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Last season Mississippi State was a missed field goal on the final play of a 21-19 loss to LSU from a possible 10-win season, an upper-division finish in the SEC West standings, a much more prestigious bowl game, and an opportunity to finish with a Top 25 ranking.
But that was with Dak Prescott, his 3,793 yards passing, 29 touchdowns to five interceptions, 588 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. Minus the Bulldogs’ record-breaking team leader, they’ll look for other advantages heading into the 2016 season.
Could the 2016 schedule provide a modicum of optimism for a team breaking in a new quarterback? Granted, no team would wish to run the gauntlet that is the SEC West, but it is what it is.
The Bulldogs went 2-4 within the division last season, and that was with Prescott. Three of those six teams (Alabama, Arkansas and Texas A&M) also are looking for a new quarterback. Auburn might be as well.
But looking beyond the yearly Murderer’s Row — the six divisional games – the Bulldogs could legitimately sweep the six other games on the schedule.
Crossover opponents 3-13 in SEC
Starting with the SEC East crossover games, both are winnable. The Bulldogs host South Carolina in the second game of the 2016 season and visit Kentucky in mid-season. Those two teams went a combined 3-13 in the SEC last season.
The Gamecocks are in rebuilding mode in Year 1 under Will Muschamp and enter spring with a five-man quarterback race. They lost seven of their final eight conference games last season and dropped a one-point decision to The Citadel. Even if South Carolina gets it together under Muschamp, it’s unlikely the turnaround would happen that early in the season, particularly if they’re also breaking in a new quarterback.
Kentucky is more settled, and the Wildcats are tough at home, where they collected four of their five wins last season. They’ll be looking for revenge from the Bulldogs’ 42-16 destruction of Kentucky last season at Starkville.
Nonconference slate favorable
The nonconference schedule is favorable, for the most part. The Bulldogs open the season by welcoming in South Alabama, which lost twice to Power 5 teams in 2015 by an average of 44.5 points.
After SEC games against South Carolina and LSU, the Bulldogs travel to Gillette Stadium to face UMass, which finished 3-9 last season. The Bulldogs should enter as heavy favorites while enjoying playing on the New England Patriots’ homefield.
The toughest nonconference game comes sandwiched between SEC matchups with Auburn and Kentucky — and it’s on the road, on a Friday night, on the other side of the country. The Bulldogs travel meet BYU in Provo, Utah, on Oct. 14. It’s a game with national exposure, to be televised by the ESPN Network and will be a mental test for a team focusing on the SEC portion of the schedule.
The final non-conference game is against FCS Samford in Starkville on Oct. 29. Samford finished 6-5 last season and lost 45-3 at Louisville in its lone matchup against a Power 5 opponent.
As schedules go, a winnable non-conference and crossover slate is certainly welcomed as the Bulldogs break in a new quarterback and attempt to extend their program-record consecutive bowl streak to seven.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
