2007 Mississippi State Bulldogs College Football Picks & Predictions


June 5, 2008 | Posted By Larry Cook

The Mississippi State Bulldogs have high hopes in 2007 after a 1-7 record in SEC play couldn’t have been any worse last year. With 16 returning starters, including 9 on the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs should be able to compete much better than last season. That is if quarterback Michael Henig can recover from breaking his collar bone twice last season. He has so many screws in the surgically repaired bone to hold strong, but there are no guarantees it won’t break again if he takes the right hit.

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For a backup plan, State signed Josh Riddell out of California’s rich junior college ranks. Riddell has only played three years at quarterback and Sylvester Croom will be grooming this fine young man incase Henig can’t hold up. Either way the Bulldogs are as confident at quarterback as it has been in a long time. Part of that has to do with the receiving threats that developed in the second half of the 2006 season. Tony Burks is labeled as a big-play receiver with a nice signing from Mississippi State in another junior college transfer. But Burks didn’t have the best spring. Walk-on Jamayel Smith did, as did Morehead State transfer Brandon McRae. Both are listed as starters after spring ball.

Although the Bulldogs lost experienced guard Brian Anderson, the offensive line added depth. Left tackle Mike Brown, a transfer from Florida, should anchor it. Sophomore Anthony Dixon, who had 100-yard games in two of State’s final three games last season, will be carrying the bulk of the load in the backfield. A surprising signee in Robert Elliot to the Bulldogs in February could make this a very dangerous backfield. Elliot should get immediate playing time with Dixon playing a few downs at fullback in his 240-pound frame. Either way, the backfield will be stronger than their 104th ranking nationally with just 95.2 rushing yards per game last year.

The Bulldogs are moving players to new positions and forcing young ones to step up early on the defensive side of the ball. Junior college transfer Jessie Bowman is the start to State’s plan on improving their defense. The tackle left spring with a starting job along side Cortez McCraney. Avery Hannibal drew praise for his work in the spring and he’ll join returning starter and leader Titus Brown at end. A big worry is at corner, where sophomores Anthony Johnson and Marcus Washington left spring as starters.

Derek Pegues was a starter at corner, but his move to free safety is part of a large trend of shifting on the depth chart. Jamar Chaney was moved from the weak side to the middle while Jamon Hughes fills his shoes. Among the projected starters there are just three seniors. However, State seems confident it can re-create the same level of play, especially up front, by banking on Brown’s experience. The rushing defense that ranked 35th in the country last season should even be stronger in 2007.

Starkville has plenty of reason to keep their heads up with the progression the Bulldogs’ offense made in the second half of the 2006 season. But unfortunately they lost many key faces on defense to make this team very one-sided. It’s never good to have to try and outscore opponents in SEC play because without a defense a team simply cannot win. An improvement on their 3-9 record from last year can be expected, though nothing dramatic.

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