What it really means to be ranked #1

As every Bulldog fan knows by now, Mississippi State is now the #1 team in the nation according to the two major college football polls. So, what exactly does this mean for the MSU football program?  The answer, I suppose, depends on the perspective of the person or persons answering the question.

If you are a football team with the ultimate goal of winning a national championship, then being ranked #1 at mid-season actually doesn’t mean a whole lot. There are six games left on the schedule.  Five of those are against SEC opponents, and three of those are on the road.  Plus there’s the SEC championship game.  In short, there is A LOT work yet to do in order to end up as one of the four teams that will play for the national championship.

Yes, it’s nice to be ranked #1 and recognized as the best team in America at the midway point of the season. But in reality,  all this really means is that you are still in contention.  You haven’t won anything yet, but you do still have a legitimate opportunity, which is more than most teams are able to say at this point in the season.

But what if you are a fan, alumnus, student, or the school’s athletic department? Is being #1 a big deal for you?  You better believe it is.  And there are a TON of intangible benefits that come with that #1 ranking.

First, there are the countless mentions and articles about your team in every form of sports media that exists. Wherever the discussion is college football, the Bulldogs are likely to be in the center of that discussion. National writers and radio/TV personalities focus on the top ranked teams, so being #1 assures you of being the most talked about team during the week. From articles in every newspaper in America to a torrent of player and coach interviews on radio and TV, the exposure from being ranked cannot be overstated.

And you know that scroll that runs continuous at the bottom of ESPN TV broadcasts and the broadcasts of other sports networks? Well when the subject of the scroll is college football, Mississippi State will be identified with a (1) beside its name.  This will happen for a minimum of one week and it will continue for each week that the Bulldogs remain at #1. That may not seem like a big deal to everyone, but I’ve always loved the ESPN scroll mentions because it solidifies the reality of the situation in my mind.

Then there is the enthusiasm that naturally follows a #1 ranking. Fans are understandably ecstatic.  Having one’s support for their favorite team  validated by people whose job it is to follow and report on college football is a very cool feeling.  And when fans feel that way about their team, good things happen.  Ticket demand goes up.  There is a huge surge in the sale of team merchandise.  Fans are more likely to donate to their school.  Enthusiasm is off the chart. All of these things bode very well for a football program.

And let’s not forget the positive effect on recruiting. A number one ranked team is going to draw the attention of out of state recruits that might not have previously considered Mississippi State before.  As for the in-state recruits, the #1 ranking solidifies and validates the recruiting pitch of the MSU coaches – that Mississippi State can be and in fact is already a major player on the national stage.

Mississippi State has never been ranked #1 before now. That alone makes this #1 ranking a very big deal.  And with an open date this weekend, unless Florida State can do something like say, beat Notre Dame by 60 points, MSU should stay #1 for a minimum of two straight weeks.

When all this is coupled with Dak Prescott’s Heisman candidacy and the simultaneous rise of our rivals at Ole Miss, the storylines become even more compelling. So enjoy this ride for all it’s worth, folks.  Because at this moment, we Mississippi State fans can truly say that “THIS IS OUR NATION!”