Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State at Southern Miss: 135 new players, zero clarity, one prediction

Mississippi State and Southern Miss both enter Week 1 with new-look rosters and plenty of unknowns. So, of course, we have a prediction.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Running Back Davon Booth (#21) during the game between UMass and Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, MS.
Mississippi State Running Back Davon Booth (#21) during the game between UMass and Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

In this story:

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Alright, folks, it’s time.

Prediction time.

And I’ll cut straight to the point: Mississippi State will defeat Southern Miss and start another season 1-0.

ICYMI: Five coaches, eight wins: Mississippi State’s wild season-opener streak

How the Bulldogs will win, I have no clue.

One of the main themes I’ve attempted to include throughout this preseason is how much we don’t know about Mississippi State and Southern Miss.

The Bulldogs have 65 new players and has not had any practices or scrimmages involving team drills open to the public. Until Monday, who would be in the starting lineup was a mystery. Frankly, with the amount “or” designations on the depth chart, there’s still a lot of mystery.

Southern Miss is even more of an unknown entity. The Golden Eagles have a new coach, Charles Huff, new coaching staff and 70 new players. To make things even more mysterious, they didn’t even release a depth chart this week.

That’s 135 players in their first season with either the Bulldogs or Golden Eagles.

“There are some unknowns,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said earlier this week. “Week one is always a little bit up in the air. Their offensive coordinator didn’t call plays last year, so you have to go back a couple of years to see that tape. I understand his identity and what he wants to do, but until you get out there and see it, there’s some unknown.”

Why so confident?

So, why am I certain enough that Mississippi State will win that I put in the first 50 words of this article?

The Bulldogs have to win. For starters, they play in the SEC and Southern Miss plays in the Sun Belt. The Bulldogs should be the more talented team.

Also, both teams are in the Magnolia State and Southern Miss will be very loud in reminding the Bulldogs and their fans about the result should the Golden Eagles win.

Let’s also not forget that Mississippi State lost to Toledo, a MAC school, last season. My gut tells me the fan base won’t be very forgiving if a similar loss happens this season.

Speaking of the fans, they’re another reason Mississippi State has to win. Yes, for all the right reasons about happiness and keeping the fans engaged in the season. But if Southern Miss wins tomorrow, the fan base that brought back the interlocking MSU logo with a loud, grassroots, social media campaign will make their displeasure known.

So, no predictions about anything on the field?

If I were to guess how Mississippi State wins, on the field, I’d imagine the offense will want to run the ball, showcasing an ability to win the trench battles, and take deep shots downfield with its speedy wide receivers.

In fact, I’d expect one of the first three plays will see Brennen Thompson just sprint straight downfield to see if he can run past everyone.

Defensively, I’m not smart enough to be able to say something like “the Bulldogs will run man coverage with a two high safety look and lots of A-gap blitzes mixed in with some zone coverage” and for it to be believable. In EA CFB 26, I usually only play on offense.

So, rather, what I’ll say about the defense is that we want to see the defense stop the run, preferably in a dominant fashion. Also, we want to see pressure on the quarterback. If we see those two things, we’ll know this defense will be a lot better than in 2024.

And, finally, if you want a final score, I recommend Bill Connelly’s SP+ projections for that. Here’s what his model’s projected score is: Mississippi State 37, Southern Miss 21.

DAWG FEED:

Published
Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

Home/Football