During an illustrious coaching career, Darrell Royal claimed three national championships, 11 conference championships and 12 victories at Mississippi State.</p>
His 12-8 record in Starkville pales in comparison to what Royal achieved at Texas, but history shows that was no small accomplishment. Since Royal's departure after the 1955 season, Mississippi State has had eight coaches. Only one - Bob Tyler, who went 39-25-3 from 1973-78 - managed a winning record.</p>
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</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"><font size="1">Dan Mullen has a lot of history to overcome if he is to turn Mississippi State into a winner.</font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> But as we see in this week's mailbag, there are some indications that better fortune may await in the future. <p class="headline">Winner at a loser</p><span class="question">
</span> From Kenneth in Kentucky: Do you think Dan Mullen will bring success to Mississippi State?
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</span>How do you define success? If SEC championships are the definition, I'm not too optimistic. There are too many powerful teams with many more advantages in the SEC to think Mullen - or any coach - can bring a conference championship to Starkville.</p>
But if a consistently bowl-eligible team capable of pulling off big upsets fits the criteria, then it is possible.</p>
Mullen worked with a spectacular offense at Florida, and there is no doubt Mississippi State's offense is in dire need of an infusion of new blood. In each of the past five seasons, the Bulldogs have ranked 96th or worse nationally in scoring offense. Only once in that span did the Bulldogs average more than 20 points per game (21.46 in 2007).</p>
Injuries, especially at quarterback, certainly have been a contributing factor in Mississippi State's recent offensive problems. Maybe Mullen will have better luck.</p>
He's already had better luck in recruiting. Mullen's recruiting class at Mississippi State was ranked 23rd in the nation and included seven four-star rated prospects. None of the previous five recruiting classes at Mississippi State were ranked higher than 33rd.</p>
Of course, that doesn't guarantee anything. But at least it shows a sign of life for a program that has managed just one winning record in the past eight seasons.</p>
His 12-8 record in Starkville pales in comparison to what Royal achieved at Texas, but history shows that was no small accomplishment. Since Royal's departure after the 1955 season, Mississippi State has had eight coaches. Only one - Bob Tyler, who went 39-25-3 from 1973-78 - managed a winning record.</p>
</p> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="258"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="252">
<span class="answer">
But if a consistently bowl-eligible team capable of pulling off big upsets fits the criteria, then it is possible.</p>
Mullen worked with a spectacular offense at Florida, and there is no doubt Mississippi State's offense is in dire need of an infusion of new blood. In each of the past five seasons, the Bulldogs have ranked 96th or worse nationally in scoring offense. Only once in that span did the Bulldogs average more than 20 points per game (21.46 in 2007).</p>
Injuries, especially at quarterback, certainly have been a contributing factor in Mississippi State's recent offensive problems. Maybe Mullen will have better luck.</p>
He's already had better luck in recruiting. Mullen's recruiting class at Mississippi State was ranked 23rd in the nation and included seven four-star rated prospects. None of the previous five recruiting classes at Mississippi State were ranked higher than 33rd.</p>
Of course, that doesn't guarantee anything. But at least it shows a sign of life for a program that has managed just one winning record in the past eight seasons.</p>