Mississippi State Football: Best and worst case scenario for 2018

Mississippi State football has a new head coach and a strong returning team. What are the best and worst case scenarios for the Bulldogs in 2018?

After having several opportunities to move on from Starkville, Dan Mullen finally pulled the trigger. Following the 2017 season, Mullen made them move to Florida leaving the Mississippi State football program in need of a new head coach. Moving swiftly, the Bulldogs hired Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead.

Moorhead’s high-powered offenses in State College turned a great running back into a superstar and have the same potential at his next stop. An offense led by veteran quarterback Nick Fitzgerald combined with an experienced, deep defensive front could make the Bulldogs contenders in the SEC much sooner than most expect.

With that in mind, here are the best and worst case scenarios for Mississippi State football in 2018.

Best case scenario

• Sep 1 – vs Stephen F. Austin – W
• Sep 8 – @ Kansas State – W
• Sep 15 – vs Louisiana – W
• Sep 22 – @ Kentucky – W
• Sep 29 – vs Florida – W
• Oct 6 – vs Auburn – L
• Oct 20 – @ LSU – W
• Oct 27 – vs Texas A&M – W
• Nov 3 – vs Louisiana Tech – W
• Nov 10 – @ Alabama – L
• Nov 17 – vs Arkansas – W
• Nov 22 – @ Ole Miss – W

Result: 10-2

A road trip to Tuscaloosa is hard to chalk up as a victory, but every other game on the Mississippi State schedule seems winnable. LSU may very well not be ranked by the time the Bulldogs make the trek to Baton Rouge, meaning only one Top 25 opponent on the road and a favorable home slate. If Mississippi State can get revenge over Dan Mullen and Florida they should be in line for a 10-win season.

Worst case scenario

• Sep 1 – vs Stephen F. Austin – W
• Sep 8 – @ Kansas State – W
• Sep 15 – vs Louisiana – W
• Sep 22 – @ Kentucky – W
• Sep 29 – vs Florida – W
• Oct 6 – vs Auburn – L
• Oct 20 – @ LSU – W
• Oct 27 – vs Texas A&M – L
• Nov 3 – vs Louisiana Tech – W
• Nov 10 – @ Alabama – L
• Nov 17 – vs Arkansas – W
• Nov 22 – @ Ole Miss – L

Result: 8-4

Even with a few bumps along the road the Bulldogs won’t fall too far away from the 10-win plateau. A rivalry loss to Ole Miss is always in the cards (it happened last year, after all) and the enigma that is the Texas A&M Aggies and Jimbo Fisher is still too vague to nail down. Even still, an eight-win regular season isn’t a bad start for Moorhead in the south.

Of all the teams in the ever-challenging SEC West, Mississippi State seems to be one of the easiest to figure out. The Bulldogs are going to be good, very good, but a first-year head coach in one of the most challenging divisions in college football will have some growing pains which cap his ceiling. At best a New Year’s Six Bowl, but their floor won’t be much lower.