2024 Mississippi State Football Predictions

Intro the Zack arnet experiment didn't work out in Starkville and now Jeff leby gets to be the head man with this program he'll act as the team's offensive coordinator as well to my knowledge but Jeff leby a longtime offensive coordinator is now making a journey as a head coach in one of the toughest if not the toughest conference in football Mississippi state has seen some disappointing results in years prior but can Jeff lebby Elevate this program and have Mississippi State be a surprise in the SEC in 2024 you're about to find out what I think here in this video what's up Tailgators you're in the booth with tailgate Nate today I want to welcome you to my channel and welcome you to prediction season we've done over 60 of these because I'm predicting all 134 FBS level college football teams that means I'm doing your favorite team and it means you got to hit the Subscribe button and ring the bell especially if I haven't done your favorite team or hey if you're just as big of a college 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right over here are going to be the stats the team put up either offensively or defensively last season and of course for your viewing pleasure right below the team's logo I have put the team's coaching staff now I'll get something right out of the way before we really dive on in to this offense I didn't love the Jeff leby higher and I think it's goingon to look Jeff lebby I think is a very good offensive mind and this should be an offensive unit that look we'll dive on into the talent here in a little bit it should see some pretty solid success in in 2024 but the Jeff lebby H didn't really speak to me I'm not a big fan of it hopefully he can prove me wrong in 2024 but let's talk about the talent here that is with this team in order to do that we have to talk about the talent that left the team and you lost a really good quarterback in Will Rogers he's had a 4700 yard season he did that in 2021 2022 he had almost 4,000 yards again last year though a disappointment by his standards only 1626 yards with 12 touchdowns four interceptions on just under 60% completion percentage he's found a new home with Jed fish in the Washington huskys and Mike Wright a former Vanderbilt transfer is off to the Northwestern Wildcats so you get Chris Parson back in this room he threw 26 passes last year but only completed 11 of them for 103 yards no touchdowns and three picks for him last season so you get a guy from the transfer portal he's coming over from Baylor and that is someone by the name of Blake shapen and he's shown some really good things during his time at Baylor had a 2700 yard season nearly 2800 yards back in 2022 in 2023 2,188 yards 13 touchdowns three picks on a just shy of 62% completion percentage uh if you go back to 2022 where his numbers were a little bit better that season he definitely kind of took a dip last year but again if he can get back to that 2022 form I really see no reason as to why Blake shapen can't at least be in contention to get 3,000 yards this year do I think it'll happen well the again it depends on how everything in this wide receiver meshes but Blake shapen has shown some really good things during his time in Waco that I think will transition well to Jeff lebby's offensive system here in Starkville in 2024 but this is the skill position room that loses a lot of talent and you have to start out with the running back room with or Joe quavius marks has entered the transfer portal is and he has found himself a new home with uh my apologies some C my Thro he has found a new home with Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans now entering the the Big 10 conference he led the team in rushing last year with 573 yards and four touchdowns on 121 carries you do lose Simeon price as well who was a death piece in this room but it is a loss nonetheless he could have provided solid minutes in 2024 so you get Seth Davis and Jeffrey Pitman back both them right around the same carries last year Davis was second on the team Pitman was fourth on the team in rushing last season sandwich in between them was uh the quarterback Mike Wright that is gone uh but you do get two pretty solid running backs back right there and Kon Lee will provide some death depth my apologies and David Booth who's a transfer from Utah state will provide some depth in there as well the wide receiver room though look you lost your top five pass catching targets from last season fourth on that list was Joe qu marks but then you lose two guys to the NFL in LR Griffin and Freddy Robinson Griffin last year led the team in pretty much every major statistical category 50 catches 658 yards and four touchdowns for him Freddy Roberson I believe I said Robinson I I apologize there's a Robinson coming up later but Freddy Roberson had 11 catches for 149 yards and one touchdown last season so he is going to be gone you will see both of those guys playing on Sundays and these two guys have found new home through the transfer zavon Thomas had 503 yards last year and Justin Robinson 257 yards last season again both of them are off to the transfer portal so while you do lose some guys in the portal including a tight end there and Ryland go and hopefully I'm saying that last name right you do get a lot of returning pieces to this wide receiver room that could see some big playing time minutes here in 2024 J Mo Jordan Mosley and Jaden Wally are among those two guys that are probably going to get first team rep minutes in 2024 and onio Harman and CED whittimore also come back to provide some depth but you get a lot of guys coming over through the portal Kevin Coleman and Trent Hudson come in from Louisville and New Mexico State respectively but the guy that stands out in the wide receiver transfer portal is Kelly aari he is coming over from UTP I don't know why it changed slides on me I apologize for that he's coming over from UTP where he was a thousand yard receiver that's really big minutes and he could be the top Target for Blake shapen in 2024 and well this tight end room doesn't really return a a whole lot you do get Cameron ball and Justin ball so a uh Justin Ball's coming over from Vanderbilt and Cameron ball is coming over from Buffalo those are the two guys that are projected to play the most minutes in this tight end room um and again Antonio Harmon was listed as a tight end on ESPN has kind of transitioned over to that wide receiver rle so not technically a loss there in any sort of f offensive line you lose a lot of offensive linemen from last season Percy Lewis and Steven Lya are both gone through the transfer portal I believe both of them were starters last year Cole Smith Nick Jones quat travius Johnson and Cameron Jones are all gone through graduation they have ran outs of college eligibility they will not be playing college ball anywhere else so your offensive line you get Leon Bell Albert ree IV and Canon Boon coming back to this offensive line unit they may see starting time in 2024 but you get a lot of guys coming over from the portal some of them have been starters in a lot of other programs such as Micha and Pounders he was a starter at Memphis now comes over to Mississippi State should be a starter here but other guys like Ethan Miner jacobe Jackson Marlon Martinez and carsten Upchurch will compete for starting roles in 2024 as well again when you take a look at this offense it'll be led by Blake shapen and what is he going to give you from the quarterback position I think that's an extremely important question to answer if you get the 2022 version of Blake shapen I think this offense going to be sitting really pretty but no matter even if you get the 2023 version of Blake shapen to where yes it was a step back from his 2022 form he's got some good talents here aari is going to be very good wide receiver for him we'll see how guys Step Up in place of what he marks and Jeff Levy very very talented offensive mind so this should be an offense that sees its success in 2024 but the defensive side of the ball for Mississippi State while it was a great great success for them last season you Defense lose a ton of talent to where you're going to have to fill some holes on this defense for 2024 we'll start out with the defensive line you lose two guys that are now going to be playing on Sundays jayen crummy and Nathan Pickering are both gone off of this defense Pickering at 44 tackles and two sacks last year crummy 35 tackles two and a half sacks last season so those were two big losses on the defensive line they were two of your more impactful defensive linemen from last season however you do get Damonte Russell coming back Deontay Anderson as an edge rusher is going to be coming back to this team as well Eric Taylor will also be returning to this team but you get a lot of guys coming over from the transfer portal Kedrick Bingley Jones sulman co uh kapaka and hopefully I I probably butchered that name but hopefully I said it correctly and Ashen Shepard are all coming over from respective programs around the country to help give this defensive line room some boost uh Paca is coming over from Purdue you get Bingley Jones coming over from North Carolina uh and then shephard I believe is a Joo SL Community College transfer in there as well linebacker room I mean look flat out you just lose two extremely talented linebackers from last season so talented enough that they were actually your top two tacklers from last season that was Nathaniel Watson who I believe was SEC Defensive Player of the Year last season and you also do lose jet Johnson there as well some stat lines for them from last season Watson with 137 tackles led the team with 10 sacks two pass defended one interception and Jet Johnson he also broke 130 tackles was even with that30 six sacks was second on the team three interceptions was tied for the team lead last season this is a team that set had 27 sacks last year you lose 16 of them along with your top two tacklers that broke triple digits last season so that is just exceptional talent in that linebacker room that's going to be really hard to fill in exactly what they did last year however with that being said still some solid pieces in this linebacker room JP pervis John Lewis Ty Cooper and dant Terry Russell all come back while Stone Blandon Brandon Jennings and Marcus Ross come in through the portal that is your whole linebacker two deep uh and even three deep there uh with those uh transfers at least according to 247 sports.com you want to go ahead and take a look at your defensive back room sure let's do it NFL CER players were littered throughout this defensive back La uh this defensive back room last season the cam the caman Richardson and Marcus Banks are two corners that are going to be leading Richardson was the team's leader and passive defended and the team's third leading tackler 79 tackles and seven pass defended Marcus Banks a very talented uh safety SL corner he they drafted him as a corner but could play safety as well 51 tackles three pass defended last season D Carlos Nicholson is a guy that entered the transfer portal he was a top 10 tackler for the team last year and Shawn Preston you'll see him playing on Sundays as well top five tackler who was with jet Johnson tied for that team lead in picks from last season wow that's a lot of good talent leaving this defensive back room it left your cornerback room a little bit thin Bryce poock is coming back but you had to dive on into the portal dieago Brumfield is coming over from Memphis and bran laner is coming into this program as well and in the safety room Cory Ellington is back he's your leading returning tackler from last season 66 tack Les two sacks and two pass defended for him last year Chris Keys Hunter Washington and Isaac Smith all come back while Tyler Woodard is the guy they get from the transfer portal and speaking of portal kickers are people too let's show them some love one punter leads through the portal and Ken crims so you have to bring another one in and Zachary hes while Kyler not Kyler my apologies while Kyle Ferry comes back to be the primary Place kicker for the Bulldogs in 2024 okay so overall when you talk about this defense and by the way there are a lot of freshman both offensively and defensively that I did not mention here but Mississippi State I believe is bringing in a couple of four stars that could see uh their solid playing time in 2024 that's both offensively and defensively but overall on this defense there's a lot of good talent here there's a lot of good talent that that leaves yes there's some good talent here but overall I do expect the defense to take a step back in 2024 Zack gett was a former defensive coordinator so you exchange a defensive mind for an offensive mine your only hope being that the defensive philosophies that Zack Garnett instilled with a lot of the pizza that are still here can continue in 2024 but again overall I see this defense taking a step back from where it was last year I think you just lost way too much talent you lost most of your top 10 tacklers from last season and while I think a lot of these transfers are going to fit in nicely uh it's definitely going to be interesting to see how this Mississippi State Defense fits together this Schedule upcoming season when you take a look at at this schedule in some ways it's manageable in other ways not so much but every game at home home will be underlined while any game on the road is in italics or that slant to Tex any game in green like the one against Eastern Kentucky to open up the season which they have should they should have no trouble with uh that is going to be an easy uh win a game that Mississippi State should be able to walk away from and get the victory a uh close win it's going to be anything highlighted in yellow basically any game that I'm looking at thinking oh you might want to watch out for that one but a game that I still have the Bulldogs winning and any game in red is a loss and unfortunately I do have Arizona State beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs again the Jeff leby hire just did not impress me while I like a lot of the talent here that's on this team I like a lot of the talent that's on the Arizona State sundevils as well and while they probably won't have the best record at the end of the season they I think will be a lot more competitive than they were in a lot of games last season I think Kyle Dillingham was the right guy for that job I probably even messed up that first name I think my brain is jumbling around here Kenny Kenny Dillingham there we go I knew I had something wrong Dillingham I think is the right man for the job and Arizona State's bringing in some good recruits so I think in a couple years he'll get that program moving Arizona state will see their improvements here and I think one of them is going to be a win against this Mississippi State Bulldog team I think it's going to see their fair share of struggles here in 2024 Toledo is going to be a win for this team but you have to watch out for the Rockets I know Penny Boon is gone he was a 1400 yard rusher last season dcoin Finn is also gone they were your best two offensive players last season season the quarterback and running back respectively from last year you to lose some good defensive pieces as well including that corner whose name is escaping my mind he very well might have or I guess to a lot of people was the best corner going into the NFL draft the last April but Toledo still got a lot of good pieces they'll be a solid team out of the Mid-American Conference Mississippi State though does have more Talent with this game at home again I'd watch out for it but I do think the Bulldogs will be able to come away with that win I also think they're going to be able to come away with a win against the Florida Gators now I like a lot of Florida the talent that is on this Florida team but the Gators lose so many pieces through the transfer portal yet they were able to supplement through the portal pretty well the themselves Graham Merz is coming back if he can continue to play at the level that he played at last season this is a Florida team that I know they have a tough schedule there's a lot of Talent on this group but we know the fans in Starkville they like to get loud they like to get proud and I think they're going to be able to take a win against the Florida ERS here in 2024 early in the season but I think all that momentum that they've started to build is going to die really quickly because you have to go up against two of the best teams in the country in Texas and Georgia I know there's a byee in between there but you have both of these games on the road and I don't see you winning either one of them Quinn yers Georgia has a loaded offensive group and that Texas especially and that Texas defense especially if they can fill all the holes on the defensive line is going to be one of the country's better unit in 2024 I really like the Longhorns this season they will fit really well into the SEC this year and the Georgia Bulldogs are arguably the best team in college football in 2024 Carson Beck didn't get talked about enough last year he'll be talked about a ton this upcoming season he's might be the best quarterback in the country he's got a ton of the just great players in that skill position room running back wide receiver tight end even though Brock Bowers is gone offensive line is good the defense is going to be Stellar for Georgia as it usually is and that's going to be two straight losses for the Bulldogs to get them back down to 500 and I think this losing streak continues because even though this game is at home and you definitely feel like it's a winnable one for the Mississippi State Bulldogs I really like Texas ANM and I really like Mike Elco this season especially if Connor Wegman can take that next step and Elevate his play he's going to be a really good quarterback for this Texas Ann team and I think Mike Elco while again I think you could could Arkansas have made a little bit of a bigger splash I that's nothing against Mike Elco I I love him I love what he's going to do with this program they bring in some solid transfers and I think A&M is going to be ready to go in 2024 they'll have a better season than what they've had as of late under Jimbo fiser and they will beat Mississippi State in Starkville and I just have a little bit of an upset here I just think that this bad momentum is going to continue for the Mississippi State maybe Blake shapen isn't playing well maybe the wide receiver room is just not meshing as it should maybe some of the defensive pieces just aren't able to live up to what the defensive pieces from last year were able to do here W with this team maybe some of those philosophies that Zack Arnett put in kind of go by the wayside a little bit with an offensive mind coming in at head coach there are a lot of things that could happen and I know Arkansas is not a team that you look at this year and you get really impressed by KJ Jefferson has gone rocket Sanders is gone some really good pieces defensively are gone but Arkansas is still going to hang around they're going to fight a lot of games this year and this is just one of those games where I see Arkansas being able to go on the road and pick up a win here and I actually like the matchup for Arkansas against Mississippi State I think they have a lot of pieces to exploit some of the factors and holes that Mississippi state has this season uh and I think that is a loss for the Bulldogs I do think they get though their fourth win of the Season against the UMass Min and Men that'll be a pretty easy one I don't have to explain away why I made that decision uh UMass has been one of the bottom teams in the country for Missouri pretty much ever since they got into the the FBS ranks and while that's a team trending in the right direction Bulldog should be able to win that one fairly easily and it's going to be tough to make a bowl game because guys your last three games I just don't think you're going to win Nico IAM alava is going to be a great quarterback for Tennessee this year squirrel Wright and uh Brew McCoy uh come back there to that Tennessee wide receiver room the defense is led by James Pierce a really talented defensive player and you have to go on the road to nean Stadium that's a loss Missouri's got Brady cook and Luther Burton coming back they you could make an argument on why they have the best running back room in the SEC if not one of the better ones in the entire country with Marcus Carroll and Nate noell coming in to replace Cody Shader so now you have a 1 a1b I know Blake Baker is gone but that defense and while it loses a lot of pieces and might take a downfall from where it was last season will still be pretty solid but again that cook to bur to burden connection is going to be crazy and I'm really high on Lane kein group and the Old Miss rebels in 2024 Jackson Dart is back they get a lot of talented transfers coming in offensively defensively the defense will take a step in the right direction and I Outro think ol Miss wins the egg bow on the final week uh for the final game of the season and I got Mississippi State going for and eight now I know it's not what the fans in Starkville are going to want to hear but there are some winnable games on the schedule that I just predicted this losses Arizona State techm Arkansas those are all winnable games for this program and look again I just don't like the Jeff lebby H that's just my personal opinion I don't think the rebuild is going to go too well for him and I got Mississippi State maybe falling below expectation in 2024 I want to know what you guys think though leave it in the comments section below remember to play hard tailgate harder and we're on the James Madison up next goodbye