Fansided

Mississippi State football 2019 preview: Best and worst-case scenario

By Shayne Nissen

STARKVILLE, MS - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Joe Moorhead of the Mississippi State Bulldogs reacts before a game against the Florida Gators at Davis Wade Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MS - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Joe Moorhead of the Mississippi State Bulldogs reacts before a game against the Florida Gators at Davis Wade Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Grad transfer Tommy Stevens will be behind center Bulldogs in 2019, but with a solid rushing attack, Mississippi State football should have another solid season.

In Joe Moorhead’s second season, all eyes will be on the quarterback position as Penn State grad transfer, Tommy Stevens will get the starting nod in Week 1.

It was a good season, all things considered, for the Bulldogs last year as they went 8-4 despite losing star quarterback Nick Fitzgerald at the end of the season. While the offense was productive at times, it could also be very inconsistent as Fitzgerald relied heavily on his legs being the teams leading rusher.

That should change with Stevens stepping in as not only does he have a fantastic arm, he also spent three seasons sitting behind Trace McSorley at Penn State and two of those seasons were with Moorhead as offensive coordinator. So Stevens should fit what the offensive-minded Moorhead wants to do this season much better as it should be a much more balanced rushing attack with three starters on the offensive line back as well as Kylin Hill returning with 734 yards on the ground to his name last season.

On the defensive side of things, the Bulldogs had one of the premier defenses in not only the SEC but in all of college football as the Bulldogs finished second in the nation in points allowed only behind Clemson.

Unfortunately, they lose seven players on that side of the ball including all four defensive linemen that helped the Bulldogs to be third-best in the country in rushing yards allowed last season. The good news for the defense is that linebacker Errol Thompson returns to the Bulldogs as second in tackles from last season. Both safeties are gone in the secondary but Cameron Dantzler returns at a corner and he has the potential to be a shutdown corner for them this season.

Mississippi State football best-case scenario

  • Aug. 31 – vs. Louisiana – W
  • Sept. 7 – vs. Southern Miss – W
  • Sept. 14 – vs. Kansas State – W
  • Sept. 21 – vs. Kentucky – W
  • Sept. 28 – at Auburn – L
  • Oct. 12 – at Tennessee – W
  • Oct. 19 – vs. LSU – L
  • Oct. 26 – at Texas A&M – W
  • Nov. 2 – at Arkansas – W
  • Nov. 16 – vs. Alabama – L
  • Nov. 23 – vs. Abilene Christian – W
  • Nov. 28 – vs. Ole Miss – W

Record: 9-3 (5-3 SEC)

This is a Mississippi State team that has all of the talent on both sides of the ball to make this scenario a reality but it is always going to be tough sledding in the SEC. They start with an easy slate in non-conference. A neutral site game versus Louisiana and then home games against Southern Miss and Kansas State should be wins for this squad.

Kentucky at the start of SEC play should help Stevens to ease into things in SEC play. Then Stevens could be in for a rude awakening as the Bulldogs are forced to travel to Auburn in what will be his first big test. The back half of the schedule, minus SEC giants LSU and Alabama, should be fairly manageable for the Bulldogs. If everything falls right and the new-look defense picks up where it left off last season, the Bulldogs will be right back to where they were last season if not better.

Mississippi State football worst-case scenario

  • Aug. 31 – vs. Louisiana – W
  • Sept. 7 – vs. Southern Miss – W
  • Sept. 14 – vs. Kansas State – W
  • Sept. 21 – vs. Kentucky – W
  • Sept. 28 – at Auburn – L
  • Oct. 12 – at Tennessee – L
  • Oct. 19 – vs. LSU – L
  • Oct. 26 – at Texas A&M – L
  • Nov. 2 – at Arkansas – W
  • Nov. 16 – vs. Alabama – L
  • Nov. 23 – vs. Abilene Christian – W
  • Nov. 28 – vs. Ole Miss – W

Record: 7-5 (3-5 SEC)

If the defense takes a step back and Steven’s inexperience as a starter shows, Mississippi State could be in for a rough year in the SEC. The non-conference doesn’t change much with it being pretty straight forward but having to take trips to Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas A&M as well as the home game in between being against LSU. That could spell disaster for what is a talented but inexperienced roster.

This wouldn’t be ideal for the progression of a program trying to get back to the records that Dan Mullen’s teams were able to put up. But anything is possible in wild SEC.

But, as I have said multiple times before, this is a very talented roster and if they can find a way to put it all together come the thick of the SEC schedule they should be able to pull out a few wins and find themselves with another winning season within the SEC.

Next. College football: Top 100 players of 2019. dark