MWN Twitter Mailbag

Oct 4, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs fan rings his cowbell during the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

It’s an off week for Mississippi State, but that doesn’t stop us from talking about or wondering what in the the wide world of sports is going on with Mississippi State. So to the Twitter Mailbag we go!

Go to the Big 10. Why? Well we already have power 5 Schools lined up for 2018-19 with a Big 12 school in Kansas State. In 2020-2021, we have NC State lined up in the ACC. In 2022-23, we have Arizona lined up from the PAC-12. It only makes sense to look to the Big 10 for 2016-17. Another reason I want to go Big 10 is because none of the schools we have scheduled are slouches, but they aren’t world beaters either. Our schedule is tough enough playing in the SEC West, so I see no reason to make it any more difficult. Teams from the Big 10 I’d like to see on there would be Purdue, Illinois, or Nebraska. No reason at this point to go out and schedule Ohio State or Michigan State.

Two parts to this really. I don’t see Jimbo Fisher taking Winston off the field unless there is video or a receipt or something that shows Winston took money for those autographed items. I think that is a huge gamble. I think most are pretty certain that Winston got paid for autographing those items, but he is choosing to “believe” Winston. Winston hasn’t done anything to earn that trust. He has however led his team to a national championship, and Jimbo is betting that there won’t be any evidence to contradict Winston to show up. That is a pretty big gamble.

Now then, about the polls. We have a one point lead in the Coaches’ Poll. If FSU wins Saturday, yes, I believe they will jump back over us in the Coaches’ Poll. We have a substantial lead in the AP Poll, I don’t think there is anything that could happen on Saturday that would knock us out of the top spot in it. Having said all that, as GREAT as it is to be number 1 in both polls, they’re both pretty meaningless this year. The only polls that will matter start October 28. That’s when the College Football Playoff Committee will reveal their first set of rankings at 5:30 on ESPN. I want to beat Kentucky more so than ever, because that would put us undefeated headed into that first set of rankings. If we are undefeated and not number 1 in THEIR rankings, I’m going to be disappointed.

This seems a bit much. You can make the argument he isn’t even the best receiver on the team if Jameon Lewis is healthy. In short, I think this question is simply being asked too early. Bear Wilson has had a bunch of great games, but I also think Jameon Lewis was getting ready to step up as the go to receiver in the LSU game. Then he got hurt. You have to give credit to Wilson though for stepping up and just making some big time plays. He can go up and haul down just about anything that Dak throws his way.

Until proven otherwise, the best receiver in the SEC and probably the country is still Amari Cooper at Alabama. Copper is as good of a receiver as I have ever seen. Why he went to Alabama, a school that runs ultra conservative offenses and doesn’t seem to know the best way to use their wide receivers, is beyond me. So long as he is at Alabama, he will get the credit for that. Ask me this question next year, and I might have a different answer

The Alabama game is interesting. If we go in undefeated like most expect us to be, and Alabama only has the one loss to Ole Miss, Alabama will be the favorite. I have no doubt in my mind about that. Now, if Alabama has a few slip ups, then we could be the favorite in that game. I think the line would be pretty close to a Pick ’em if Bama had two losses and State would be the favorite if Bama had three losses and the Bulldogs were undefeated. Who would I pick to win? If I had to choose now, I’d take the Bulldogs. The Bama secondary is not that good, they don’t do a very good job on getting pressure on the quarterback, and they just don’t look great right now. That could all change with a few good performances, but we shall see.

Not at first. After the second interception that Nick Marshall threw, I was finally convinced that we were going to win, so I started writing the recap of the game for the web site. I was finishing that up as the game was coming to a close. I saw a lot of people talking about it and eventually did. Was I annoyed? Yes. Do I let it work me up like I used to? No.

I hate that announcers still can’t seem to figure out who the heck we are and call us Ole Miss and vice versa. I hate it. But it has gotten so commonplace that I just don’t let myself get worked up over it anymore. It wasn’t the first time it has happened, and it isn’t going to be the last time it happens.

I talked about this last week, and Josh talked about it earlier this week. Let me reiterate my point on this. I don’t believe money is going to be a factor in whether or not he stays. Mississippi State will pay him. Dan’s decision is going to be based on legacy. If they win the SEC this year, he will have done what he wanted and there wouldn’t be a point to leave.

If the Bulldogs don’t win the SEC or make the playoff, he then has to ask himself if he can build a better team than the one has now. If thinks he can, he isn’t leaving to go to a job where they will fire him in two years if the program isn’t completely turned around. It just won’t happen. But if he thinks this is the absolute best team he can build in Starkville and there is no championship as a result, then he might think long and hard about it.

My guess is Dan is here  in 2015 and beyond. If you want to get a question answered in the mailbag, hit me up on Twitter @JustinStrawnMWN, or go to our Facebook page and leave a question there.