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Mississippi State Spring Football Game 2017: 5 things to watch for

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Nov 26, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs players celebrate with the Egg Bowl trophy after the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mississippi State won 55-20 Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs players celebrate with the Egg Bowl trophy after the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mississippi State won 55-20 Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 5, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Grantham talks to his defense on the sideline in the fourth quarter against the Auburn Tigers in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Grantham talks to his defense on the sideline in the fourth quarter against the Auburn Tigers in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

New defensive coordinator Todd Grantham

Mississippi State and Louisville orchestrated a rare college football trade when the Bulldogs and Cardinals swapped defensive coordinators over the offseason. In his one and only season in Starkville, Peter Sirmon guided the Bulldogs to a 12th place finish in the SEC in total defense (459.1 yards allowed per game), which ranked No. 101 nationally. State surrendered 31.8 points per game, and over 34 points on average in conference play.

Even as the Bulldogs turned it around in the win column in the second half of the season, the defense struggled. Six of State’s final seven opponents gained more than 430 yards of total offense. Three – including FCS opponent Samford – topped 600 total yards.

In January, Sirmon left to join Bobby Petrino at Louisville, and Dan Mullen tabbed Cardinals DC Todd Grantham to replace Sirmon. Grantham is the fourth Mississippi State defensive coordinator in four seasons, and Mullen’s seventh defensive coordinator in nine years.

Grantham, who spent four seasons at Georgia before moving on to Louisville, has had far better success, statistically speaking. Under his direction, Louisville ranked in the top 20 in total defense in the past three seasons, including a No. 14 ranking last season (322.2 total yards allowed per game). The Cardinals led the country with 26 interceptions in 2014 and forced 25 turnovers last year.

There are some building blocks in place, including talented linebacker Leo Lewis and defensive back Brandon Bryant, but Grantham will be charged with turning around a unit that ranked No. 120 in the country in pass defense (281.5 yards allowed per game), and No. 70 in rush defense (177.5 yards allowed per game). He must also rebuild a pass rush that returns just one player (Traver Jung) that recorded more than one sack last season.

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