In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

[MedDawg]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

However, State has also finished ranked 11 times in the AP pollwhen we were not ranked pre-season. (Thereprobably aremore pre- and post-season rankingsin other polls).

So State has finished ranked in the AP 12 times (I know it used to be only a Top 20 before the 80's/90's, and might have been even fewer a long time ago).

State has reached the Top 10 at some point during the season in only 4 seasons (1940, 1965, 1981, and 1999).

State started 2001 ranked #20 and was up to #17 at one point, but finished 3-8. I remember something like losing 4 games by a total of 12 points or so.

One interesting season--1965. Unranked preseason, reached a high of #9, and unranked post-season.
In 1986, Felker started unranked, went 6-1 andhad State up to #13, and finished unranked.
In 1997,Sherrill started unranked,had State up to #15, and finished unranked.

State has gone bowls 3 years in a row only once (1998, 1999, 2000), although in 1997 Sherrill went 7-4 but didn't go to a bowl.Underthe current bowl circumstances, Sherrill would have made it to a bowl 4 years in a row.

Jackie Sherrill had State ranked at some pointduring the seasonin 9out of his 13 seasons (but only finished ranked 4 times).

Croom never was AP ranked at any time, including after our 8th win in 2007.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/mississippi-state/

 

[Bulldog Backer]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

However, State has also finished ranked 11 times in the AP pollwhen we were not ranked pre-season. (Thereprobably aremore pre- and post-season rankingsin other polls).

So State has finished ranked in the AP 12 times (I know it used to be only a Top 20 before the 80's/90's, and might have been even fewer a long time ago).

State has reached the Top 10 at some point during the season in only 4 seasons (1940, 1965, 1981, and 1999).

State started 2001 ranked #20 and was up to #17 at one point, but finished 3-8. I remember something like losing 4 games by a total of 12 points or so.

One interesting season--1965. Unranked preseason, reached a high of #9, and unranked post-season.
In 1986, Felker started unranked, went 6-1 andhad State up to #13, and finished unranked.
In 1997,Sherrill started unranked,had State up to #15, and finished unranked.

State has gone bowls 3 years in a row only once (1998, 1999, 2000), although in 1997 Sherrill went 7-4 but didn't go to a bowl.Underthe current bowl circumstances, Sherrill would have made it to a bowl 4 years in a row.

Jackie Sherrill had State ranked at some pointduring the seasonin 9out of his 13 seasons (but only finished ranked 4 times).

Croom never was AP ranked at any time, including after our 8th win in 2007.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/mississippi-state/

...we typically played our last 5 SEC games against some of the toughest competition in the SEC, excepting of course, the "whipping post boys" from TSUN. That included Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, and our rotating SEC East foe, frequently Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia. In the last few years we have moved Auburn closer to the first half of the season as well as our rotating SEC East foe.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

State started 2001 ranked #20 and was up to #17 at one point, but finished 3-8. I remember something like losing 4 games by a total of 12 points or so.

USC-MSU was the first televised football game after 9/11. i remember how indifferent it felt to lose. that was a very heavy time to even think about winning/losing (or even firing stans)

 

[BigMotherTucker]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

it sucked.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

As bad as the SC game was, the Auburn game that year was even worse. The one play where we lined up to punt and Auburn changed into an obvious block formation was brutal to watch. I wanted to run onto the field before the play and call time out.

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

What was the year we started and finished ranked? 2000?

 

[Robot-Chicken]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

Got the sense that no one wanted to be there....just had that feeling that everyone came because we were "supposed" to come.

 

[MedDawg]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

Seems like we should have been ranked pre-season 2000, but we weren't, at least not by AP.

 

[00Dawg]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

As bad as the SC game was, the Auburn game that year was even worse. The one play where we lined up to punt and Auburn changed into an obvious block formation was brutal to watch. I wanted to run onto the field before the play and call time out.

That's also the game where a freshman Norwood flipped over the pile and landed on his feet with a clear path to the endzone but the refs blew the play dead.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

In football, State has been AP ranked pre-season 7 times, and only finished ranked once...

But I do remember that play.