The consensus on sports talk radio is that Mullen has hit the ceiling at State.

[FormerlyHighLifeRebel]

I do.

only game that was close was troy, the trap game. but yes i agree it would have been easier for us to end up 7-5 than 9-3. **** that **** about auburn and arkansas, we kicked their *** i don't care how good they were. terrible line of thinking, coming from either of the MS schools, pal. they sure don't afford us that luxury when they are 8-4.

i'm guessing you don't really think ole miss was 'truly' a 4-8 team who just got lucky huh

There was no greater dumpster fire than our program last year. Considering what we had coming back, I would have been satisfied with putting a competent team on the field. If Auburn and Arkansas were as advertised, then I think we would have had a 4-5 win season this year with several close losses and a team that could compete and was clearly on the rise. I am more than t grilled with our season.

That being said, is it possible for any state fan to stay on argument these days? We were talking about the statement that MSU could have "easily" won nine games. According to the actual scores, OM was closer to a nine win season than MSU.

 

[Palos verdes]

Our ceiling is probably about 10 wins, maybe 11 through divine intervention. I'm not sure that could happen under Mullen's watch, but I think it could under-that of some of the other coaches in the land. Hypothetically speaking, Petrino comes to mind. For example, if he had been our coach during the same time period as his tenure at Arkansas, then I think we could have played in the Sugar Bowl. The type of recruits he got at Arky could have been had in Starkville, but we might have been slightly better defensively. Petrino had that unrelenting fire about him, and also had a better, more effective system of utilizing his talent. Mostly 3 star talent.

The talking heads of the sports media would like to tell you that Mullen's wins represent the maximum ceiling at State. Well, that's ********, and I know some of us realize that. You have to look beyond the forefront to see the media's agenda here. They expect us to lose! They want us to lose! In their minds, we are not supposed to be a successful football program. We aren't even allowed to have a competent coach. If the media dolts didn't have us to pick on, they'd just assume we disappear.

 

[LandArchDawg]

Disagree, given that Mullen is building depth...

like no other coach at MSU has done before, I think there is a lot of potential. Look at how many guys from his recruiting classes he has redshirted, including from last year's top-20 class. Keep in mind too we are likely about to sign the best class ranking-wise since the Sherrill days, and almost all of the HS signees will probably be redshirted also.

What we saw this year was scheming and team coaching chemistry issues. For some reason, Mullen has reverted to the Croomesque tactic of shoving a square peg in a round hole. But we knew there would be some on the job learning when we hired him. Hopefully he learns, makes the necessary changes, and avoids the stubbornness of Croom. Likewise, this is the first year that Mullen didn't control team emotions well, which is what sucked about the Sherrill years. Up to the Alabama game, Mullen had been able to manage the ups and downs and kept beating the teams we were supposed to beat. Mississippi this year was the first inferior opponent to beat Dan Mullen since he has been here. Again, hopefully he learns from that.

 

[patdog]

Completely agree. I've been saying for close to 2 years that 2013 is when we're going to start really seeing the benefit from Mullen's massive redshirting program. That's when his 1st recruiting class will be 5th year seniors. He's laid a very solid foundation for us to build on. Croom talked about not taking shortcuts and building for the long term and didn't do much. Mullen has done exactly what Coom said he was going to do.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

Good post. I wish you'd post the same things about Cohen. Especially after some of the questionable decisions Mullen made this year.

 

[patdog]

Redshirting is terrible for a baseball program. You only have 11 scholarships and you can't afford to spend any on non-productive players. Cohen did a hell of a job for us this past year and I've said that many times. Even though we had a disappointing regional, it was a better season that the super regional year the year before. All coaches make questionable decisions. They're not perfect. There are definitely some things Mullen is going to have to change if he wants to keep our program moving in the right direction.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

no, dude. the overall state of the program once solid depth and talent is brought in. and, the coach's hand picked players. you give mullen the benefit of the doubt but constantly criticize cohen.

red-shirting is more of an option for mullen because cohen is bringing in elite players who get drafted early. principle is the same. i believe you clued in on the specific redshirting part as the only thing you could dispute because you realize now that you unfairly and basically wrongly judged cohen.

 

[engie]

no, dude. the overall state of the program once solid depth and talent is brought in. and, the coach's hand picked players. you give mullen the benefit of the doubt but constantly criticize cohen.

"Constantly" is bad wording. "Previously" may be applicable. I have not seen him criticize much of anything about Cohen since Hoover. Pretty obvious that run finally made him a believer. Time to let that grudge go until something new happens to bring it back...

 

[Railin Jemmye]

doesn't matter. it does point to patdog's credibility in accurately judging a coach's methods. if you want to fight patdog's battles, best choose another one. pretty good poster in areas outside baseball.

and i highly doubt that patdog's beef with cohen is over. cohen won't do everything perfect this season, and pat will let us know.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

can't really say it any better than this here.....

 

[121Josey]

Thoughts?

Question is if Mullen can consistently get 8+ Wins.

4 OOC wins (OK State is no free-be)
Where does the other 4 wins come from?
Kentucky
TSUN?
Auburn?
Arkansas?

Three things Mullen must do: 1. Improve defensive scheme 2. Improve offensive line stability 3. Beat a better team on a yearly basis.
#3 will result from the first two corrections. Better recruiting is a factor but not essential.