10 Reasons Why MSU WILL Succeed this Year

10. Fan Support – We sold out the stadium most of 2009, all of 2010, and now all of 2011. The excitement has reached record levels at State. The players and coaches know this. Five years ago, how could the players get motivated when it seemed no one cared.  Now, they are pumped about about the season and ready to make it a memorable one. Everyone is feeding off the energy, during the week, and especially at Davis Wade.

9. Schedule – Five years ago this schedule would’ve been a nightmare. All the winnable games on the road and all the un-winnable games at home. But not when you’re a good team. All the games we should win are are the road, and all the games against the toughest competition is at home. LSU, USC, Bama – those are very tough games…but we can all rest assured State will compete in those games, and hopefully win a couple. Every season’s schedule is tough in the SEC…this is the kind of schedule you want for a run to the SEC Championship Game.

8. Backfield – It seems like everyone in the SEC has a good backfield, even Vandy. But one thing we have that a lot of others don’t, is such a great 1-2 punch. Sure, others have depth, but how about Vick Ballard’s ability to break tackles and run north and south. Then Perkins comes in with 4.3 speed blazing around the corner. And all reports of Robert Elliot are good, hopefully he will be a contributor this year as well.

7. Depth – There are some questions on the offensive line, but everywhere else looks like we are 2 deep. That is what separates BCS schools from non-BCS…depth. And even more depth is why Alabama and LSU and others beat up on State. We are mending that issue, that is why we are becoming contenders.

6. WR Corps – The top 4 WRs return from last year. Everybody knows about Bumphis, but Ricco Sanders and Micheal Carr are 2 names you should hear a good bit this season. Brandon Heavens got alot better in 2010 and will continue to make plays. Clark and Smith are solid starters. This unit knows how to get open with a couple years under their belt, and having experienced receivers allows Les Koenning the ability to trust in them on 3rd down.

5. Fletcher Cox and Josh Boyd – No doubt in my mind this is the best D-tackle duo in the SEC. Don’t underestimate how important and disruptive a DT can be, remember Nick Fairley last year? Getting pressure on the opposing QB will allow for the linebackers to stay back in coverage and will create more picks for the secondary. And if you’re an opposing running back, you’d better hope your lineman get a good block, because you don’t want to run into one of these guys head on.

4. Secondary – All 4 starters return, and FS Nickoe Whitley, who made Freshman All-SEC by the coaches last year, has lost his starting job.  3 of the those 4 are starting for the 3rd season in a row.  While some people don’t think this unit is too good because of last season’s statistics, that had a lot to do with Manny Diaz’ bend but don’t break approach. There are a lot of inexperienced QBs in the SEC this year, with a more aggressive approach, look for the secondary to have plenty of interceptions and big plays.

3. Matt Balis – When all the players on the team talk about the strength coach, you know he is good. He’s got everyone breathing fire, and that is very important come the 4th quarter in SEC play. State may not get all the 4 and 5 star players like Alabama and Florida, but Balis can mold a 2 star into a 4 star by the time they are juniors and seniors.

2. Quarterback play – When was the last time State had a quarterback named to a preseason all-SEC team? Well, we do now.  MSU has had a long and storied history of inept QB play, to reinforce that…the 2nd leading passer in MSU history is Kevin Fant – who, in his two years as starting quarterback led State to a total of 6 wins in ’02 and ’03. Under Croom, quarterbacks got progressively worse the more they played. Under Mullen, quarterbacks grow by leaps and bounds…who would’ve thought Chris Relf would become what he is today. And if injury does occur, we know Tyler Russell is a competent backup…add Dylan Favre to that as well.  And down the road, Dak Prescott will give us plenty to cheer about.

1. Dan Mullen – He’s completely changed the mindset of the football team, the University, Starkville, the state of Mississippi, and the entire MSU alumni and fanbase. This team will be as well-coached as any team in the nation, and better than most.  And maybe the most important ingredient to success: believing in yourself. State believes they can win for the first time in a long time…that is because of Mullen.