Mississippi State will more than likely lose to Texas A&M and Alabama in the next two weeks, putting the proverbial nail in the coffin on what will be the program’s first losing season since 2009, the first season under Dan Mullen.

The losing season comes two years removed from some of the best teams with some of the most talented players in Mississippi State football history. That sentence, or one like it, dominates discussion surrounding the 2016 Bulldogs. As if the previous success provides a get-out-of-jail-free card for the current coaching staff.

However, the Bulldogs stand to gain a ton of ground on division and conference opponents in the final weeks of the season by doing one thing — fighting back.

This season provides an opportunity for Mullen and company to coach and develop young talent, and for the whole football program to let loose and enjoy the process of college football.

Obviously, Mississippi State will prepare each week to beat a divisional opponent. Obviously, Mississippi State will do its best to return the Egg from its two-year stint in Oxford because it’s the Egg Bowl.

That being said, the Bulldogs have so much to gain while having so little to lose. Because outside expectations were bad this preseason, the team can only improve in the eyes of recruits. On the other hand, Ole Miss continues to find new and creative ways each week to let opponents off the hook.

Ole Miss put together its best recruiting class in history in the winter of 2016, led by in-state talent. Talent that the Bulldogs could be competitive for this year.

Top high school talent around the Magnolia State and elsewhere could walk away from Mississippi State recruiting visits with a much better feeling if MSU shows promise against its in-state rival in a down season.

The Egg Bowl sits a few weeks away, though. Right now, the outside expectation is for Mississippi State to serve as excellent practice reps for A&M and to serve as a nice landing pad for an Alabama team that will be coming off a trip to Death Valley.

In order to perpetuate the idea that 2016 is a rebuild and not a collapse, the Bulldogs would do well to put up a real fight in the next two weeks. Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight can force throws into tight coverages and make terrible accuracy errors. The Alabama defense can surrender yards after the catch and give up well-thrown balls outside the numbers and deep down field.

The Bulldogs must fight back. They must throw punches and go down swinging. They must make Texas A&M earn every yard, and they must make Nick Saban use his best personnel all the way through the fourth quarter.

Nick Fitzgerald must hit open receivers while not being afraid to check down, throw the ball away or even take a sack. The front seven must rise to the challenge by getting lower than the man in front of them while the playmakers on the outside, both on offense and defense, need to catch balls, intercept passes and find ways to protect the football.

Should Mississippi State show that resolve, it will roll into Oxford with all of the momentum for an Egg Bowl that is quickly becoming the game to determine last place in the SEC West.

And, one year from right now, this article could be about a team that came together in a losing season  — or this article could be about how the players and coaches let one bad season result in another.