The 2011 Bulldogs posted a 7-6 record including a Music City Bowl win over Wake Forest in Dan Mullen’s second-straight bowl appearance, and a Gator Bowl win over Michigan in 2010. Mullen will enter his fourth season at the helm of the program with more than a bowl appearance in mind, and he has his eyes set on conference championships for the Bulldogs.
Mullen has led his squad to a combined 21-17 record, including a 16-10 mark in his last two seasons, a significant increase since the Dogs posted a 17-52 record from 2001-2006.
Although Mullen has made a significant improvement in years past for the Bulldog program, there is still plenty of room for improvement in order to compete for conference titles.
“Right now what make the SEC to me different is the depth of quality teams that are in this league,” Mullen said. “The margin for error is so small between winning and losing in this league, that if you slip for one second, that will be the difference between winning and losing that game.”
Mullen and his Dogs have experienced plenty of close games on their resume dating back to his first year on the job. With close interdivision losses to LSU, Auburn and Arkansas, Mullen and his team are right on the cusp of competing for conference titles.
If there’s one thing Mullen has yet to prove in his tenure at MSU, it’s a quality win. Mullen has only defeated a Florida team that went 7-5 in the regular season in 2010 and has yet to beat a western division team besides Ole Miss.
That proves to be a change of pace in the 2012 campaign as the Bulldogs hosts Auburn, Arkansas and Texas A&M, which I think can all be winnable games for the Dogs. Auburn has proven to be a tricky opponent for the Dogs since 2008, and MSU has not defeated Arkansas since that same 2008 campaign.
The Dogs will also play at Kentucky and host Tennessee in eastern division games, which should boost the stats in the win column, but Mullen still understands the importance of competing in interdivision games.
“It’s not just in one game, not just in two games, but it’s the overall, every single game you play,” Mullen said. “It’s hard to look at schedules in this league and check off wins.”
The question comes down to division powers in LSU and Alabama. MSU is a combined 2-20 against the Fighting Tigers and Crimson Tide sine 2000. The Dogs face both squads on the road this season, but they are no strangers to the hostile environments.
Junior quarterback Tyler Russell has plenty of experience and is practicing against a high quality defense in preparation for conference play.
“The SEC is the best with top-notch corners and I feel that we have the top-notch, too,” Russell said. “So being able to compete against Johnthan Banks and Darius Slay will help me prepare.”
Two new additions to the SEC were made in the offseason in Missouri and Texas A&M. Many SEC fans opposed the expansion, but I applaud them.
With the additions, TV revenue will increase in the states of Texas and Missouri, which boast five major markets in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, St. Louis, Kansas City and San Antonio. Case in point, three of the top 10 cities in total viewers of the SEC Media days website came from the state of Texas, (Houston, 1; Dallas, 2; College Station, 9). This expansion will also increase the market of recruiting in the states of Texas and Missouri as both boast top-quality athletes year in and year out across the nation.
All in all, I think the Dogs will finish the season with an 8-4 regular season finish with losses to Alabama, LSU, a close loss to Arkansas, and either a loss to Auburn or Texas A&M. The swing game of the year should come against Auburn, whom the Dogs have struggled against in the past. I predict the Dogs will make a Gator Bowl appearance against Big Ten opponent Iowa.