Mississippi State Football: 2017 season preview, predictions

Despite still reaching a bowl game, Mississippi State football is coming off its worst season in seven years. Can the Bulldogs rebound in 2017?

Dan Mullen took over the head coaching duties of the Mississippi State Bulldogs in 2009. He just had his worst season since year one in Starkville. He will need to show significant improvement on both sides of the ball to move up into the logjam atop the SEC West.

When Mullen moved into Starkville, the Bulldogs were coming off a season in which they went 4-8 and saw his predecessor, Sylvester Croom, resign. Mullen’s claim to fame was a four-year stint as Offensive Coordinator of the Florida Gators. During his brief time there, he recruited Tim Tebow which, of course, resulted in two national championships, a Heisman and the creation of one of the legends of college football.

Mullen went 5-7 in his first year, but that one game improvement was just the beginning. The Bulldogs haven’t missed a bowl game since. Mullen’s pinnacle thus far in Starkville came with Dak Prescott‘s ascent. Prescott made the jump to the NFL last year and Mullen set to work on making sophomore Nick Fitzgerald his next great quarterback.

The step down in quarterback play was an obvious barrier to success. It was exacerbated and made insurmountable by a truly horrendous defense. The Bulldogs went 5-7. However, they backed into a bowl game by thumping Ole Miss 55-20 as 10-point underdogs to end the regular season. Mississippi State was then chosen for a bowl because of the lack of six-win teams and their Academic Progress Rate. They beat Miami (OH) 17-16 in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Mississippi State has brought in a new defensive coordinator, and Mullen has had another year to groom Fitzgerald. Will it be enough to build on the momentum of the strong close to 2016?