Bulldogs can play spoiler after 12-team College Football Playoff rankings reveal

Tuesday night, the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff rankings were revealed. We got our first glimpse into how the selection committee will judge teams in this new era of the sport. The initial rankings showcased the brutal schedule Mississippi State football has endured and will continue to endure, but it also shows a unique opportunity awaiting the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State football's remaining opponents all make initial 12-team College Football Playoff rankings

In a year with perhaps the most competitive SEC we've seen in a very long time, the first 12-team College Football Playoff ranking was understandably loaded with SEC teams. Eight SEC teams, half the league, were included in the committee's Top-25. Six of those eight are in the Top-15.

Mississippi State has already played three of those teams between #3 Georgia, #5 Texas, and #14 Texas A&M, and ironically, those were three of the better performances the Bulldogs put together. And the schedule doesn't get any lighter. State's final three games will come against teams currently in the Top-25. They'll face #7 Tennessee in Knoxville this weekend, and then after a bye, they'll host #24 Missouri and travel to Oxford for the Egg Bowl with #16 Ole Miss.

Those remaining games will be immensely challenging, but they do give State the ability to play for something more than just pride.

Mississippi State's goal should be to play spoiler the rest of the way

This season hasn't gone at all the way the Bulldogs hoped for. Not only is there no hope for the preseason goal of reaching a bowl game, they're trending towards their worst season in over 20 years. If their remaining games go as anticipated, they'll finish 2-10 for the first time since 2003.

That's not the debut season Jeff Lebby wanted in Starkville. But while their hopes for the 2024 season are shot, the hopes that still exist for the teams left on the Bulldogs' schedule could be a point of extra motivation for MSU.

Tennessee would be in the playoff if it were held today. Missouri would be quite the longshot at #24, but if they were to win out and other results broke their way, a case would be made for the Tigers as a 10-win SEC team. And rival Ole Miss is in position to vault their way into the Top-12 in the final weeks.

What if MSU could somehow stun the Volunteers and deliver a crushing blow to their playoff hopes? What if they could officially make their Missouri season one of the most disappointing ever in Columbia? And most enticingly, what if Ole Miss entered the Egg Bowl one win away from securing a playoff bid, and the Bulldogs wrecked their season in Oxford?

I recognize that none of these outcomes are likely to happen. I myself am not going to predict State to win any of these games, and frankly, I'd be stunned if any of them were close, save maybe the Mizzou game. A realistic goal would be for State to simply play competent football in the final month regardless of final scores.

But the Bulldogs have now been presented an opportunity worth relishing, and that's ruining the seasons of your conference mates. If we have to be unhappy with this season, why not make the others unhappy too?