MISS St. (10-3/6-2 SEC)
Returning starters 12 (5* Offense/7 Defense and 45 lettermen)/5 NFL Draftees
Last Year: Offense 36.9 ppg ranked #16/Defense 21.7 ppg ranked #23
The Bulldogs have improved significantly the last two seasons. It won ten games
for the first time in 15 years. They were ranked #1 for the first time in school history
but collapsed toward the end, and lost three of the last four games. The only win
in that stretch was against the hapless Vandy. Repeating last year feat would be
extremely difficult this season with so many departures leaving huge holes on both
sides of the ball for coach Mullen to overcome. The Bulldogs do not have the kind of
luxury that Alabama or Auburn enjoy year after year with huge talents coming in each
year. The Bulldogs' five-year recruiting average ranking is 29th which put them at the
bottom of SEC West. Re-loading is probably out of the question, at least for now.
OFFENSE
QB Dak Prescott had a terrific year, almost 3500 passing and 1000 rushing yards.That
milestone could be credited to the two new offensive co-coordinators in 2014,
John Havesy and Bill Gonzales. Can they duplicate that success with Prescott returning
for his senior year but without many familiar weapons he had last season?
Running game will miss Josh Robinson and his 1203 rushing yards. Two junior RBs
Ashton Shumpert (5.8 ypc) and Brandon Holloway (6.5 ypc) should be able to
fill in the hole. The receiving corp. is solid with six returners led by a pair of juniors
De'Runnya. Wilson and Fred Ross. Potential problem sits squarely at the Line where
it lost top three linemen (113 combined starts) The remaining linemen accounted
for only 32 career starts but depth is solid with many veterans with game experience
return to the Line. How well they will perform as a unit is not yet known but it's far-
fetched to believe they will be as good as last year squad. Overall the Offense is still
dangerous and explosive. Expect them to be more aggressive, take more chances
and rely on a great QB to win games through the air.
DEFENSE
Manny Diaz returned to his old job as Bulldogs' DC. Manny Diaz has proven to be
a good DC but can he churn out another good defense with very limited depth?
His defense will be very aggressive but lack of depth could hinder the defense
effectiveness especially late in the game. Defense lost both Tackles on the Line,
a star LB Benardrick McKinney to NFL early departure, and both key Safeties
Starting front seven are solid but depth is almost non-existence. However, depth
in Secondary is great with the six of top seven DBs return. That much experience in
the back four is sorely needed to improve a porous pass defense allowing 273 ypg
ranked #117 in the nation. Granted the Bulldogs were ahead in many games and
opponents had to go through the air thus the number looked worse than actually was.
PREDICTION
Offense is "good to great" at Skill positions but a very unsettled OL could easily
derail the team. DC Diaz will improve the Defense, and with a solid group of DBs
the Pass Defense should be much better. The overall depth is a great concern.
Bulldogs should be 4-0 in non-conference record with a typical Bulldogs' cupcakes.
SEC cross division games, at Mizzou and host Kentucky, are manageable. It could
be 5-1 or 6-0 record not counting SEC West . The Bulldogs may have a chance to
pull off a road win at Texas A&M and/or a home win over LSU. Best case scenario
is 6-0 but Bulldogs is not likely to win more than 1 SEC West game. A 6-6 record is likely.