Mississippi State football ended its spring training with the annual Maroon and White Spring Game, which provided fans with some well-deserved offensive excitement.
Mississippi State’s first and second teams combined for 764 total yards of offense in an unconventional format and scoring system that resulted in a 67-53 final score.
Expecting such numbers during the season is unreasonable for any college football offensive, but as history has shown, Mississippi State could have one of the top-scoring units in NCAA football under new head coach Jeff Lebby.
The majority of Mississippi State’s unknowns coming fall are on the defensive side of the ball, under first-year coordinator Coleman Hutzler. With a new coaching staff, double-digit new starters, and an up-tempo offense, it’s unclear how Mississippi State’s defense will perform this season. However, offseason expectations are not high.
Mississippi State’s offense could end up being good enough, high-scoring enough, to cover the issues its defense may have this fall when the Bulldogs begin the season on Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky at Davis Wade Stadium.
However, history suggests that Mississippi State’s success will be determined by what its defense does.
When Mississippi State has had an average defense, things have gone bad
Over the past 25 years, Mississippi State’s best seasons have come on the backs of having one of the top defensive units in college football. When its defense has ranked outside the top-70 of college football, sometimes being one of the worst units in the sports, the Bulldogs have struggled to reach bowl eligibility. It also hasn’t helped that when Mississippi State has had struggling defenses, its offenses haven’t put up Lebby-type numbers.
In 2002, Mississippi State averaged less than 19 points per game, which ranked 105th in college football. The Bulldogs had similar numbers the next year, averaging 18.8 points per game and finishing 101st in scoring offense.
In 2006, Mississippi State averaged just 18.4 points per game, which finished 97th in college football that season. In 2009, that number jumped up to over 25 points per game, but still ranked outside the top -70 of college football at 73.
Mississippi State’s best offensive season when paired with an average defense came in 2016, when the Bulldogs averaged over 30 points per game and finished 56th in scoring offense. And in 2019, the Bulldogs averaged just under 28 points per game, finishing 74th in scoring offense.
This years’ offense, however, is expected to score — a lot — as history has suggested under Lebby.
Strong Mississippi State offenses have led to strong seasons in the past
Despite being renowned as a defense-first team since the turn of the century, Mississippi State has occasionally fielded very productive offenses, some of which have been among the best in the country. During those years, the Bulldogs boasted elite defenses, which led to some of the best seasons in program history.
If that happens this fall, Mississippi State’s defense will have outperformed expectations from the offseason.
In 2022, Mississippi State finished 42nd in scoring offense, 30th in scoring defense, and won nine games, including the Reliaquest Bowl against Illinois.
