These Aren’t the Days of #WeBelieve

Nov 1, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs fans during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State Bulldogs defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports

The Bulldogs are undefeated. For the first time in the school’s history, Mississippi State has won the first 9 games it has played in a football season. The next opponent is Alabama on the road in Tuscaloosa, arguably the toughest challenge these Bulldogs have faced. As we approach this game, we have all been reminded about the ghosts that haunt us from the last time we played Alabama without a loss, and that was 2012 and the ill fated #WeBelieve hashtag game.

It’s almost impossible to think about the game this Saturday without thinking about that game that was played on October 27, 2012. Mississippi State fans were optimistic about our chances of ruining the season for the number 1 ranked Crimson Tide. As a result, the #WeBelieve hashtag was born and Mississippi State fans took to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to show our love and support for the team we loved and believed could score a monumental win. It would have been a storybook ending had the Bulldogs pulled off the upset. College football doesn’t follow the logic of storybooks though.

What happened was a complete thrashing of the Bulldogs. The Crimson Tide came out and manhandled the Bulldogs from the very first possession. The Crimson Tide would build their lead up to 24-0 before halftime. It would go on to win 38-7. The defense was completely overwhelmed, and the offense couldn’t move the ball against the stout Crimson Tide defense. It was a horrible night for Mississippi State and their fans as so many began to mock and ridicule the school for #WeBelieve.

With that memory still fresh on the minds of most fans, it’s understandable if you have a nagging fear that a similar result could happen in this year’s game. It’s okay, this team and the 2012 team are worlds apart.

If you don’t believe me, maybe you will believe the people that evaluate the success and failures of football teams for a living. When Mississippi State entered that game, they were ranked 13th in the AP poll, and 11th in the now defunct BCS poll. This year’s squad sits at the top of the rankings. Many claimed Mississippi State was ranked so high simply because they hadn’t lost, not because they were a really good team. Looking back, those people were probably right.

When you examine the 2012 schedule, the best win that the Bulldogs had on their resume at the time was a win over Middle Tennessee State. That’s right. Sure they had a win over Auburn early in the season, but we learned with each passing week that Auburn was terrible and finished the season without a win in conference play. The Bulldogs also had the thrilling win over Tennessee at Davis Wade Stadium, but we also learned the Vols were awful as well. They were so bad that Derek Dooley would end up getting fired at the end of the season. Other signs that this team probably wasn’t as great as we thought it was would be the one possession victory over Troy. It was played at Troy, but they should have handled that team better than they did. They also beat a brand new FBS school in South Alabama by a score of 30-10 but looked entirely unimpressive in the process. Most of us just chalked it up to a case of playing up and down to your opponent. It ended up being so much more.

There is one part to #WeBelieve so many people didn’t understand, and many of those same people still don’t understand. If you asked most Mississippi State fans at that time if we thought we would win, their answer probably would have been something along the lines of  “if we catch enough breaks”, “if we play a perfect game”, or something else along those lines. Notice it was “believe”. It wasn’t “know”. We supported our team and wanted those guys to know we would be supporting them regardless of what happened. What was supposed to be a small thing used on Twitter ended up rallying a fan base together and getting others talking about our school. The reason it is considered such a colossal failure is because everything in the game went horribly wrong.

So why is this team different? You don’t have to be an expert to see the difference. Mississippi State has a three game stretch that includes a win over LSU in Death Valley where they bludgeoned the Tigers despite what the final score may say. They have the complete annihilation of Texas A&M at Davis Wade Stadium. Sure, upon further inspection the Aggies aren’t that great this year, but they will still finish the season at worst bowl eligible, and still have the chance at one or two more SEC wins. Then, the Bulldogs have the absolute best win of the season. Mississippi State’s victory over  Auburn is without a doubt better than anyone else has to offer this college football season.

More evidence that this team is so much further than 2012 is the defense. Yes, our defense has given up a lot of yards, but we actually get pressure and sack the quarterback. We are among the SEC leaders in sacks, and our run defense is as good as they come. We can quickly make a team one dimensional.

Then there is the offense. Tyler Russell put up a bunch of huge numbers in 2012 during those first seven games which got him into the record book a lot of times for Mississippi State. When we ran into Alabama and the rest of the schedule, he wasn’t nearly as effective. It was the first sign that his skill set was not suited for the Dan Mullen offense. Ladarrius Perkins was much the same way. He had huge numbers in the first seven games, but the running game was nonexistent from the Alabama game forward. Enter Dak Prescott and Josh Robinson. The two players that have carried our offense to this point in the season and has made it the top offensive unit in the SEC are the exact type of players that Mullen needs to accomplish what he wants in his offensive scheme.

The one thing that does make me shake my head is that we haven’t learned as a fan base. Last night when I hopped on Twitter, I am greeted with a timeline full of people talking about a new hashtag. Some Mississippi State fan started using a hashtag #StatesAboutToBeatAlabamaNext. Seriously? There are so many things wrong with this. One, it shows we haven’t learned since the last time we did this. Two, for crying out loud, the thing is a frickin’ mile long. Three, we had done so well as fans up until this point, then we go and pull a stunt like this. It’s starting to look like an Alabama fan started it. Unfortunately, Mississippi State fans are picking it up. Don’t fall for it guys. Good thing stupid hashtags don’t have any effect on the team’s actual chance at playing great on Saturday.

Does that mean I can guarantee that Mississippi State won’t get blown out on Saturday? No, but I certainly think we have come a long way since that fateful Saturday. As a matter of fact, there are some areas where I firmly believe that Mississippi State has a distinct advantage (our Wide Receivers over their Defensive Backs to name one). This game is winnable. But just because it is winnable, none of us had better start saying #WeBelieve (and stop saying #StatesAboutToBeatAlabamaNext).