– Last Updated on June 8, 2018 7:50 am
2017 Football Preview SEC – Bulldogs
Looking for 2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs predictions? The Bulldogs endured a very tough 2016. They started off the season losing to South Alabama, and it seemed to go downhill from there. They did end up doing enough to win six games but they had higher expectations for last season, and if they only win six games this year, Dan Mullen might be gone.
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- 2017-18 College Football Preview – Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Head Coach: Dan Mullen
- 2016 Record: 6-7
- Mississippi State Bulldogs Odds to win the 2017 FBS Championship: +50000
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- ***More 2017 NCAA Football Team Season Previews***
So will the Bulldogs step up this year? Or will there be a coaching search at the end of this season?
2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs Predictions: Team Strengths
A Star in the Making: Nick Fitzgerald is the starting quarterback for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and if you don’t know about him yet, you should look him up and remember the name because this kid is going to be a star, if he isn’t already considered one.
Last season he threw for 2423 yards and 21 touchdowns. As good as he is through the air, he might even be better on the ground. He had eight games last year where he rushed for more then 100 yards. He also added 16 touchdowns with his legs.
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In his best game last year on the ground he rushed for 258 yards and two touchdowns against their rivals, Ole Miss. I think he will take a big step forward this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was his last year as a Bulldog.
Senior Leadership: One of the biggest strengths for this team, is the veteran leadership they have in the huddle and in the locker room.
On the offensive side they return eight of 11 starters and that will be huge for this team to not get upset early in the season, and take the next step forward.
On the defensive side they are young, but they still have some upperclassmen who should help break the new guys in and hopefully help them grow up quickly.
2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs Predictions: Team Weaknesses
Who’s On Defense?: The biggest question mark and weakness going into the season for this team is on the defensive side of the ball.
Last year the defense was terrible ranking 110th in the Nation in total defense.
The pass defense was the biggest weakness, and they couldn’t seem to slow down anything through the air.
They switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 this off season and they hope that can help the pass defense.
The front three are the strength of this defense, and if they can wreck havoc in the back field that can help out the pass defense a lot.
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Concerns Along The Offensive Line: The offensive line was a concern last year, and coming into the season they are still a big concern.
Nick Fitzgerald bailed them out a lot last year with his legs, but they can’t keep taking that chance or Fitzgerald is going to down with injury if they allow him to keep getting hit.
They are young along the line, but they can’t use that as an excuse, they need to play together as a group, and try to have more success.
Mississippi State Bulldogs Prediction: 7-5
The Mississippi State Bulldogs gave themselves a pretty easy schedule for non conference play. They should go 4-0 in that stretch, but if they did have one slip up it would be against BYU, but 3-1 would be the worst I could see them going.
In conference play they play in the SEC so of course the schedule is hard, but the SEC does have some beatable teams, and I think the Bulldogs will take advantage of that.
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I think Fitzgerald will lead them to a 7-5 record or maybe even an 8-4 record. The defense will be better this and that will lead to more success.
2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs Football Schedule
- 9/2/17 TBD CHSO
- 9/9/17 7:30 PM ET @LT
- 9/16/17 7:00 PM ET LSU
- 9/23/17 TBD @UGA
- 9/30/17 TBD @AUB
- 10/14/17 TBD BYU
- 10/21/17 TBD UK
- 10/28/17 TBD @TAM
- 11/4/17 TBD MASS
- 11/11/17 TBD ALA
- 11/18/17 TBD @ARK
- 11/23/17 TBD MISS
What do you think about our 2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2017!
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