After the emotional loss to Auburn, Dan Mullen     had a constant theme in his postgame press conference. The inches short Chris Relf came from a game-changing touchdown represent where the program stands early in Mullen’s third year at the helm.
With the opportunity to move up in the SEC West hierarchy by beating the defending national champions, Mississippi State once again came just shy of winning, a feeling that is familiar for State’s fans and players.
In 2009, State lost on a similar last-second goal line stand against LSU, and in 2010, it felt the sting of heartbreak again in a double-overtime home loss against Arkansas. Now in 2011, Mullen’s team once again has to deal with the frustrations of an emotional loss. The difference this time is the players will have to regroup and take on the No. 3 team in the nation just five days later.
The win, though it would not have been an upset, would have been huge for Mullen’s program. It would have quieted those that keep pointing out he has yet to beat an SEC West team not named “Ole Miss” and have created a massive amount of hype surrounding the LSU game.
Instead, MSU goes into Thursday night’s nationally-televised matchup asking serious questions about itself and what it will take to get  that next step, or final inch. What can the defense do to prevent another team running the ball all over it? Can Chris Relf continue to take (or give, in many cases) the amount of hits he does when running the ball? How will injuries to James Carmon and Quentin Saulsbery affect an already thin offensive line?
A short week with a top-five opponent coming to town in LSU is not a good time to sort out these questions.
Even though a loss to LSU could kill a lot of the momentum that has been building since the Bulldogs’ trouncing of Michigan in the Gator Bowl, it is worth pointing out that State sat in the exact same 1-2 position a year ago before winning five straight games on their way to a nine-win season. Losing the game would not derail the season by any means, but it would come close to eliminating MSU’s chances of seriously competing for the SEC West crown before most teams have even played their first conference games.
In contrast, a win would reignite the hype machine and give MSU a huge bump in the polls.
On Saturday, Spirit the eagle flew into the glass of a skybox during Auburn’s pregame tradition of the bird circling the stadium and landing on the logo at midfield. Despite the mishap that, naturally, made its way to YouTube, Spirit still completed his circle and stuck the landing on the Auburn logo.
Although many MSU fans were hoping the blunder was a sign of things to come for Auburn, it works as a metaphor for where State stands in 2011. 
State spent week one cruising along to an easy win over Memphis, then spent the next week hearing how great it did (presumably not from the coaches).
Then the Bulldogs spent too much time fixated on themselves, looking at their reflection and trying to make sense out of being the favorites on the road against the defending national champions. Just when they started to cruise comfortably … bam. They ran smack into the (not so) proverbial sky box glass, getting caught off guard early on at Auburn before falling just short in the end.
When Spirit ran into the glass, much to the surprise of a few deep-pocketed football fans in the wrong sky box, he was able to quickly recover and stick the landing in front of the 87,451 in attendance at Jordan Hare stadium.
Now is when MSU has to recover from flying into the glass, and quickly. The incredibly-hyped flight that is Mullen’s 2011 season had a significant hiccup on Saturday, but a win over LSU would get the team back soaring to heights that have not been seen in over a decade.
Unfortunately for State, anytime you play a top-five team, it’s rarely smooth sailing. Thursday will be no different.