It is completely possible to win at Mississippi State because it's possible for anybody, anywhere to build a winning football program if they're good, and to suck if they're not.
Alabama should be extremely #@$%!+@ easy to turn into a powerhouse, but it was miscoached for years. Tennessee went stagnant. MSU will have a harder time reaching Nick Saban kind of success because MSU doesn't have the prestige to hire Nick Saban coaching talent. But while I think Petersen stays at Boise St, I also think State is capable of hiring a coach on his level, or Houston Nutt's. I don't predict State will win the SEC West on a consistent basis, it's already been proven that they can. The assertion that Knute couldn't win is assinine.
Either way, MSU needs someone who get y'all a damn quarterback.