Nov 29, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Fred Ross (8) catches the ball in front of Mississippi Rebels defensive back Mike Hilton (28) at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
Right before the beginning of the season, I made some bold predictions about the season for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. These were 5 ways I thought Mississippi State could make 2014 a season for Bulldogs’ fans to remember. So how right was I? There’s only one way to find out.
Incomplete
Jameon Lewis will have more than 1,500 yards rushing and receiving
Jameon Lewis never got close to this number, but it’s hard to know if he ever had a chance. Tubby got off to a slow start against Southern Miss and UAB, but he was starting to break out of it against South Alabama, and he absolutely dominated the game against LSU. During that domination, he would suffer an injury that he was never able to fully recover from. He only had 12 catches over the final four games he played in, and was never able to get back on track.
Wasn’t Even In The Ballpark
The Bulldogs’ defense will be the best in the SEC
I was way off on this one. The reason Mississippi State had such a great season wasn’t because of the defense, it was because of the offense. The defense received a fair amount of criticism, but they were actually pretty good. The one time you really couldn’t say that was in the game against Ole Miss. When the Rebels were hurting and wounded on the offensive side of the ball, the one thing you thought was a sure thing in the Egg Bowl would have been the Mississippi State defense making life difficult on the Rebels. That never happened.
Was This Close
Mississippi State will lead the SEC in rushing
The Bulldogs didn’t quite lead the SEC in rushing, but they were pretty close. They finished the year third in that category behind Auburn and Georgia. The Bulldogs finished the season averaging just under 240 yards per game, and Josh Robinson had a breakout year.
Pretty Much Nailed It
Mississippi State will have an opportunity to upset LSU and Alabama
Not only did they have the opportunity to upset LSU, they beat them. Not only did they beat LSU, they demolished the Tigers. The scoreboard didn’t reflect just how bad the beatdown was by the Bulldogs. Against Alabama, The Bulldogs tried their best to give the game away, but the defense stood tall on many occasions and kept the Tide at arm’s length. With a little better clock management, the Bulldogs might have had a chance to stop Alabama after the lead was cut 25-20 to take the lead and win the game.
Yet To Be Determined
If the Bulldogs win 10 games, Dak Prescott will be in New York
We don’t know if this one is true yet or not, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t. The Bulldogs surprised almost everyone in the country by getting to 10 wins this season. During that time, Dak Prescott spent about 4 or 5 weeks as the Heisman Trophy favorite. He relinquished that status right before the Alabama game, and the game against the Crimson Tide would seal his chances to win the award. Prescott won’t win the Heisman, but he certainly validated all the talk in the summer as a dark horse candidate for the most prestigious award in all of college football.