Last year was the year for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They had their chance to get into the first ever CFP, and they were legitimate National Championship contenders under Dan Mullen.
They didn't get the job done though, and they were beaten in three of their last four games. Now, they return a total of just nine starters from last year's crew and will have a lot of rebuilding to do in a hurry.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: at Southern Miss
9/12: vs. LSU
9/19: vs. Northwestern State
9/26: at Auburn
10/3: at Texas A&M
10/10: vs. Troy
10/17: vs. Louisiana Tech
10/24: vs. Kentucky
11/5: at Missouri
11/14: vs. Alabama
11/21: at Arkansas
11/28: vs. Ole Miss
Mullen should be ashamed of the non-conference schedule which he put together this year. Louisiana Tech will be a tougher game now that Jeff Driskel has transferred in, but that's still no excuse for that being the best non-conference game.
That said, the SEC is still a nuts conference to try to win in, and there are the obligatory tough games against LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Alabama and Ole Miss. Drawing Kentucky and Missouri from the SEC East is a dream, though.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
The Bulldogs might have won 10 games last year in the regular season, falling just a win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl short of playing in the first CFP, but they only have a season win total of seven this year. Many are going to play the over knowing that this offense could still be very good, but the sharp bettor will see the holes that we will discuss in just a second.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Dak Prescott is back, but if you really believe that he is going to contend for the Heisman Trophy for the second straight season, you're crazy.
Prescott was terrible at the end of the 2014 season, getting picked off 11 times in his last five games.
Josh Robinson is back after a year in which he averaged 6.3 yards per carry, but only one of his five offensive linemen from last year returns.
The rest of the cupboard is totally bare. The Bulldogs have to rebuild their entire offensive line for the most part, and though the team's leading receiver, De'Runnya Wilson is back, there isn't another receiver coming back who had any real impact last season.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
There are even bigger problems on defense. Benardick McKinney is going to be the senior leader of this defense, and he could once again be an All-American. However, he is one of just four defensive starters back from last year, a unit which was blown to bits at the end of last season and ended up allowing 424.4 yards per game.
The secondary is going to be the real problem. SEC offenses aren't known for their huge passing games, yet teams averaged 272.8 passing yards per game against this unit. Keep in mind that that average includes a bowl game against Georgia Tech's triple option as well.
SEASON PREDICTION
We don't believe that the Bulldogs are even going bowling this year. We think they're the worst team in the SEC West, and they could legitimately go 2-6 in conference play.
There's a reason that MSU's season win total dropped so drastically from last year to this year, and 80 to 1 might be a generous price on this team to win it all.
Prescott is the fifth favorite to start the year to win the Heisman Trophy at 13 to 1, but if his team isn't winning, he stands no chance no matter how many yards he throws and runs for.
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