Mississippi State a dark horse to win the Southeastern Conference's Western Division?
There has been a little chatter about that as the start of the college football season continues to sneak up on us.
Give Dan Mullen credit for a great second season at MSU. He has revamped the offense and brought in a new attitude. But there was nothing I saw from the Bulldogs last year that even puts them in the conversation to win the West in 2011.
Now, the Bulldogs do have the talent to make it to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in more than 10 years. They return 16 starters - nine on offense, seven on defense - from a team that finished 9-4 with a 52-14 rout of Michigan in the Gator Bowl and that came within one score of pulling off upsets of Auburn and Arkansas, the conference's two BCS representatives.
State appears to be loaded on offense with the return of athletic, dual-threat quarterback Chris Relf and tailback Vick Ballard - key cogs in offensive unit that ranked fifth in the SEC in total yards a game (401.3) and second in rushing yards per game (215).
The two biggest problems on offense are the loss of All-SEC left tackle Derek Sherrod and the lack of a passing threat.
MSU was ninth in the league in passing last year with 187 yards a game. The good news was Relf didn't make a lot of mistakes, with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Ballard, who ran for 968 yards and 19 scores last year, will certainly have a bulls-eye on his chest this season - meaning Relf must show improvement passing and play with more confidence.
A better passing attack will open things up for the rushing attack and likely lead to more trips to the end zone MSU, which ranked 10th in scoring last season.
The biggest problem could be on defense. Yes, the Dogs have seven starters back, but they lost all three linebackers and, more importantly, coordinator Manny Diaz - a defensive wizard.
The MSU defense will again need to come up with key stops and timely turnovers as it did last year, when the unit ranked just eighth in the SEC in total defense but third in points allowed.
As far as predictions go, I believe MSU overachieved while catching Florida and Georgia (both close wins) on a really down year.
This year's schedule is more difficult for many reasons.
The Dogs play in the toughest league in America in the SEC West and also get both of the SEC East favorites in South Carolina and Georgia. They are the only SEC team to open with two road games.
The guess here is State won't win as many games as it did in 2010, but a winning season should be in the cards.
• Contact Bill Burrus at bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
