With a new season comes the excitement and anticipation for a fresh start. Mississippi State University’s football program seeks such a new beginning this fall as it enters its most anticipated football season in over 15 years.
Along with the opening of the newly-renovated Davis Wade Stadium, MSU will be eager to step onto the football field in 2014 to showcase its talent.
The Bulldogs return 17 starters (eight on offense, eight on defense and one special teams player). Key returnees include quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receivers Jameon Lewis and Robert Johnson, defensive lineman Chris Jones and linebacker Benardrick McKinney.
After splitting time through the first half of the 2013 season with Tyler Russell, Prescott is conditioned to take the reins and guide the Bulldogs in 2014. Prescott is surrounded with key targets in Lewis and Johnson along with tight end Malcolm Johnson who brings a wealth of experience to the receiver position.
Defensively, MSU returns its leading tackler, McKinney, and boasts a big defensive line with Jones and Kaleb Eulls. The Bulldogs were plagued with injuries a year ago, especially in the defensive secondary. Dee Arrington and Jay Hughes will bring depth back to the position after getting healthy last year, and starting cornerbacks Justin Cox and Jamerson Love return to improve MSU’s passing defense.
Running back Josh Robinson seeks to carry the load in the running game after gaining experience behind Perkins last year. Senior center Dillon Day is prepped to anchor the unit and defensive lineman Nick James is getting conditioned to fill a big role on the defensive line.
MSU welcomes Southern Mississippi and UAB to Starkville for its first games in the newly-renovated stadium before the Dogs’ first road test of the year at South Alabama.
MSU will then showdown with three Western division foes in LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. LSU and Texas A&M, who are eager to replace quarterbacks Zach Mettenberger and Johnny Manziel, will be a better matchup for the Dogs than in years past. MSU will face a strong Auburn team, but the Dogs have traditionally kept games with Auburn down to the final drive – especially at home.
The Dogs will continue the SEC slate with a pair of rebuilding teams whom the Bulldogs have had recent success against. MSU will travel to Kentucky before hosting Arkansas.
Mullen and his squad will play its final nonconference game of the year against Tennessee-Martin before a showdown with Alabama. The Tide returns just 12 athletes from a year ago, and if MSU’s running defense improves as expected, the Dogs have a strong chance at taking down the Tide at home.
MSU will play its final home game against Vanderbilt before traveling to Ole Miss for the Egg Bowl. The Bulldogs and Rebels have very similar styles of play as both teams are on the rise and on the cusp of being national contenders. The Egg Bowl has always been an important matchup for both teams.
With the return in talent and a good schedule, the Bulldogs set themselves up to have a solid chance to compete and win each game, unlike seasons past. The sky can be the limit for the 2014 season, and Bulldog fans anticipate this year to be one of the best yet.
