The Mississippi State Bulldogs haven’t entered a season with expectations this high in a long time. Dan Mullen is gone, but he certainly didn’t leave the cupboard bare on his way out.

Their schedule isn’t exactly a cakewalk, however, and the road to Atlanta is littered with powerhouse programs. The slate of QBs their defense is expected to face? While not great at the bottom, they do face some pretty talented QBs at the top.

So, what would a ranking of the QBs Mississippi State is going to face look like? Let’s take a look:

12. Jake Blumrick, Stephen F. Austin

This could also be Foster Sawyer starting in the opener, but most indications are the nod will go to Blumrick, who started 8 games last year for the Lumberjacks. He was shaky at best last year, completing 56.4 percent of his 303 attempts for 1,654 yards with 8 TD and 7 INTs. The Bulldogs’ defensive line is going to make life absolutely miserable for Blumrick on Saturday night.

11. Andre Nunez, Louisiana Lafayette

Levi Lewis could also get the nod here, but it really doesn’t make much difference, because while the Ragin Cajuns might contend for the Sun Belt West, they just don’t have the personnel to compete with State. The two QBs split time last year and combined for just 1,160 yards, completing 58 percent of their passes. Against a defense like the Bulldogs? Yikes.

10. Terry Wilson, Kentucky

The JUCO transfer recently beat out Gunnar Hoak for the starting job, and his style of play resembles that of Stephen Johnson, the Cats’ starter the past 2 years. It’d be shocking if he beat the Dawgs with his arm (57.6% completion in JUCO), but he is electric as a ball carrier, so the State defense, especially the front seven, will need to play assignment-sound ball.

9. Skylar Thompson/Alex Delton, Kansas State

Legendary coach Bill Snyder isn’t revealing who won the starting job, instead indicating that both will play in the opener against South Dakota. Both played last year, but neither attempted more than 85 passes and both struggled with consistency and turnovers. Despite this, playing in Manhattan, Kansas, against a Snyder-coached team is never an easy task, and the Bulldogs can’t afford to take them lightly, no matter who is taking snaps for the Wildcats.

8. Joe Burrow, LSU

If Tigers fans are right in their expectations for Burrow, go ahead and pencil him in at No. 1 on this list, because he’ll undoubtedly be an All-American and Heisman finalist. Until he’s actually played a meaningful snap, however, we really don’t know what we have in Burrow. We do know Urban Meyer speaks highly of him, whatever that’s worth these days.

7. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M

Mond recently beat out Nick Starkel for the starting job in College Station, which is a bit surprising given his struggles with accuracy as a freshman last year (51.5% of 227 attempts completed). He is the more dynamic athlete of the two, however, and new HC Jimbo Fisher has a fabulous track record of developing signal callers, so it’ll be interesting to see how he’s progressed as a passer this season.

6. Feleipe Franks, Florida

Dan Mullen recently named Franks the starter over Kyle Trask, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing if he can get more out of him than what Jim McElwain did. Franks didn’t have a great season last year by any means (1,438 yards, 54.6%, 9/8 TD-INT ratio), but there’s no denying the obvious physical gifts he has. Considering how talented the Bulldog defense is this fall, they shouldn’t have too many problems corralling Franks in Starkville.

5. Cole Kelley, Arkansas

Mississippi State didn’t face Kelley last year since Austin Allen was healthy, so it’ll be fun to see guys like Montez Sweat and Jeffery Simmons try and bring down a QB the size of Kelley (6-7, 260). Kelley has a big arm with a lot of natural talent, but struggled with inconsistent accuracy, completing just 57.6% of his 151 attempts last year. The Hogs should be better on offense this year, but not better than this defense.

4. J’Mar Smith, La. Tech

Smith quietly had a decent sophomore season last year, throwing for just under 3,000 yards (16/5 TD-INT ratio) while also adding another 371 on the ground with 6 TDs. He’s a thick kid with a talented raw skill set with 7 other returning starters on offense, so there’s reason to believe they’ll provide a tougher matchup this year than they did last year, when State blew them out 57-21.

3. Jordan Ta’amu, Ole Miss

Ta’amu struggled to find a consistent rhythm against the Bulldogs last year, completing just 45 percent of his passes in the Egg Bowl, but when he did connect it went for chunk yardage to either A.J. Brown (6 receptions, 167 yards, 1 TD) or D.K. Metcalf (2 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD). Ta’amu is expected to be even better than he was down the stretch last year now that he’s had a full offseason to work on improving his timing with receivers, but State should still be a heavy favorite in this game.

2. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

The hero of the national title game, Tagovailo flashed in the second half of that game why he was so highly sought after as a recruit last year. He has shown a very strong arm with good touch and anticipation, and he’ll be throwing to a very fast and athletic receiving corps. Throw in the fact that he’ll also be playing with the best RB and OL in the SEC, and it’s not hard to see why he’ll be such a tough matchup.

1. Jarrett Stidham, Auburn

Arguably the best QB in the SEC, Stidham has a chance to compete for the Heisman Trophy this year alongside a very talented Auburn squad. The Dawgs had a brutal time stopping Stidham last year, who was almost perfect in that game, going 13-of-16 for 264 yards with 2 TDs and no picks in what turned out to be a 39-point win. I’d be more than a little surprised if the game this year was decided by such a number, but it’s obviously a matchup the Bulldogs will be looking forward to.