Mississippi St. 2011 Season Odds
(The Spread) – The Mississippi State Bulldogs had a breakout year in 2010. Can Dan Mullen lead his team to a championship in 2011?
Mullen coached Mississippi State to an impressive 9-4 record in 2010 with a 4-4 mark in the SEC. The nine wins were the most of any Bulldogs team in the new millennium and just their second winning season in that span.
This season, Mullen returns 17 starters, including nine on offense, which is why the Mississippi State fan base is labeling the Bulldogs as a dark horse in the SEC. Despite the rise in enthusiasm, Mullen is still working against history as Mississippi State hasn’t won the SEC title since 1941, and last won the SEC West in 1998.
According to oddsmakers from Bodog, Mississippi State has 60/1 odds to win the 2012 BCS National Championship and 30/1 odds to win the stacked SEC Conference title. The Bulldogs have also been given 13/2 odds of winning the SEC West in 2011.
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The Bulldogs return most of their skill position players on offense, which is a group that averaged 29 points and 401 yards per game in 2010. Chris Reif saw most of the time at quarterback and he threw for 1,789 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 713 yards and five scores. Running back Vick Ballard found the end zone 19 times last season but totaled just 968 rushing yards.
The Mississippi State defense wasn’t anything special, allowing 19.8 points and 357 yards per game. That may be why oddsmakers have given the Bulldogs an over/under of 7.5 wins in 2011. History doesn’t back the Bulldogs getting eight wins, but the strong returning core has to give you some hope. Most of the schedule is favorable as conference road games are Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, and Arkansas, while the Bulldogs get LSU, Alabama, and South Carolina at home. The non-conference schedule is pretty weak with the season opener at Memphis being the toughest task.
In terms of the spread, Mississippi State was 7-6 against the spread in 2010. It marks the fourth time in five seasons that the Bulldogs have been at least .500 against the spread for the year. In terms of the over/under, the Bulldogs hit the under in 8 of 13 lined games, and went under in four of their five road games in 2010.
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