Mississippi State 2011

Mississippi State 2010 Statistics

(SEC) The Bulldogs play on a grass (P.A.T.) field at Davis Wade Stadium (seats 55,082)

• Dan Mullen is in his third year as head coach at Mississippi State.  Previously he had been offensive coordinator at Florida, where he spent a significant amount of time working with and developing Tim Tebow (now playing in the NFL for the Denver Broncos).  Last year he achieved a 9-4 record for the Bulldogs (the most wins for the team since 1999).
• Mullen brought the Spread Option offense from Florida. In the system that Mullen oversaw in Florida, they predominantly used the Spread Option to run the ball.  In the first year of the system (2009), they had the number one rushing offense in the SEC last year (9^th in the nation) while producing one of the worst passing offenses (113^th) in the nation.  Last year they became a little more balanced as the gap between running and passing decreased slightly.
• Last year quarterbacks Chris Relf and Tyler Russell alternated snaps at first, but ultimately Relf was the starting quarterback.
  

  Quarterback Chris Relf

  Relf uses his legs (running) more than his arms (passing), but as he becomes more experienced and is now a senior, he should be able to improve his completion percentage and become a better passer.  And with a strong running game that returns all of their talent from 2010, that should help distract defenses from the quarterback.

• This offense returns 9 starters, which makes them experienced and hopeful about improving upon last year’s finish.
• Defense returns 7 starters, but loses the top two tacklers (White and Wright), both who played linebacker. Luckily they have one of the most experienced secondaries in the nation with the return of all four starters from last year, who will need to step up and improve the passing defenses from one of the worst in the country without the confidence of being able to rely on the linebackers.
• With new quarterbacks playing for their SEC opponents Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss, this team will get some help in improving its terrible passing defense and have a good chance at topping last year’s 9-4 record.

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