Mississippi State Mid-Season Review

Oct 11, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; General view of the exterior of the stadium before the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports

We are six games into the season, with six games to play. Winning the first six games has been more than we possibly could have imagined. The Bulldogs went from unranked in either the Coaches or AP poll, to being the number 1 ranked team in the nation in both polls in a matter of just a few weeks. Dak Prescott entered the year as a Dark Horse Heisman candidate, and now he is the odds on favorite to win the award. Times and perception have changed.

As great as it is, the Bulldogs now have a target planted on their back. No one is underestimating them, and they won’t have the element of surprise when they go into any game they play this year. Mississippi State has an opportunity to play in the first ever College Football Playoff. Getting there would be so much better than any of us ever thought possible. The West was always supposed to be too tough for Dan Mullen and his band of misfits to win, but they have a very real opportunity to pull the monumental upset and win the division for the first time since 1998.

With games at Kentucky and home against Arkansas and UT Martin before a monumental showdown with Alabama, the Bulldogs are going to have to be as focused as ever. The temptation to overlook an opponent to the Alabama game in November will tempting. But the one thing we have learned this year is that the Bulldogs are as mentally tough as they come. So who has shined the most in a prolific first half?