College Football Playoff: Which Top 25 teams are contenders, pretenders?
Mississippi State started the season unranked, but after powering their way through the 3 of their first 4 games of the season behind the arm and legs of junior dual-threat quarterback Nick Fitzpatrick the Bulldogs have risen to the number 24 spot in the AP Top-25 Poll.
After amassing 2,423 yards through the air, and 1,375 yards on the ground with 37 total touchdowns in 2016, Fitzpatrick has continued to excel as the Bulldogs starting quarterback in 2017.
Currently ranked 54th in the nation in total offense, Mississippi State’s offense has again almost exclusively been run through their star quarterback, who has recorded 626 yards through the air and 287 yards on the ground with 12 total touchdowns to show for his performance.
With only two receivers recording double-digit catches in four games and not a single receiver with more than 125 receiving yards, a balanced offense has been incredibly hard for Mississippi State to find.
While the Bulldog’s offense hasn’t been able to find a consistent rhythm, their defense has been able to keep the team in the majority of their games this season. Currently ranked the 10th in the nation, Mississippi State’s defense has only given up seven touchdowns in four games and has averaged only 255.5 yards per game to opposing offenses.
With three more games against ranked opponents left to play in 2017, it will be virtually impossible for the Bulldogs to win the SEC West especially when they have to play against in-conference opponents like No. 1 Alabama, No. 13 Auburn and No. 7 Georgia in the forthcoming weeks.