Dawn of the Dawg
Fansided

Georgia Football 2017 Preview: Mississippi State

By Alistair Penny

Dec 26, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A Mississippi State Bulldogs helmet on the field prior to the game between the Miami Redhawks and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A Mississippi State Bulldogs helmet on the field prior to the game between the Miami Redhawks and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

How does 2017 stack up:

The Bulldogs return 8 starters on offense and that was an area that really impressed last year. They are going to heavily lean on their QB Nick Fitzgerald to help them secure the season they want to have. Mississippi State have another tough schedule as all SEC West teams do. They are away at Auburn and Texas A&M. Having Alabama and LSU come to you is hardly a good thing and having to play away at Georgia makes for a very tough year for the bulldogs. Many pundits are saying that an 8 win season would be a good result and I tend to agree. Losing just 4 games considering their schedule would be a good job by coach Dan Mullen.

Their defense was really deficient last year and it will be interesting to see how that changes in 2017. They brought in former UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham this season to help. Grantham came into UGA with a lot of fanfare after 10 years in the NFL but never really delivered. He was hired from Louisville where again, his results were mixed. In short, Grantham is yet to prove that he’s really capable of turning around a defense. Then again, what he has produced is relatively mediocre results and mediocre would be a step forward for the Mississippi State defense in 2017.

Home/Georgia Bulldogs News