Trending down: Mississippi State
Maybe it's punching down to take what is possibly the worst program in the conference right now and say they're trending down, but Jeff Lebby's Bulldogs don't really feel like they're in a great spot right now. The Mississippi Maroon and White lost nearly all of their top contributors from last season and were not really able to effectively replace them.
I'm intrigued by their addition of a guy like Brenen Thompson, given his straight-line speed and the offense's reliance on that trait, but there's not much to move me otherwise. Anthony Evans was another good add out of Georgia, as well.
The situation at QB is an issue, though. I thought Michael Van Buren was a better quarterback than Blake Shapen last year, but he's made tracks down south to LSU, leaving the Bulldogs with only the Baylor transfer as well as some inexperienced signal callers.
Former Texas A&M football DE Malick Sylla could be the most talented player on that defense, and he may have a breakout year in Starkville, but that doesn't exactly speak highly of what the rest of that unit will have. What they do have, though, is a linebacker named Fatt Forrest, which is not something I knew when beginning this column. I want him to play every snap this year.