Mississippi State arrived at No. 18 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 released on Monday morning.
The Bulldogs also ranked 18th in the USA Today preseason coaches poll released earlier this month.
MSU was the fourth-highest rated team from the Southeastern Conference trailing No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia and No. 9 Auburn. LSU was the only other SEC school ranked at 24th.
South Carolina, Florida, Texas A&M and Kentucky also received votes.
Alabama received 42 first place votes while No. 2 Clemson received 18.
nMSU scrimmage: The Mississippi State football team scrimmaged for the second time during fall training camp Saturday night at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex.
Described by head coach Joe Moorhead as a “15-round heavyweight bout,” the scrimmage featured plenty of back-and-forth action between the offense and the defense, with each unit having its moments. Special teams worked on all four phases.
Moorhead was pleased with his squad’s second scrimmage, saying it was consistent and representative of what the preseason camp has been like as a whole.
“We got a ton of work done, so I was very pleased,” Moorhead said. “It was exactly where we needed to be. Was the precision there? No, but another positive step in the right direction.”
Several players’ family members were in attendance and joined the Bulldogs for a post-practice barbecue dinner. Moorhead said he has been pleased with the development of the wide receivers, and that he is excited about the Bulldogs’ defensive line.
“We are going to be battled tested on the O-line getting to go up against these guys every day,” Moorhead said. “Coach (Brian) Baker does an unbelievable job. They play with a great motor, very physical, run game, pass game. I think those are two areas that I have kind of stood out.”
MSU will have its third and final scrimmage of camp Wednesday.
“We need improvement in everything. I don’t think we’re necessarily where we need to be at any phase or any position, but we’re a heck of a lot closer than we were in the spring. We’re a heck of a lot closer at practice 12 than we were at practice one,” Moorhead said.
“The progression of the installation and taking the information from the meeting room to the field, the kids are executing at a high level. This is as good as any first-time installation — offensively, defensively, and special teams — that I have been around. I’m very optimistic, but I’m glad we still have two more weeks to prepare.”
Moorhead said the final two weeks of training camp will be spent “fine-tuning” the installation of the systems. He said the coaching staff will draft a depth chart following the scrimmage Wednesday.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
