to be believed. They think the transfers, particularly the QB from TCU, and the JUCOs can make them competitive.

It was not a contest last year, but they are at home and believe they have more experience and talent. We will win, but it may not be like last year.

[FISHDAWG]

We might play the 1A O-line most of the game to work on calls, timing, etc. - unless they just look totally awesome and in synch.

Otherwise, I'd expect heavy substitutions mid-3rd if we're up by 21.

Dan didn't wait until the 3rd qtr last yr ... substitution started in the 1st qtr

[Dawgface]

I'll feel sorry for USM after the game.

[thunderclap]

Dan didn't wait until the 3rd qtr last yr ... substitution started in the 1st qtr

And never stopped. God, I hope that shit is over.

And yes, we cover.

[the59dawg]

We might play the 1A O-line most of the game to work on calls, timing, etc. - unless they just look totally awesome and in synch.

Otherwise, I'd expect heavy substitutions mid-3rd if we're up by 21.

Coach will never again let up with only a 21 pt lead. He learned his lesson almost losing last yr at LSU and he did not let up a single time the rest of the year.

[the59dawg]

Dan didn't wait until the 3rd qtr last yr ... substitution started in the 1st qtr

Yea the 1A and 1B crap.

[Dawgcentral]

I've almost felt sorry for them in the past, due to the leadership both making really bad decisions, while also screwing the football and basketball programs in the process. But I've never crossed the true threshold of pity. They refused to buy tickets even when Bower was winning conference titles and winning 9 games a year, and he would have stayed there forever.

Some USM fans don't even know who they are playing the following week.

We will beat them by 22 after being up by 28 at halftime.