This should make life much easier (surely we won't lose to MSU again, will we?).
I wouldn't think so.
I loved seeing MSU make a run last year, but I do have my doubts about their long-term ability to sustain that same level of success. In 2007, they literally won every close game they were in and all of their five losses came by twelve points or more. They finished 8-5, but truthfully they were
much closer to 4-9 than they were 9-4.
In 2008, the offense is still going to be bad. They'll get a little on the ground, but they will still have no passing attack whatsoever, and won't score many points. Their defense will remain solid, but the loss of defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson and some star players (like Titus Brown) will hurt and I don't think they will be as productive.
When you put together a bad offense with a pretty good defense, I don't see anything special. They'll win four-to-six games, but I see no more. They'll start out 2-0 with gimme wins, but then they will lose to Auburn, LSU, and probably at Georgia Tech as well. They will beat Vandy, MTSU, and Kentucky, but I imagine they will lose to Alabama, Tennessee, and then lose at least one to Ole Miss and Arkansas, arguably both. Arkansas loses a lot in 2008, but they still easily beat MSU this year, and it will be a tough game next year. Moreover, Ole Miss will improve greatly, and even the 0-8 Ole Miss team completely controlled MSU in Starkville this past year until Orgeron's dumb coaching decisions. Given all of the starters the Rebels return, plus Jevon Snead, I don't see them beating them in Oxford with Nutt.
I think we beat them, and I don't think we see anything better than 6-6 from Croom and his Bulldogs next year.
