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5 nightmare scenarios for Mississippi State football in 2023

By Ethan Lee

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - NOVEMBER 06: Will Rogers #2 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs runs the ball in the second half of a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on November 06, 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Bulldogs 31-28. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - NOVEMBER 06: Will Rogers #2 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs runs the ball in the second half of a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on November 06, 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Bulldogs 31-28. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Mississippi State football vs. LSU Tigers
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 17: Slade Roy #44 of the LSU Tigers celebrates a recovered fumble during the second half of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tiger Stadium on September 17, 2022 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

No. 3: With the way the 2023 Mississippi State football schedule is front loaded, a slow start could be plausible for the Bulldogs this season

The 2023 Mississippi State football schedule is great for many reasons. Eight home games. Winnable contests on the road. It’s pretty manageable for the most part. Except there’s a REALLY rough stretch that the Bulldogs get hit with pretty early on that I haven’t seen enough people actually take the time to address and consider.

Zach Arnett and the Bulldogs get the pleasure of facing the LSU Tigers in Davis Wade Stadium on Sept. 16, hit the road to meet up with the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia on Sept. 23, and then return home to Starkville to host the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 30.

There’s a good chance that this stretch won’t be any fun at all!

And this comes after the Bulldogs bring what should be an improved Arizona Wildcats team to Starkville on Sept. 9.

While the Arizona game isn’t one that many should really worry about, it presents itself as a possible trap game for the Bulldogs. And then there’s the LSU contest, which historically doesn’t end well for Mississippi State. Follow that up with a road trip to Columbia to face a South Carolina team that beat both the Tennessee Vols and the Clemson Tigers. And then you get Alabama, which definitely doesn’t typically end well for MSU.

That doesn’t sound fun! State probably gets two wins there, but there’s a chance that MSU loses three games in that stretch. And starting the season with a 2-3 record would be far from ideal for a first time head coach.

If the Bulldogs hit a slow start to the season, there’s a chance that things derail and get ugly sooner rather than later.

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