The confident team coming out of day two at SEC Media Days was no doubt Mississippi State. The Bulldogs come into the 2014 season off a 7-6 record and three straight wins to finish off last campaign.
Like most college football programs, the offseason seems a lot shorter after a huge bowl win to end their last season. Head coach Dan Mullen’s team reeled off a 44-7 win over Rice at the Liberty Bowl. He says that win has made the months fly by pretty quickly.
“At the end of the years we found a way to win games that we haven’t been winning in the past and we finished on a huge positive note,” Mullen said. “I think starting on January 1, the expectations within our program for our players were extremely high. So I think as they see expectations outside the program kind of build, I think they’re kind of used to it. That’s what they want.”
At least three different preseason magazines have Mississippi State finishing anywhere from fifth to sixth place in the SEC West. However, players like Dak Prescott could change that way of thinking with his arm.
In a conference that is now void of most of the big name arms that were involved in it a year ago like Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Georgia’s Aaron Murray, and Alabama’s AJ McCarron are all gone. This could now become a conference dominated by arms like that of Prescott.
“I have high expectations for myself and it’s nice to know that other people are noticing it,” Prescott said. “That doesn’t really mean anything to me really. I’m just going to continue doing what I do. Work hard, get better, and try to be the quarterback that I can. (Plus) Develop every aspect of the quarterback position.”
The good news for both Prescott and Mullen, is that they will have a combined total of 16 returning starters on both sides of the ball.
The true test for this team in 2014, will be starting in week four on the road against LSU. After that, the team will have tough test’s against Texas A&M and Auburn at home. If they are able to pick up two wins out of those three games, it would be pretty safe to say this Mississippi State team could make life in the SEC West very uneasy.
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