Fifty-four days and counting.
The start of the college football season is coming but not nearly fast enough.
So for now, dissecting preseason predictions and crunching numbers will have to do until preseason camps start.
Outlook-wise, what a difference a year makes for our two instate Southeastern Conference schools.
This time last year, pundits had Mississippi State as a virtual lock to make its third straight bowl game under Dan Mullen, while most believed Ole Miss would struggle under first-year coach Hugh Freeze. (Only one of those things happened — State lost in the Gator Bowl and Ole Miss won the BBVA Compass Bowl.)
Now, it’s Ole Miss getting all of the love, while most predict State will struggle.
Some are saying the Bulldogs are about to regress under Mullen and that the fifth-year coach has peaked in Starkville. I don’t agree with that, but I do believe the team will struggle this season.
The boys in Las Vegas concur. They have the over/under win total for the Bulldogs at 5.
With a schedule that includes three easy non-conference games and winnable SEC contests vs. Auburn, Kentucky and Arkansas, I’m going over — but not by much.
This is a big year for Mullen, who still has something to prove after the Bulldogs slipped the last two seasons. Offensively, fans have gotten nothing close to what they expected when State hired Mullen away from Florida as its offensive coordinator.
Yes, he inherited a hot mess in Starkville and has done a good job, taking State to three straight bowls — something that hadn’t happened since the 1990s (and before that, hadn’t happened at all).
But Mullen is yet to prove he can help MSU take the next step toward at least being competitive with the big boys on the SEC block.
The over/under for Ole Miss is 8.5.
The Rebels were good last year and will be much better in 2013, but I would have to say under here. I am thinking eight wins.
Freeze is absolutely killing it in recruiting, and the future is no doubt bright in Oxford. But, hey, the Rebels still play in the toughest league in the country — the SEC West.
However, ESPN’s Colin Cowherd believes Vegas isn’t giving the Rebels enough credit.
Recently on his radio show, Cowherd said: “Did you see how they destroyed Pittsburgh in the bowl game? They return a bunch of juniors and seniors on offense. That really helps early in the season when you have 20-year-old guys who know a system.”
Cowherd believes the Rebels will beat Vanderbilt and Texas, win either the LSU or Texas A&M game and finish with nine or 10 victories.
It’s going to be extremely difficult elbowing into the elite portion of the West this year. A killer five-game stretch in September and October — at Texas, at Alabama, at Auburn, Texas A&M and LSU — is just too much right now.
I just don’t believe the depth is there yet. Alabama and LSU have a bunch of Robert Nkemdiches.
Ole Miss fans are sky high and rightfully so, but they might want to temper their expectations just a bit. Even their coach agrees with that.
“Unrealistic expectations always produce frustration,” Freeze said earlier this summer. “That was my message to all these alumni groups. The reality is we could have a worse record and be a better team.”
Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
