Let's discuss this...

[dawgstudent]

Ole Miss doing well is directly tied to a State fan's college football worth. If we are doing bad, it magnifies it that much more if Ole Miss is doing well. It's the nature of the rivalry. Just like 2-3 years when Ole Miss was doing bad, their worth was that much worse b/c State was doing well.

For each fanbase to deny it is laughable. I know we always say "We should strive to be better than Ole Miss". In theory, I agree. In reality, I honestly don't see us ever getting to the point though that a 10 win season is a disappointment like LSU and Alabama.

 

[paindonthurt_]

When we are having success, I don't care what they do. If they lose, then great but don't care when they win.

When we are losing, I want them to lose. It eases my pain, and I can't stand listening to them.

What I want over the next 3 to 5 years (starting next year) is to creep up to that consistent 8 win mark up from the 7 win average. I'd like to toss one 9 or 10 win season in the mix. I also understand that might include a 5 or 6 win season too.

 

[dawgstudent]

This points back to my expectations of our program in a 5 year span.

4 years - Go to a bowl. Out of those 4, have one step up year where you compete for the West title with 2-3 games remaining and win 9-10 overall. And then you have one year where you might not make a bowl although with proper scheduling, that should never happen (i.e. 2013).

 

[drummerdawg]

For us to keep having success, they need to lose. So I will always pull against them.

 

[Dawgbite]

As long as being better than OM is our goal, we will never be anything more than a mid pack SEC team. Our goal should be to be equal or better than Bama and LSU. Is that possible? Yes but it's not going to be easy or quick. We can't buy a championship caliber program , we have to build it from the ground up and that's going to take time and patience. Remember, Bama and LSU have a 40 year head start on building relevance and a booster structure to sustain that level. We only decided in the last 5-7 years to join the game.
Is Dan Mullen the man to build that foundation? If I knew that answer, I would be the least paid SEC athletic director and jogging around campus every morning. I do think Mullen has done more in his 5 years than has been accomplished in the previous 25 years combined. Look at what we have now compared to the day he stepped off that plane for the first time. Would we even have had this conversation ten years ago?
Everybody(fans) wants to take that next step. We all think Ole Miss has taken that step but they will eventually crash and burn. Always have and always will. Quick and easy may get you to the top but will not sustain it.
I think Mullen needs the time and support to try and take that next step but I'm not qualified to say when the task has failed and it's time to make a change. In the end, I'm a Bulldog supporter not a coach supporter!!
I think our immediate goal should be to have assistants paid in the top 50% of SEC coaches and held accountable for their salaries . Everybody screams fire this one or that one,but if we do, can we pay for a better replacement?

 

[patdog]

We will never be better than a mid pack SEC team no matter what unrealistic goals we may have. We simply don't have the resources to compete with the top programs in the conference. And that's not going to change. But a mid pack SEC team is a pretty damn good team.

 

[BigMotherTucker]

I agree with this 100% but I will add - We can slip in to the top half of the conference on the years that LSU has a Gerry Dinardo coaching them and Bama is on life support due to NCAA infractions. During those types of years, we can be SEC #4.

 

[dawgstudent]

There's no reason we can't win the West every once in a while (every 10-15 years). Just things have to align.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

This response may be shocking for some so read at your own risk...

State has good years and then bad years. Been cyclical forever like that.

Ole Miss has good years and then bad years. Been cyclical forever like that.

Those cycles are rarely (if ever) in sync. I don't know why. Been like that forever. 1997 - 2000 both programs were above average, closest it's been recently until last year. Of course there were periods where we both sucked too.

I don't understand Chicken Littles; MSU variety or Ole Miss variety.

For you math geeks, since 1980, comparing MSU and UM wins there is a -0.065 correlation. Basically, the two are not related despite how it feels when they win and we lose.



PS: looking at that data made me realize how bad we sucked in the early 2000's win totals of: 3,3,2,3,3,3 from 2001 - 2006...

 

[seb304]

The problem is...

Looking at the recruiting now, there's a chance for Ole Miss to really jump ahead. That's the difference.

 

[dawgstudent]

I'm not going to lie - I thought after Ole Miss's 4 and 2 win seasons - we had a chance to put some distance between them and us. But Ole Miss fans said it was cyclical.

Now I bet Ole Miss fans think they can put some distance between State and Ole Miss. We are trying to convince them it's cyclical.

Basically, we are having cyclical conversations.

 

[BigMotherTucker]

Thats my point though... We wont be muscling our way to the top of the SECW w/o some outside influence dragging another team down.

 

[johnson86-1]

For us to keep having success, they need to lose. So I will always pull against them.

While I certainly would prefer that they be bad, our ability to benefit from their misfortune is limited by our tendency to be complacent as long as they're not good. Larry Templeton and Pete Boone basically got to extend their AD careers by a decade because of the tendency of both schools to judge themselves by how the other is doing. Right now, we have a coach who does a lot of good things, but has some serious issues he needs to address. Mullen wouldn't be under near the pressure if Ole Miss wasn't having a good season and judging by how Mullen **** the bed against OkSt., he won't try to address his problems on offense if he doesn't feel the heat.

 

[maroonmania]

I'm not going to lie - I thought after Ole Miss's 4 and 2 win seasons - we had a chance to put some distance between them and us. But Ole Miss fans said it was cyclical.

Now I bet Ole Miss fans think they can put some distance between State and Ole Miss. We are trying to convince them it's cyclical.

Basically, we are having cyclical conversations.

I thought there was only a very slight chance of that. First, OM will NOT sit idly by and let us pass them up in football. Any other sport, yea no big deal, but not football. Now granted I think we are all somewhat surprised Freeze has had this much success in his first 1.5 seasons given the morale of their program when Nutt was sent packing.

Second, Dan and staff are not good enough in recruiting to put much distance between us and ANY SEC team. Add that to our administration's attitude about compliance and this factor becomes even worse. Because of Freeze's recruiting prowess AND the fact that institutionally OM is much more willing to allow their staff and boosters to do whatever it takes to get talented players they have a higher ceiling than we do right now as a program. In the end it mostly comes down to how much football talent you have.

 

[121Josey]

This is the problem

Ole Miss doing well is directly tied to a State fan's college football worth. If we are doing bad, it magnifies it that much more if Ole Miss is doing well. It's the nature of the rivalry. Just like 2-3 years when Ole Miss was doing bad, their worth was that much worse b/c State was doing well.

For each fanbase to deny it is laughable. I know we always say "We should strive to be better than Ole Miss". In theory, I agree. In reality, I honestly don't see us ever getting to the point though that a 10 win season is a disappointment like LSU and Alabama.

A State fan's "championship" is an Egg Bowl championship. Mullen set this standard from day 1. The problem is that Croom could win these "championships". What does TSUN do? They go and create a "championship" with the at the time dominant team in the SEC West. Then they compete yearly with them. What has State done? State has learned to beat OOCs, the permanant SEC opponent, and whoever is at the bottom of the SEC, preferably TSUN, to get abused by an equal or lesser bowl team.

State fans see TSUN playing competitive games with top teams for the past six years minus the Nutt meltdown. Now, State having comparative talent cannot do the same. We might say that it's jealousy. The way TSUN has gotten to this point, plus the NCAA's hatred of State, only adds fuel to the fire.

So, an Egg Bowl win has become the glass of wine that washes down the huge shitburger that State fans have been force-fed the whole season.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

So you are saying that on the heels of us going to 3 straight bowls, Ole Miss is in a better position to put some distance between the programs than they were in 2007 when we were coming off of these win totals for the prior 6 years 3,3,2,3,3,3?

I say MSU does their thing, Ole Miss does their thing. The only real similarity between the two is the way that both fan bases feel when one program is better than the other or appears to "be on the upswing".

 

[ckDOG]

I agree. Reality is there aren't enough resources nearby for the both of us.

To recruiting soils are fertile, per capita, but there is still too little to support 2 historically weak (last 50 years at any rate) SEC programs in the middle of an ultra-competitive conference. One program will gain the upper hand for a short period of time, but the other will find a way to catch up while pulling the better program back a bit. There's enough talent for the both of us to have consistent bowl quality teams, but neither of us will ever have consistent success that the both of us want (consistent 8+ wins seasons with an occasional shot at a division title). There could be that outlier year, like '98, where the stars align and one of us wins the division, but we will never get to the point where that is the expectation.

There are really only two ways that either program could become an SEC power: outstanding nation-wide recruiting or assembling a staff that develops sub-par talent into elite talent like no other. Even in the quaint little town of Oxford, I don't see the first consistently being achievable as there are very few programs that can manage a nation-wide recruiting footprint on a consistent basis. The latter...I'm not sure that is possible in a conference as competitive as the SEC. Chris Petersen did well at this at Boise, but does he survive in the SEC West? Very doubtful.

So, the reality is that both of us will go through periods of trying to recruit well nation-wide or deem themselves masters of the diamonds in the rough. In either case, it's likely going to net us 6-8 win seasons because what's left is a core recruiting base that is too small to support 2 programs.

 

[jacksonreb]

i think this is an interesting thread......
1. agree that the success or failures of "each other" do matter as dawgstudent says. its not complicated.

2. maybe ole miss has taken "the step" as dawgbite says or maybe not but just because we haven't sustained it in 50 yrs does not mean we won't....which brings me to

#3....anybody who says either of us...msu/olemiss...can't compete at the highest levels is wrong. its tricky and harder for us but doable. its about people and leadership. now we can both get to that level and still not win the sec because you can be the 3rd best team in the country and still not get to atlanta, but to compete at the top is doable. the budget/resources problem is big but the solution is to find the 'right' guy and then KEEP HIM. IF and i say IF, freeze is that guy, then we have a chance to keep him. if mullen is the right guy then truthfully you probably can't keep him just like we couldn't keep tuberville and probably not nutt had he actually been worth a damn. maybe hudspeth is your right guy and he very possibly would stay forever. but that's the key. so i think anybody who thinks neither of us can do it is recognizing how hard it is, but it ain't impossible. and finally

#4 i do think as drummerdog says we are mutually exclusive. at least in the short/medium run i do not think we can both be successful at the same time because we both depend on the relatively liimited number of sec caliber players in ms. we can't always split them and both win, IMO. maybe if one of us does reach that upper tier the other can climb up later but as it sits right now i think only one of us can make big progress at a time.

 

[TSUNBearHunter]

Ole Miss doing well is directly tied to a State fan's college football worth. If we are doing bad, it magnifies it that much more if Ole Miss is doing well. It's the nature of the rivalry. Just like 2-3 years when Ole Miss was doing bad, their worth was that much worse b/c State was doing well.

For each fanbase to deny it is laughable. I know we always say "We should strive to be better than Ole Miss". In theory, I agree. In reality, I honestly don't see us ever getting to the point though that a 10 win season is a disappointment like LSU and Alabama.

I don't disagree, DS, but it also has to do with both of our coaching hires. It can happen, but a lot of **** has to line up for it ever to become reality. Recent changes in both of our athletic departments to competent people helps. That wasn't the case in the past, even when we may have hired decent coaches.

In Dan's first few years, you had every reason to think you could seperate from us. You were on the way up after the Croom years and Nutt was starting to **** the bed. Unfortunately for MSU, the upward trajectory kind of leveled off. Had Dan kept the momentum, we were one bad hire from that distance becoming reality. Fortunately for us, we made what appears to be a solid hire and in my opinion Dan didn't capitalize on the success in recruiting.

At this point, some OM fans feel Freeze can put distance between our program and yours. We are trending upward early, just as you guys were. Freeze is recruiting a little better than Dan and that exagerates the expectations/perception. If Freeze continues the momentum and Dan falls off, it may come down to your next hire.

I see Hud as a guy who could level the playing field and stop any distance being created. That's why I'm happy Dan isn't going anywhere for at least another season. As I said before the season, the window for getting Hud may be closing. Should he finish out strong again, he'll be a candidate for some good jobs after this season. I don't see him holding out at ULL for your job much longer.

College football has changed so much recently that its a good idea to move while you are the hot name and keep moving. Coaches just aren't going to make a career at one or two schools anymore in general. I think Tubberville may have figured that out with the Texas Tech to Cincy move. Fans are just so impatient now. Obviously that could hurt us with Freeze by the same token, but its one reason the fans like him so much. For right or wrong, they feel like their is enough of a connection to the school that he may be willing to stay even if he has great offers down the line. I would think that might apply if you were to get Hud also.

 

[dawgstudent]

Ole Miss has played LSU well before there was a trophy. The trophy started in 2008.

 

[esplanade91]

Saban is a once in a lifetime coach. Remove Saban, at least in my lifetime, and Alabama is an above average team... nothing more. For all their glory, LSU is beatable every single year too. So who do you have? A&M? If you also consider Manziel a once in a lifetime guy and want to think about what they'd be doing these past 2 seasons without him they basically take the place of Arkansas from a couple years ago.

The West right now sucks, but when Saban retires in the next couple of years I think the West will resemble the 2007 version. If that is the case I think MSU could be in the hunt every 5 years.

 

[patdog]

Except that Bama has had two "once in a lifetime" coaches now.

 

[121Josey]

Are you denying any correlation?

Ole Miss has played LSU well before there was a trophy. The trophy started in 2008.

November 11, 2000 Oxford LSU 20 Mississippi 9 LSU 49-36-4

October 27, 2001 Baton Rouge Mississippi 35 LSU 24 LSU 49-37-4

November 23, 2002 Baton Rouge #21 LSU 14 Mississippi 13 LSU 50-37-4

November 22, 2003 Oxford #3 LSU 17 #15 Mississippi 14 LSU 51-37-4

November 20, 2004 Baton Rouge #14 LSU 27 Mississippi 24 LSU 52-37-4

November 19, 2005 Oxford #4 LSU 40 Mississippi 7 LSU 53-37-4

November 18, 2006 Baton Rouge #9 LSU 23 Mississippi 20 LSU 54-37-4

November 17, 2007 Oxford #1 LSU 41 Mississippi 24 LSU 55-37-4

November 22, 2008 Baton Rouge Mississippi 31 #18 LSU 13 LSU 55-38-4

November 21, 2009 Oxford Mississippi 25 #10 LSU 23 LSU 55-39-4

November 20, 2010 Baton Rouge #5 LSU 43 Mississippi 36 LSU 56-39-4

November 19, 2011 Oxford #1 LSU 52 Mississippi 3 LSU 57-39-4

November 17, 2012 Baton Rouge #7 LSU 41 Mississippi 35 LSU 58-39-4

October 19, 2013 Oxford Mississippi 27 #6 LSU 24 LSU 58-40-4


 

[paindonthurt_]

Agreed.

I would be extremely happy with any of the following 4 year scenarios (2014 thru 2017). I also think it would be raising the bar slightly and recruiting would continually get better.

Some combination of the following.
2014 - 9 regular season wins
2015 - 5 regular season wins
2016 - 8 regular season wins
2017 - 8 regular season wins

2014 - 9
2015 - 6
2016 - 8
2017 - 7

Average 7.5 wins over the next 4 and we have a pretty good 4 year run. That would put us at 62 regular season wins under Mullen in 9 years (assuming 5 this year). Thats 6.88 per year, but that would be 6 bowl games in 9 years. It would also make us 62 and 46 over a 9 year period. I'd think that would have to be our best 9 year run ever.

 

[HD6]

I see that before the trophy originated they were 16 games behind and now they are 18 games behind. So no, I see no correlation.

 

[Irondawg]

Here's the thing - to really seperate you have to be good while the other is down for at least a 8-10 span and that's just beein impossible for either school. Every time one gets momentum something happens. For Jackie it was one bad recruiting class, the NCAA and his wife's issues. For Nutt and Dan it was a few subpar recruiting classes as well as questionable coaching decisions.

For all we laud Freeze this year, he's about two plays away from 2-5 (granted you could make the argument they could have beat A&M and Auburn as well). The issue is they've been in every game this year except for maybe Bama but even then they showed well. I really think the recruiting is scaring more people but remember Jackie put together some incredible classes as well during his run and the last few which were really highly rated ended up completly bombing.

If they are somehow 2-5 and we had beat Auburn and are 4-2 these conversations aren't even happening.

We're at a point where both teams are both above average and games are coming down to 4th quarters where we have been beyond terrible. We both have enough talent to go bowling every year for the forseeable future so unless Freeze keeps pulling in studs from the midwest and other parts of the country the MS schools historically can't get anyone from I don't see them really having a big gap on us.

Now OM is kinda where we were two years ago - there are going to be whispers about people looking at Freeze and they have the rumors of NCAA. Will it hurt them at all - we'll see over the next two years. Likewise can Dan learn how to not choke up in the 4th quarter and beat a Top 20 team. We'll seel.

 

[boatsandhoes]

It was a good win for them, sort of saved them from the ledge

If they lose that one it is 4 straight, and a heartbreaker with the 24-7 lead into the 4th. would be 5 straight if Texas wasn't a catastrophe this year. LSU deserved it strutting around like all they have to do is show up. Never fails, they play like the denver broncos against us and 2013 USM against Ole Miss. However, that is not Ole Miss' fault. They earned it.

They're always going to convince themselves they are world beaters, talk and act like it. It's part of their charm. They are Kenny Powers.

The crooting item is intangible. yah, I know they will fluff it up. We thought Croom was recruiting turds, turns out it wasn't all that bad a batch of players. Even if they get everything they want recruiting wise, they can't sign them all. then they will muck it up somehow just like we would. Kids leave cause they're not getting to play, under develop talent, grade casualties, a batch of prima donna's that don't actually want to work or expect it to just be given to them, injuries. I thought Quay and Nick James we're going to be monsters and we uh still just don't know do we? Point is they are going to do what they do. We will still get enough talented kids to compete.

As I have said, I am more discouraged in what we are getting out of what we have. That's another thread.

We can get to mid-level of the SEC. When Johnny's gone aTm is back to mediocre, and I hear USC is going to come a calling Sumlin, Auburn looks to be back going up, Arky headed down (Brett B is going to be a **** show before this is over), Bama we'll have to wait till Saban leaves, we're cursed against LSU or Miles (you pick), so that leaves the race for third.

It sort of boils down to T'giving doesn't it? If we can spoil their season, or if they beat us at our place for two straight. You know you can toss everything out for that game. It usually seems the team playing for more loses that game. So I'm not in a state of panic at this point. Need to see it play out for us. Tip my hat to them for giving the corndogs some humble pie.

 

[Strike.sixpack]

Not to be argumentative but Saban can't really be a once in a lifetime coach at Alabama since they already had Bryant. Wouldn't that make him a twice in a lifetime coach?****lol

 

[jacksonreb]

depends on how long you live..................

 

[TSUNBearHunter]

LSU deserved it strutting around like all they have to do is show up. Never fails, they play like the denver broncos against us and 2013 USM against Ole Miss. However, that is not Ole Miss' fault. They earned it.

I've seen lots of post in the past few days about how teams get up for MSU and how some of OM's wins are a result of the opponent being flat.

In the case of LSU, if there is a such thing as being up or flat, wouldn't it be the opposite? In the last 20 against LSU, MSU has 1 win. MSU has only kept it within a TD only once in those 19 losses. In the last 20, OM has won 8 against LSU. In those 12 losses to LSU, OM has been within a TD 6 times. If LSU were going to overlook anyone in this league, certainly it would be MSU. And there is no good reason they'd overlook OM given recent history. Maybe Bama, but not LSU.

I've seen lots of griping from MSU about "the media's love affair with OM" also. Admittedly, we've gotten a lot of good press the last two seasons.

If there has been lots of exposure and a media love affair with OM, why would anyone think teams aren't ready to play us? How could other teams overlook an opponent that has been over hyped by the media?

I don't understand the rationalization in this case.

 

[CoolDawg]

"I do think Mullen has done more in his 5 years than has been accomplished in the previous 25 years combined."

Say what Dawbite?? Are you too young to remember the SEC West Championship in 1998 and the Cotton and Peach Bowls, or has your love for Mullen clouded your memory?

 

[rebflow]

I see that before the trophy originated they were 16 games behind and now they are 18 games behind. So no, I see no correlation.

Actually, we were 18 games behind before and are still 18 games behind. We are 3-3 in magnolia bowls.

 

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

I've seen lots of post in the past few days about how teams get up for MSU and how some of OM's wins are a result of the opponent being flat.

In the case of LSU, if there is a such thing as being up or flat, wouldn't it be the opposite? In the last 20 against LSU, MSU has 1 win. MSU has only kept it within a TD only once in those 19 losses. In the last 20, OM has won 8 against LSU. In those 12 losses to LSU, OM has been within a TD 6 times. If LSU were going to overlook anyone in this league, certainly it would be MSU. And there is no good reason they'd overlook OM given recent history. Maybe Bama, but not LSU.

I've seen lots of griping from MSU about "the media's love affair with OM" also. Admittedly, we've gotten a lot of good press the last two seasons.

If there has been lots of exposure and a media love affair with OM, why would anyone think teams aren't ready to play us? How could other teams overlook an opponent that has been over hyped by the media?

I don't understand the rationalization in this case.

It has less to do with MSU or Ole Miss and more to do with LSU. The Tigers were motivated against us because UGA had just beaten them in a heartbreaker. There was no way they were going to overlook us. Has Les ever lost two in a row there? Now they weren't overlooking Ole Miss, but they had just come off a big victory against Florida. Between the two, I'd much rather play them after a hard fought win than a loss.

Bottom line, if Mettenburger plays like that against MSU, we probably beat them. He didn't and we lost. BIG. If he plays like he did against us when he goes to Oxford, then they probably win big there.

The truth is that no one thinks Ole Miss or MSU is any better than Kentucky or Vandy. That's how we are viewed by the SEC elite.

 

[LandArchDawg]

Gene Stallings wasn't too shabby either.

 

[stinkfoot]

But looking at recruiting under Freeze and Mullen....

The problem is...

Looking at the recruiting now, there's a chance for Ole Miss to really jump ahead. That's the difference.

and assuming our classes stay where they are now, Freeze's average class is 28th while Mullen's average class is 24th (per Scout). Mullen signed two very good classes recently. Freeze won last year and will probably win this year but that doesn't create much separation. I've been looking for this elusive "separation" for a while now. It won't happen. The cycles are here to stay.

 

[LandArchDawg]

A big problem I see is our misfortune hurts us worse than their misfortune hurts them. When they do something remotely successful, they get a lot more mileage out of it than we get, even if we do it doubly better than they do. Hence the reason they can rack up the recruiting classes they get by going to their first bowl after three terrible seasons while we were bowling during those same years.

 

[Dawgbite]

Nope, I was there for all of it

"I do think Mullen has done more in his 5 years than has been accomplished in the previous 25 years combined."

Say what Dawbite?? Are you too young to remember the SEC West Championship in 1998 and the Cotton and Peach Bowls, or has your love for Mullen clouded your memory?

When I said Mullen had done more, I was refering to more than just wins and losses. Did Jackie sell out every game? Did Jackie expand our stadium? Did Jackie move into a 25 million dollar football complex? Did Jackie put asses in the stadium like Mullen has the last 5 years? I'm not saying Mullen is better than Jackie was or that the teams are better but what did Jackie leave us with besides probation. I dont always like the product that Mullen puts on the field but in the 30 plus years I have been a Bulldog fan, I can appreciate the positive he has done for our program. Like I said before, i'm a Bulldog fan now and I will be when Mullen is gone.

 

[AgDawg]

I agree with the 4 year cycles. Should be 3 years of 7-8 wins and 1 year of a losing season or 6 win season. If can keep from stringing several losing seasons together and be consistent then we will be able to move up into the 9 win years. Then 1 year out of 10 we win the west due to scheduling player personnel. To think any SEC team will be bad for extended periods is just thinking poorly. I don't think any SEC school will give a coach a pass on 2 losing seasons in a row at this point. Except maybe Vandy but they are looking pretty descent.

To me its an illusion to think you will get all the top players in Mississippi for 5 years straight. If that happened though then we would be talking national titles but it just won't ever happen.

 

[was21]

Old tried and true adage: Don't be concerned about things over which you have no control. We need to focus on our program because that's our business. What some other people do with their program is their business. I still maintain that we should strive to win every game we play. I also believe that we will never do that and that an average of 7 to 8 wins is always going to be a damn good record considering we are in the toughest division in the toughest league in college football. I don't like 5 win seasons...period. I'm continually bemused when people say that this expectation is settling for mediocrity. I counter by saying that it is not settling for mediocrity, it is facing and accepting reality.

 

[CoolDawg]

Sherrill and Stadium Expansion

When I said Mullen had done more, I was refering to more than just wins and losses. Did Jackie sell out every game? Did Jackie expand our stadium? Did Jackie move into a 25 million dollar football complex? Did Jackie put asses in the stadium like Mullen has the last 5 years? I'm not saying Mullen is better than Jackie was or that the teams are better but what did Jackie leave us with besides probation. I dont always like the product that Mullen puts on the field but in the 30 plus years I have been a Bulldog fan, I can appreciate the positive he has done for our program. Like I said before, i'm a Bulldog fan now and I will be when Mullen is gone.

We had the first stadium expansion when Sherrill was coach and had begun the second one while he was coach. The current expansion has more to do with us trying to play catch-up with the rest of the conference and impress recruits than it does with what Mullen has done. Also, if you look behind the sell outs, you will see that for many of the games, tickets have been sold at deeply discounted prices. While I agree that Mullen has certainly made some good contributions to our program, your statement that he has done more in the past five years, than was done in the previous twenty-five years combined, is absurd.