2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

The 2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by ninth-year head coach Dan Mullen. They finished the season 9–4, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Western Division. They were invited to the TaxSlayer Bowl where they beat Louisville.

2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
TaxSlayer Bowl champion
TaxSlayer Bowl, W 31–27 vs. Louisville
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 20
APNo. 19
Record9–4 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorBilly Gonzales (4th season)
Co-offensive coordinatorJohn Hevesy (4th season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorTodd Grantham (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumDavis Wade Stadium (Capacity: 61,337)
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 2 Georgia x$^   7 1     13 2  
South Carolina   5 3     9 4  
Kentucky   4 4     7 6  
Missouri   4 4     7 6  
Florida   3 5     4 7  
Vanderbilt   1 7     5 7  
Tennessee   0 8     4 8  
West Division
No. 10 Auburn xy   7 1     10 4  
No. 1 Alabama x#^   7 1     13 1  
No. 18 LSU   6 2     9 4  
No. 19 Mississippi State   4 4     9 4  
Texas A&M   4 4     7 6  
Ole Miss*   3 5     6 6  
Arkansas   1 7     4 8  
Championship: Georgia 28, Auburn 7
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * Ole Miss ineligible for postseason due to NCAA sanctions
Rankings from AP Poll

Head coach Dan Mullen resigned at the end of the regular season to become the head coach at Florida. Running backs coach Greg Knox served as interim head coach for the TaxSlayer Bowl. On November 28, Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead was hired as their new head coach, beginning in the 2018 season.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRVRV1724RVRV21181716242419
CoachesRVRVRV1924RVRVRVRV22181917242320
CFPNot released161616142323Not released

Schedule

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Mississippi State announced its 2017 football schedule on September 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consists of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Bulldogs will host SEC foes Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, and Ole Miss, and will travel to Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, and Texas A&M.[1]

The Bulldogs will host three of the four non-conference opponents, BYU, UMass both are football independent schools and Charleston Southern from the Big South Conference and travel to Louisiana Tech of Conference USA.

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 23:00 p.m.No. 14 (FCS) Charleston Southern*SECNW 49–054,215
September 96:30 p.m.at Louisiana Tech*CBSSNW 57–2128,100
September 166:00 p.m.No. 12 LSU
  • Davis Wade Stadium
  • Starkville, MS (rivalry)
ESPNW 37–760,596
September 236:00 p.m.at No. 11 GeorgiaNo. 17ESPNL 3–3192,746
September 305:00 p.m.at No. 13 AuburnNo. 24ESPNL 10–4986,901
October 1411:00 a.m.BYU*
  • Davis Wade Stadium
  • Starkville, MS
SECNW 35–1054,866
October 213:00 p.m.Kentucky 
  • Davis Wade Stadium
  • Starkville, MS
SECNW 45–758,963
October 286:15 p.m.at Texas A&MESPNW 35–1496,128
November 411:00 a.m.UMass*No. 16
  • Davis Wade Stadium
  • Starkville, MS
SECNW 34–2357,374
November 116:00 p.m.No. 2 AlabamaNo. 16
  • Davis Wade Stadium
  • Starkville, MS (rivalry)
ESPNL 24–3161,344
November 1811:00 a.m.at ArkansasNo. 16CBSW 28–2164,153
November 236:30 p.m.Ole MissNo. 14
  • Davis Wade Stadium
  • Starkville, MS (Egg Bowl)
ESPNL 28–3159,345
December 3011:00 a.m.vs. Louisville*No. 23ESPNW 31–2741,310
Schedule Source:[2]

Game summaries

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Charleston Southern

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 14 (FCS) Buccaneers 0 0 0 0 0
Bulldogs 23 12 7 7 49

At Louisiana Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
MSU Bulldogs 16 20 21 0 57
LTU Bulldogs 9 5 0 7 21
1 2 3 4 Total
No.12 Tigers 0 7 0 0 7
Bulldogs 0 17 13 7 37

At Georgia

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1 2 3 4 Total
No.17 MSU Bulldogs 0 3 0 0 3
No.11 UGA Bulldogs 14 0 17 0 31

At Auburn

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 24 Bulldogs 3 7 0 0 10
No. 13 Tigers 14 7 7 21 49
1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 3 7 0 10
Bulldogs 7 14 7 7 35

Kentucky

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 7 0 0 7
Bulldogs 7 10 7 21 45

At Texas A&M

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 7 14 7 35
Aggies 0 0 7 7 14

UMass

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1 2 3 4 Total
Minutemen 3 17 0 3 23
Bulldogs 10 3 14 7 34

Alabama

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 1 Crimson Tide 7 7 3 14 31
Bulldogs 7 7 7 3 24

At Arkansas

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 0 14 0 14 28
Razorbacks 14 0 7 0 21

Ole Miss

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1 2 3 4 Total
Rebels 7 3 14 7 31
Bulldogs 0 6 0 22 28

vs Louisville–TaxSlayer Bowl

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 7 14 3 3 27
Bulldogs 14 3 0 14 31

References

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  1. ^ "2017 MSU Football Schedule Unveiled, Egg Bowl To Return To Thanksgiving" (Press release). Mississippi State University Department of Athletics. September 13, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  2. ^ "2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 18, 2016.