Kentucky handed Mississippi State its third straight loss and fifth of the season last Saturday. The loss was the Bulldogs’ first to Kentucky under head coach Dan Mullen.

As a result of the last-second, 51-yard field goal, Kentucky appears primed to qualify for the postseason. However, the Bulldogs must win four of their last five to earn a bowl bid.

Barring what would qualify as a miraculous upset, Mississippi State will lose to Alabama on the road in three weeks. That loss is the only loss the team can have and still qualify for a bowl.

The 40-38 loss fueled the hot seat that Mississippi State-centered websites have placed under Mullen.

Maroon and White Nation weighed the pros and cons of firing Mullen before ultimately concluding that Mullen ought to be awarded a “grace year” based on recent unprecedented success with the program.

SB Nation Mississippi State blog, For Whom the Cowbell Tolls, pondered the “minimum acceptable standard” in a post earlier this week.

The minimum acceptable standards listed on For Whom the Cowbell Tolls included qualifying for a bowl annually, something Mullen has pulled off every year since his second year as head coach.

Few can question the success Mullen brought to a previously irrelevant program. From recruiting and developing NFL stars such as Fletcher Cox, Darius Slay and midseason NFL rookie of the year Dak Prescott, to holding the No. 1 ranking for five weeks in 2014 after never previously attaining that ranking, Mississippi State became a relevant program under Mullen.

Due to that unprecedented success, all online forums appear to agree that Mullen deserves an off year. However, the coaching carousel could engulf Mullen. Mississippi State might even consider increasing Mullen’s $4 million salary, currently the 9th-highest in the SEC (Vanderbilt coaches’ salaries are not public).

With the LSU position vacated after a complete lack of offensive competence under Les Miles, and the letdown seasons being experienced by both Notre Dame and Texas, it is entirely possible that the first (Texas), second (Notre Dame) and fourth (LSU) wealthiest football programs could all be coach-less at the same time.

Those programs are all well-aware of Mullen.

In fact, after Mullen and head coach Urban Meyer led Utah to an undefeated season, Meyer became the most sought-after coach in college football. Meyer, a Midwestern boy, appeared to be a lock for the open position at Notre Dame. However, Meyer and Notre Dame could not get together on academic standards, which led Meyer to accept the open head coaching position at the University of Florida. Mullen followed.

Turning Mississippi State from a bottom-feeder into a national contender could easily impress a major program enough to take a run at Mullen.

For now, however, Mississippi State faces Samford this week before finishing the 2016 campaign with the most daunting portion of the schedule. Samford could very likely be the last win of the season for the Bulldogs.

Despite the five losses, the Bulldogs played close in four of those. Other than the 38-14 loss to Auburn, each Bulldogs loss was by one possession. And the season could still be extremely valuable. A win in the Egg Bowl and/or an upset against a Top 25 conference opponent could impact recruiting as well as morale moving forward. A win over Ole Miss is always a big prize.

The real Egg Bowl-battle is happening on high school campuses in corners all over Mississippi. Ole Miss recruiting within the state appears to be taking a hit from the pending NCAA investigation. Showing that MSU is thriving might sway prospects.

While coaching carousel rumors and recruiting trail speculation do not sooth fans, the stability and fight showed by Mullen-coached teams can. It is important for the team to continue to fight, and for the fan base to be behind it. After all, MSU was widely expected to have a down season, picked by many to finish last in the division in the first year post-Prescott.

The season is not a success, but it is not yet a failure, either.