SEC West Preview: Mississippi State

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By James Moroney

A favorite pastime for most college football fans is remembering the good ole days. Georgia fans remember the days of Herschel Walker; Notre Dame fans love reminiscing about the 1800s when they last won a bowl game; and most Crimson Tide fans won’t hesitate to bring up the Bear Bryant era of Alabama football.

In one way or another, most college and universities have a golden age for their football program which is most often represented by a certain coach, like Woody Hayes for Ohio State. In the modern day SEC, with all of the spread offenses and over-dramatic coaches, fans might start to lose sight of the football of their childhoods. Never fear.

Fans that live for the no-nonsense coaches need look no further than Sylvester Croom of Mississippi State. Croom represents the very essence of old school college football. His record of 17-30 is not impressive, and he has had more than his share of bad losses in his four years at MSU, but his impact on the program is undeniable even though his program doesn’t have a winning reputation.

After inheriting a program under NCAA probation, Croom has turned Mississippi State into one of the cleanest and most respected programs in the SEC. On top of the character he brings to the game and the conference, Croom led the Bulldogs to their first bowl appearance since the 2000 Independence Bowl. Croom’s success has also translated into recruiting success, and according to Rivals.com, Mississippi State has already signed a number of top prospects for the 2009 class. For the first time in a long time, Bulldog fans have a reason to be optimistic about the upcoming season.

One aspect that should improve from last year is the offense. If it doesn’t, it could be a long season in Starkville. Wesley Carroll returns behind center in a year where he has the chance to become a leader on the offense. Last year, as a true freshman, he showed flashes of potential but also made a lot of mistakes characteristic of young quarterbacks. If he can get some time from his offensive line, he should be able to make the throws and score some points. Success in the passing game is a must for State to make a bowl game and have consecutive winning seasons.

Anthony Dixon will join Carroll in the backfield and should be the star of the offense. Dixon ran for a respectable 1066 yards last season, but he must improve his yards per carry (3.7). The Bulldogs can’t stay competitive unless they make some plays for long yardage. It’s hard to sustain long drives in the SEC due to the talented defenses across the board, so it will be essential for the passing game to keep teams from stacking the box against Dixon. Dixon checks in at 240 pounds and can run with authority; it will be up to the passing attack to make sure he doesn’t have to carry too much to the load.

Three starters have to be replaced on the offensive line that already had struggles last season. The unit has two games to gel before facing Auburn on September 6 and will be an essential cog in the success of the season.

As I mentioned earlier, the offense needs more big-play ability and a lot of that will depend on improved receiver play. Jamayel Smith returns as the leading receiver from last season and will need to find some help in Co-Eric Riley, Aubrey Bell and Brandon McRae. The receivers will need to spread the field and become a reliable focus of the offense to keep their defense off the field.

On defense, Mississippi State loses their best pass rusher in Titus Brown but return the middle of their line in Kyle Love and Jessie Bowman. Iraq war veteran Tim Bailey will take over on the outside and will bring maturity and leadership along with his physical talents. Defenses live off of the pass rush so it will be important for Mississippi State to find ways to get to the quarterback. If they can manage to pressure the passer consistently, State’s defense will be tough because of their fast and physical secondary.

The two leading tacklers from last year’s team, Jamar Chaney and Dominic Douglas, return to lead what should be a solid and underrated group of linebackers. These guys won’t get a lot of attention as most of it will go to Derek Pegues, but they will have as much responsibility as anyone on the defense. They might be called on in blitz packages if the front line has trouble consistently getting to the quarterback.

Derek Pegues leads a veteran secondary that should be the best group on defense. Pegues does everything for the Bulldogs and almost single handily kept them in the Auburn and Ole Miss games. Strong safety Keith Fitzhugh and corner Jasper O’Quinn also return as starters.

State returns all of their essentials on special teams, which include place kicker Adam Carlson who kicked the game winner against the Rebels last season and punter Blake McAdams. Pegues steps in as one of the most dangerous return men in the SEC and should give the Bulldogs a scoring threat every time he touches the ball.

The schedule could mean that a better Mississippi State team ends up with a worse record than the 2007 team. Vanderbilt replaces South Carolina and the Bulldogs drop West Virginia which are bonuses, but they travel to Georgia Tech to make up for it. Road games at LSU and Tennessee are tough, and they also have to travel to Ole Miss for the Egg Bowl.

Last season’s success was mostly due to upsets over Auburn and Alabama. Both teams will be better this season, and the Alabama game is on the road which means the Bulldogs probably won’t extend their winning streak to three seasons. With an upset or two, State could find themselves at 8-4 to end the season, but it is much more likely that they will be 7-5 or 6-6 if they drop a home game to Kentucky or Arkansas.

Originally Published: Issue 694 - July 23, 2008

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