If there is anything Dan Mullen and his staff are striving for in year four with the Dogs, it’s “building championships.”
After their first win against a western division team not named Ole Miss, the Dogs took a step forward in reaching their championship goals and Mullen said the monkey didn’t jump off his back, but more like an 800-pound gorilla jumped on. Come November, will MSU be able to handle the pressure and weight of the SEC and continue its success? 
By the end of the season, State will finish with an 8-4 record, and here’s why. Sure, I along with the rest of the Maroon and White love the defense and shout, “Johnthan Banks for Heisman,” but the best offense the Bulldogs have faced all year came from Troy.
The Bulldog offense hasn’t been exactly what fans had hoped to see since the Auburn game, and with a lack of production against Troy and South Alabama, the Dogs will need to get the offense going if they want to see more wins. One thing MSU does have in its favor is turnovers. The Dogs are +12 in the turnover margin, mostly thanks to a stout secondary defense, but they cannot rely on consistent turnovers to carry them the rest of the season.
MSU will have its hands full as it travels to Kentucky this weekend. The Cats have been known for home game upsets the last few seasons, including a scare to South Carolina last week, but the Dogs should be 5-0 as they return from Lexington.
Then comes Tennessee. The Vols hung 44 points and almost 500 yards in a boat race against No. 5 Georgia in Athens, and quarterback Tyler Bray will be coming off an open date to prepare for a swing game for their season and hand the Dogs their first loss.
MSU will rebound against Middle Tennessee State, but the Dogs need to be careful as MTSU defeated Georgia Tech last weekend in Atlanta (but what else do you expect from the ACC, right?).
State’s next three games are the epitome of what makes the SEC so competitive – a high-potent Texas A&M sandwiched between two road games against last year’s national championship game opponents. The Dogs will travel to Alabama Oct. 27 in what will be College Game Day atmosphere worthy.
As much as I hate the Tide, you can’t ignore what Nick Saban has done in Tuscaloosa as he continues to reload his teams on his way to three national titles in four years. State will be given loss number two before returning home to welcome Texas A&M to the SEC.
A&M lost its first game of the year to Florida, but since then, the Aggies have put up video game numbers. Redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel will have just enough to keep the MSU defense off balance and escape Starkville with a win.
State will then take a 6-3 record down to Baton Rouge. So far LSU is a silent 5-0 and continually slipping down in the polls, but in my opinion, it’s right where the Tigers want to be. The schedule will be brutal for LSU as three of its next four opponents are in the top 10, and the Tigers will be coming off the showdown of the season against Alabama the week before the Dogs come to town. But something tells me LSU head coach Les Miles has not shown teams everything in the playbook, and the Mad Hatter still has some magic for the Tigers this season.
Next on the schedule is Arkansas. The Dogs should get back on the winning track with this one to get to 7-4.
Finally comes the season finale against the school up north. Ole Miss has already won three games so far (three more than I thought the Rebels would win), and a season-ending win could make the Rebels bowl eligible. This one will be much closer than fans want it to be, but the Dogs will make it four years in a row and set the 8-4 final record.
I called State finishing 8-4 with a Gator Bowl appearance against Wisconsin.