*** NCAA Football Preview - Mississippi State Bulldogs ***

From The My Sportsbook

By Pat Taggart, College Football Staff Writer

2003 SEASON IN REVIEW: It wasn't long ago that Mississippi State was one of the top teams in the SEC. That is no longer the case, as the program has experienced many more losses than wins the last few years. Long-time coach Jackie Sherrill's team lost its first four games of the 2003 campaign, surrendering more than 30 points in each of those contests. The squad then put together a pair of victories over Vanderbilt and Memphis to open the month of October, and it was at that time that Sherrill announced his plan to retire at the end of the season. Rather than motivate his team with that revelation, the announcement seemed to knock the wind out of his players. The Bulldogs went on to lose their final six games of the campaign, all by at least 25 points. The offense failed to score more than 17 points in five of those six outings, while the defense surrendered over 30 points in all of those games. Clearly, 2003 was a season to forget for Mississippi State football.

2004 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: Mississippi State scored 28 or more points in five of the first six games that it played last season, but the offense went in the tank late in the campaign. The new head coach of the Bulldogs, Sylvester Croom, plans to make sure that the same doesn't happen in 2004, and the reins of his West Coast offense will be handed over to sophomore quarterback Omarr Conner. Conner has tremendous speed and looked comfortable throwing the ball in spring practice. The young signal caller will be helped tremendously if Jerious Norwood can provide a strong ground attack. Norwood is lightning quick and is coming off a sophomore campaign in which he averaged 5.3 yards per carry despite some line issues. In addition to Norwood, another player who will be of great support to Conner will be Ray Ray Bivines, a 5-11 senior receiver who made 26 catches last year. There are four starting offensive linemen back for the squad, but the unit still has plenty to prove after a rough 2003 campaign.

DEFENSE: One player to keep an eye on defensively is senior nose tackle Ronald Fields, a physically gifted performer who finally appears poised to play up to his enormous potential. Although he is not much of a pass rusher, Fields is quick off the ball and makes running up the middle difficult to say the least. Defensive end Willie Evans is back to play defensive end, and he must improve on his total of three sacks from a year ago for the '04 Bulldogs to climb out of the league basement. Clarence McDougal, Brad Horton and Marvin Byrdsong comprise the linebacking group, and those three players need to prove capable of covering tight ends and backs on running plays. All four starting defensive backs are in place from last year's team, but that might not be such a good thing. Mississippi State gave up an average of 41 points to SEC opponents a year ago, and the pass defense was largely responsible. To look at things optimistically, things can really only get better.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The new coaches are confident that Jared Cook will do a solid job of punting just as he did a year ago. Unfortunately, Keith Andrews is an inexperienced placekicker who must proof his worth to his teammates and coaches. Andrews certainly has the potential to do so, and his play will be critical as the Bulldogs will need all the help they can get to even be respectable. Fred Reid will likely handle punt and kickoff return duties, and his agility and speed give the team a home run threat.

OUTLOOK: By retiring, Sherrill did the program a favor. He was beloved by loyal fans, but the team had gone downhill in recent years and a change was necessary. Croom is a bright football coach who proved to be successful both in college and at the pro level as an assistant. Now he has a chance to run his own show, but early success is unlikely. Wait about three years to judge Croom, as we need to see what he can do with his own hand-chosen personnel. As for 2004, the losses will far outweigh the wins.