With a last-second heave and tip in the first half, Mississippi State seized momentum in the Orange Bowl.

Two plays, four missed tackles and seven points later, that momentum was gone.

Just like that, Mississippi State’s best season in decades ended with the biggest of thuds, a 49-34 loss to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. This season will still go down as the most successful regular season in school history, but the momentum the Bulldogs built over the season’s first two months evaporated as the ball dropped on 2014.

When Fred Brown hauled in Dak Prescott’s tipped Hail Mary pass in the end zone as time expired in the first half, cradling the ball like a New Year’s baby, it appeared Mississippi State’s best season since the 1940s was on track to end in rousing fashion. Instead, two plays later, the Bulldogs let the pendulum swing right back to Georgia Tech as Synjyn Days rumbled 69 yards right through the defense to break Mississippi State’s back.

The Bulldogs attempted to punch back, but simply had no answer for Justin Thomas and the Yellow Jackets option offense. Georgia Tech scored on its first four drives of the second half, getting into the end zone quickly against a Mississippi State defense that looked befuddled.

The blowout loss was the nadir of the Bulldogs’ slide from the top spot in the polls, as they dropped three of their final four games. It began when they traveled to Tuscaloosa, where Alabama reminded Mississippi State who the top dog in the SEC is. It continued when rival Ole Miss gouged the Bulldogs’ defense for one big play after another. It worsened when Dan Mullen blasted his defensive staff after the Egg Bowl, and reached critical mass when respected defensive coordinator Geoff Collins jumped ship for Florida during bowl preparation.

For a team that’s been an afterthought for its entire SEC membership, 2014 could be a turning point for the Bulldogs. Prescott emerged as an SEC star, and it sounds likely he’ll be back for 2015. Dan Mullen showed that he can coach with the best of them, beating Les Miles and LSU in Death Valley and picking up two other wins against top-10 teams. De’Runnya Wilson also broke out as one of the most talented receivers in the conference, showing flashes of dominance as he continues to learn the game of football.

On the other hand, the Bulldogs will lose some of the pieces that helped transform them into an SEC contender. Senior Preston Smith, one of the greatest developmental accomplishments of Mullen’s tenure, will leave a huge void, as will linebacker Benardrick McKinney if he jumps to the NFL a year early as many expect. Running back Josh Robinson, so crucial to Mississippi State’s blistering start to the season, announced before the Orange Bowl that he’ll be entering the draft.

How much of Mississippi State’s success in 2014 was fluke? It’s hard to say, as Mullen has done a fantastic job coaching up his unheralded talent for much of his tenure, especially this year. But those three top-10 victories the Bulldogs recorded? LSU and Texas A&M proved to be nowhere close to that by end of season, with both falling out of the rankings during the season, while Auburn went 3-3 after losing to Mississippi State. Not to take anything away from the Bulldogs, but those wins ring a bit of fool’s gold.

Prescott returning and improving next year will be the biggest key to Mississippi State remaining a force in the SEC West. In the loss to Georgia Tech, it was clearer than ever just how much the Bulldogs needed him to be great to win this year. Even when he was statistically brilliant in the bowl game, tossing for an Orange Bowl-record 453 yards to go along with four total scores, it simply wasn’t enough.

Finding a defensive coordinator to shore up the issues that plagued the defense this year, giving up yards by the bushel, is crucial as well. That problem hurt the Bulldogs throughout the Orange Bowl loss, as the Yellow Jackets rang up explosive plays through the air and on the ground.

Becoming an SEC power doesn’t happen overnight. Mississippi State kicked down the door and let themselves into a party they hadn’t been invited to in several generations, earning a prestigious bowl invite. As the Orange Bowl loss proved, the Bulldogs have a way to go to become a champion.