Way, Way Early: 2022 Record Prediction for MSU Football
Typically, it takes a week or two for people to get used to a new year. They usually have to think about it before uttering the current day’s date or before writing it down. Come fall, though, 2022 will be ingrained into everyone’s mind as the new football season looms. After a 7-5 regular season in 2021, just how do we think Mississippi State will perform with what - on paper at least - appears to be a much harder schedule?
Firstly, MSU will take on Memphis in their home opener on September 3rd. Returning most of their starters, this group of Bulldogs should be plenty hungry after the events that transpired in the team’s loss to the Tigers earlier this year in Memphis. Coupled with home-field advantage and Memphis losing their best offensive weapon in Calvin Austin III, MSU should be geared up to leave their first contest with a win.
Game 2 for the Bulldogs will take place out west, as they’ll travel to face the Arizona Wildcats. There’s not much to be said about Arizona, except for the fact that they’ve managed to win only one game over the last two seasons - suboptimal, to say the least. MSU should be favored in this road contest and walk out the victor.
MSU will then begin the SEC slate against LSU in Death Valley. This will be the first SEC contest for first-year Tigers head coach Brian Kelly, and should serve as the true litmus test for how his tenure can go. Nonetheless, with MSU returning so much depth, don’t be surprised if they take another one on the road to start the season 3-0.
The Bulldogs then travel back to Starkville to take on Bowling Green on September 24th. Again, there’s not much to say about Bowling Green, and MSU should be able to grab a second home-field win, starting the season 4-0 before the true SEC slate.
MSU will then welcome the Texas A&M Aggies to Davis-Wade, along with head coach Jimbo Fisher. There are usually some strange phenomena in football, and one of those is that MSU typically plays well against A&M. However, the Aggies will be hungry for a revenge game after last year, and after what should be a walkthrough against Bowling Green, could catch the Bulldogs on a slow day and take an SEC win, putting MSU at 4-1.
If fans thought MSU was returning a lot, they should stop and think about Arkansas. KJ Jefferson - possibly the most physically impressive quarterback in the SEC will be returning to his home state and will no doubt be looking to impress. The game between the two squads was impressively close last season, and could play out exactly the same, but there are more question marks for MSU than there are for the Hogs, so we have them handing MSU their second loss on the season, bumping MSU to 4-2.
The Bulldogs will then take the fight on the road to Kentucky, where the Wildcats await to enact their own bit of revenge for MSU’s 2021 victory. However, leading wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson will no longer be donning the blue and white, making workhouse back Chris Rodriguez the main offensive weapon for the Wildcats. If MSU can keep Kentucky one-dimensional in terms of offense, they should be able to take a much-needed SEC road win and push their record to 5-2.
Then comes the dreaded Crimson Tide Buzzsaw - this time in Tuscaloosa. Yes, Jameson Williams is gone, but Bryce Young isn’t, and if there are few constants in life, Alabama having a loaded offense year in and year out should be right up there with death and taxes. We’ve got the Tide taking that one, putting MSU to a not-too-shabby 5-3 before the bye week.
Sticking with the Yellowhammer State, MSU will welcome the Auburn Tigers to Starkville on November 5th. Yes, Auburn will want to win this game badly, but the huge question mark for them is a big one - just who is going to be taking snaps? MSU had no problems handling Zach Calzada in their victory against A&M this past season, and TJ Finley has underperformed up to this point in his Auburn career. If those two options don’t work out, 2022 recruit Holden Geriner, a 4-star from Savannah, Georgia, will be plenty hungry for playing time early in his career. This all adds up to the age-old saying, though - if you have two or three quarterbacks, you have no quarterback. Bryan Harsin may be building a competitive program over on the plains, but they potentially could have a worse season than they did last year without Bo Nix. All of that, coupled with being in Starkville, should give MSU a second straight win over the Tigers, setting them at 6-3.
Then comes the dreaded SEC East opponent, and this one is very much dreaded. The other Bulldogs, the reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs to be exact, will travel to Starkville. Quarterback Stetson Bennett returns, along with plenty of talent from a defense that, in essence, won UGA a national championship. Advantage, Georgia. That would bump MSU to 6-4.
Then comes the tuneup game before the Egg Bowl - cupcake week all across the SEC, for the most part. East Tennessee State will travel to Davis Wade, where Mississippi State should notch their 7th win.
Then comes the one everyone has circled - the Egg Bowl. The Rebels seem to have landed their man in the transfer portal, but as of right now, he’s no Matt Corral. Remember those question marks from earlier? MSU has their share, but there might just be even more about 2 hours north. MSU is hungry to get the Egg back where it belongs, and they should be able to go on the road and bring head coach Mike Leach his first Egg Bowl win in his tenure in the Maroon and White, ending the regular season at 8-4, with one more win than in 2021.
That may not be the biggest improvement over the previous season at face value, but swapping out Vanderbilt for Georgia most definitely has song significance, along with Sam Pittman and company rebuilding an Arkansas program that is getting back to its roots.
