There ought to be plenty of “look how close these SEC West teams are” examples that unfold during the 2015 season.
It was fitting, then, that the first such contest ended on a Devon Bell missed 52-yard field goal as Mississippi State fell to LSU, 21-19, at home.
RELATED: Associated Press Top 25 | Coaches Poll Top 25
The Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1), which clawed into the Associated Press Top 25 last week (at No. 25), again are not ranked in either poll. This time, though, Mississippi State was not at the top of the “others receiving votes” category. The Bulldogs did make that list, accruing enough points to slot behind Temple and West Virginia.
Coach Dan Mullen’s team spent six weeks last season on top of the polls, even leading the inaugural College Football Playoff poll. Last year, an upset win at LSU keyed a 9-0 start. The team didn’t lose its first game until Nov. 15 at Alabama.
After returning senior quarterback Dak Prescott and reloading with 2015 reserves that got plenty of playing time last season, optimism remained high among fans in Starkville despite the media’s prediction that the team would finish seventh in the seven-team SEC West.
But now Mississippi State has lost four of its last six games. At least the Bulldogs have a home date with Northwestern State this week before traveling to Auburn.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
