Mike Leach is ready to coach a new season with a fresh contract extension as he’s trying to get over .500 in his third season at Mississippi State.

In 2 seasons in Starkville, Leach is 11-13 which brings his career record to 150-103 with previous stops at Washington State and Texas Tech.

Last season, the Bulldogs went 7-6, including a 4-4 mark in the SEC, with wins over 3 ranked teams. QB Will Rogers led an offense that ranked fourth nationally in passing at 378.3 yards per game and tied for 28th in total offense (441.5).

Looking ahead to this season, ESPN’s Football Power Index projects State to win 6.5 games, but several division games are near tossups. Interestingly enough, the Egg Bowl isn’t seen as a tossup across to the FPI, but Leach understands the fortunes need to shift for the Bulldogs as they’ve lost 2 straight in the series.

Leach also is looking to get over .500 in bowl games, as MSU is 1-1 in postseason play and lost last season’s Liberty Bowl 34-7 to Texas Tech. State won the Armed Forces Bowl in 2020.

Here are the game-by-game predictions from ESPN’s FPI:

Sept. 3 Memphis 77.3%
Sept. 10 at Arizona 81.1%
Sept. 17 at LSU 31.8%
Sept. 24 Bowling Green 97.6%
Oct. 1 Texas A&M 51.2%
Oct. 8 Arkansas 60.7%
Oct. 15 at Kentucky 37%
Oct. 22 at Alabama 7.2%
Nov. 5 Auburn 52.3%
Nov. 12 Georgia 14.4%
Nov. 19 ETSU 99.5%
Nov. 24 at Ole Miss 36.7%