A Well Timed Open Date

Sep 20, 2014; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen during the second quarter of a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Open dates are a part of life in college football. There are 14 weeks in the college football regular season, 15 if you count championship Saturday.  Since college football teams play a 12 game schedule, each team has two open dates during the season.  And where those open dates fall can have an enormous effect on a team’s overall performance.

While opinions vary on when is the best time for an open date, it is my opinion that open dates are generally most beneficial when:

1. They follow a particularly emotional or hard fought victory,
2. They precede a highly ranked and difficult opponent and/or
3. They provide a break in an otherwise grueling stretch within the schedule.

In Mississippi State’s case, this week’s open date appears to come at a most advantageous time. Having just won perhaps the most important game in the Dan Mullen era, and with #6 Texas A&M and its high-powered offense waiting in the wings, this week’s open date meets two of the three optimal situations noted above.

The Bulldogs’ second and final open date comes after the Auburn game, and while it is impossible to know the exact circumstances that will exist then, it appears this open date may also be falling at an opportune time. Like the A&M game, the Auburn game will be huge.  A win in both games would put the MSU program in rarified air, and an open date following such a victory would certainly seem beneficial.

Following the second open date, the Bulldogs close out the regular season with six consecutive games. Five of those six are against SEC opponents.   That’s a tough stretch to close out the season, but all in all, it would appear the timing of MSU’s open dates are about as good as one could hope for.

Of equal importance to the timing of open dates is how well a team utilizes the week off. Ideally, an open date provides a team with extra time to prepare for a difficult opponent or to perhaps install a new wrinkle or two in its own game plan. It also provides additional healing time for injured players. With the Dillon Day saga that resulted in a one-game suspension, it gives MSU time to prepare a new Center for the A&M game.

Open dates are also beneficial for recruiting, as coaches have additional opportunities to visit prospects and evaluate them not only in games, but also during practice.

But open dates are not without risk. The last thing that a team playing well wants to happen is to lose its “mojo” because of an open date.  Routines are an important part of a football team’s preparation, and open dates have the potential to upset those routines.  Successful coaches know how to manage those disruptions and utilize open dates to maximize their team’s success. Let’s hope Mullen and company can keep the momentum going.