Mississippi State football fans reminisce on unforgettable 2014 Bulldogs team

Mississippi State football suffered its sixth-straight loss of the season on Saturday. The Bulldogs fell 34-24 to the #14 Texas A&M Aggies in Starkville. It was a hard-fought game from a Mississippi State squad that is still in Phase 1 of a rebuild under first-year head coach Jeff Lebby, but it was still a loss nonetheless.

However, despite another unfortunate result in the midst of a tough season, Saturday was still a special day for Bulldog fans, as they got the chance to look back on some of their fondest memories cheering on Mississippi State.

2014 Mississippi State football team honored as Bulldogs take on Aggies

During the game, the 2014 Mississippi State football team was honored, 10 years after their magical run in Starkville. The 2014 Bulldogs were one of the greatest teams in program history. They were just the third and most recent State team to reach 10 wins in a season, and they were the first team in program history to achieve a #1 national ranking, which they held for five weeks.

That team was led by the greatest Bulldog football star ever and the NFL's current highest-paid player, Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. A great ambassador for Mississippi State, Prescott unfortunately hasn't been able to make a return trip for a gameday in Davis Wade Stadium.

That changed on Saturday.

Dak, and many of his 2014 teammates, got to walk through the tunnel they walked through countless times during their playing careers in front of over 50,000 elated Bulldog fans and be honored for their immeasurable impact on MSU football.

Also with those former players was the man that recruited, coached, and developed them: Dan Mullen. Since leaving the program following the 2017 season, Mullen has not been back at Davis Wade representing MSU, but this was the perfect occasion for that to happen.

State fans reminisce on that legendary season

The 2014 team will forever go down as one of the most beloved in Mississippi State history. The won lots of games, reached never before seen heights, and were simply a ton of fun to watch. And given the recent struggles for the program, seeing that squad back on the sidelines had fans longing for those days.

It was also great to see Dan Mullen get to be celebrated in the stadium he quite literally help build (that north endzone doesn't happen without him). Feelings have been mixed on Mullen amongst the fanbase since he chose to leave. Even years later with Mullen out of coaching, some fans feel scorned.

But regardless of those feelings, Mullen is inarguably one of the best coaches State has ever had, if not the best considering what he accomplished during the era that he did. The 2014 season and many of the fun times of the last 15 years don't happen without him, and he deserved to be honored.

Of course as we recognize the players who were able to return to Starkville for such a special event, we also are reminded of those who are tragically no longer with us. Two stars of that 2014 team, DL PJ Jones and WR De'Runnya Wilson, have since passed away. Thankfully, their families were in attendance to receive the love they deserved.

The 2014 Bulldogs will forever be legends in Starkville. It was great to see them honored, and it was great to give State fans the chance to look back on such unforgettable moments. According Rion Young, that team was so impactful that they seemingly performed miracles.

While Mississippi State has fallen on hard times lately, the 2014 Bulldogs are a reminder of what is possible in Starkville. Hopefully we see another team like them in the near future.