Overreactions to Mississippi State football's blowout win over Eastern Kentucky

Mississippi State football destroyed Eastern Kentucky 56-7 to open up the new season. It's probably foolish to have any significant reactions, at least in the positive, after beating up on a FCS team. That's what a SEC team should do.

But where's the fun in being rational? Here are three overreactions to Mississippi State's dominant victory...

Mississippi State has its most talented receiver room ever

This is definitely the biggest overreaction to a blowout win against a bad FCS defense, but I'm hopping aboard the hype train for the Bulldog receiver room. Dak Prescott had a great group of WRs to throw to, and Mike Leach brought plenty of WR talent to Starkville. But this is the best group State's ever had. Three WRs - Jordan Mosley, Kevin Coleman, and Mario Craver - all caught TDs and had at least 50 receiving yards while Creed Whittemore rushed for one. They stole the show, and that was without Kelly Akharaiyi on the field. Once he's back healthy, that'll be a WR room on par with some of the SEC's best.

The Bulldogs upgraded at kick returner

Over the past few seasons, State had one of the best kick return duos in the country between Tulu Griffin and Zavion Thomas. Both players departed after 2023, and while there was some confidence that transfer Kevin Coleman would perform well, the most likely scenario would be a step back in the return game. But I'm calling it now: State upgraded with Kevin Coleman as their lead returner. Coleman returned five punts for 117 yards on Saturday. His combination of speed, lateral quickness, and pure "make you miss" ability doesn't look like anything we've seen in Starkville previously. Don't be shocked if he's an All-American candidate as a return man.

There will soon be a needed youth movement on the MSU defense

State's defensive results were a mixed bag against EKU. They held the Colonels to just seven points and made multiple short-yardage stops, but EKU managed to move the ball without too much resistance. Resistance did come, however, when MSU's reserves entered the game. Donterry Russell and Joseph Head showed good rush off the edge. Elijah Cannon had a pick-six. And when the starters were in, guys like Isaac Smith and Zakari Tillman made the biggest impact. For all the questions about the Bulldog defense, what's not a question is that the most talented players are the young guys. And while they aren't experienced, they're who State will need to rely on this fall.