Mississippi State Football: 2017 season preview, predictions

Defense

The Mississippi State defense fell off a cliff last season. After averaging less than 24 points allowed the previous six seasons, the Bulldogs allowed 31.8 per game last year. That was terrible enough for 93rd in FBS.

When you dive into the numbers things look even more grim. They were 120th in passing defense for giving up 281.5 yards per game and 110th in total defense at 459.1 yards per game. The rushing defense was 70th with 177.5 yards, but why run on one of the 10 worst passing defenses in the nation? Things would have been far worse save for the +7 turnover margin, tied for 24th nationally.

Middle linebacker Richie Brown leaves as the leading tackler with 102 last season. Defensive end Johnathan Calvin exits after leading the team in sacks with seven. Weakside linebacker Leo Lewis was second on the team in tackles as a redshirt freshman. The Bulldogs signed defensive end Chauncey Rivers, who you might remember from the second season of “Last Chance U.”

The passing defense will hopefully be bolstered by bringing back three starters in the secondary, all rising juniors. They also get back senior cornerback Tolando Cleveland, who started 10 games in 2015 but missed last season with a torn ACL.

Another year, another coordinator

The biggest change in the defense will be a familiar one for Mississippi State fans—a new defensive coordinator. This is the fourth in four years for the Bulldogs. Dan Mullen signed Todd Grantham away from Louisville.

It will be an interesting experiment because Peter Sirmon, whose defense got torched last season in Starkville, is going to Louisville. Grantham built a Top 20 defense at Louisville. Sirmon had one of the worst in his first season as a coordinator. Who will have more of an impact on their respective defense?

Grantham previously coached in the SEC as defensive coordinator at Georgia from 2010 to 2013. Prior to that, he worked for the Cowboys, Browns, Texans, Colts, Michigan State, and Virginia Tech.