SEC win projections — Mississippi State: 4.5
Jeff Lebby enters Starkville this year with the blessing of rock-bottom expectations. Not much could be worse than the year that Zach Arnett (bless him) put together in 2023, and Bulldog fans are eager to get back to being a team with an annoying offense that no one likes to play.
Let’s take for granted that they can beat Eastern Kentucky, Toledo, and UMass. If they get those out of the way, that leaves two more wins needed to hit this over. That means two wins out of this group: Florida, at Arizona State, and Arkansas. It’s feasible to go two-for-three there.
Their tougher games are at Texas, hosting the Aggies, traveling to Tennessee, hosting Missouri, and traveling to Oxford for the Egg Bowl. Not likely to get a win out of that group, but it’s possible to pull an upset, especially as I look at that Missouri game—that’s the second half of a back-to-back conference road trip for the Tigers, when the Bulldogs have the week off before.
So, could the Bulldogs get to 5 wins? I think the Lebby offense will raise the floor of this team enough to where they’re able to snag a couple of wins and get to that point. Give me the OVER for Mississippi State this year.