Forty-six days and counting.
College football can’t get here fast enough.
The first game of the 2012 season will be a Southeastern Conference matchup between South Carolina and Vanderbilt on Thursday, Aug. 30, on ESPN.
It kind of seems early to start throwing out predictions for Mississippi’s two SEC schools, but what the heck.
Nobody ever remembers this stuff, do they?
For Mississippi State, the door is wide open for a great start, but things get super tough after an Oct. 20 game against Middle Tennessee Sate.
With layups such as Jackson State, Troy, South Alabama and MTSU included in the first seven games, some have suggested the Bulldogs have a good shot at starting 7-0. It’s possible but not probable.
State’s early-season matchup with Auburn (Sept. 8) will tell you what direction the Bulldogs are headed. On paper, it appears to be their toughest game of the first seven.
The good news is it’s at home. The bad is that hasn’t mattered in recent years as the Tigers have won the last four meetings and 10 of the last 11 in the series.
Outside of Ole Miss, much has been made of the fact that MSU coach Dan Mullen is 0-12 against the rest of the SEC West. An early win against Auburn would be a huge confidence boost for the Dogs and give them the momentum they need to have a shot at a 7-0 start.
The guess here is 6-1 would be the best possible scenario, but 5-2 is more likely. One thing is for sure: State better take advantage of a softer start to the season because it finishes at Alabama, home to Texas A&M, at LSU and home to Arkansas before playing the Egg Bowl in Oxford. Those first four teams will start the season ranked, with Alabama and LSU in most everyone’s top 5.
I believe the absolute best MSU can do there is 3-2, with 2-3 a possibility but with 1-4 more likely.
So the swing games for MSU are home contests against Auburn, Texas A&M and Arkansas.
The Bulldogs have shown improvement under Mullen, but it’s sometimes hard to judge when you play in the toughest division of the best conference in the nation. But the guess here is Mullen will breakthrough against the West this season, and the Bulldogs will finish 7-5.
They will have to find a lot more offensive oomph if they’re going to do better than seven wins. And to do that, quarterback Tyler Russell has to live up to expectations, and the offensive line will need to prove the doubters wrong.
At Ole Miss, new coach Hugh Freeze has brought new life to a program that quickly fell from good times in 2007 and 2008 to rock bottom the last two seasons.
The new attitude in Oxford is great, but the Rebels need players and lots of them to turn things around. Judging by his early recruiting efforts, those players are on the way but obviously won’t be able to help for a couple of years.
Rebel fans starved for a winner are ready for something special, but after last season, just being competitive again would be a nice start.
The guess here is a 3-1 start — since wins against Central Arkansas, UTEP and Tulane are near locks — will lead to a 5-7 campaign. Before hosting State for the Egg Bowl, the Rebels have a five-game stretch that includes road games vs. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and LSU.
Can you say, “Ouch!”
If the team is still intact after that, the Rebels might can get to 6-6 with a home victory against State. But to have any shot at bowl eligibility, both the offensive and defensive lines must show marked improvement. They finished last in the SEC in both sacks and tackles for loss and were gashed on the ground by opposing offenses.
Offensively, Ole Miss will have a few playmakers in Freeze’s wide-open, hurry-up attack, but the team can forget putting up better numbers unless the big boys up front pick it up.
• Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
