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| | Monday, September 4 Bulldogs' bark is worse than their bite | |||||
| By Pat Forde Special to ESPN.com Mississippi State Bulldogs 1999 record: 10-2 (6-2) Coach: Jackie Sherrill Returning starters: 9 (6 offense, 3 defense) Outlook The '99 Bulldogs were either the luckiest or grittiest team in America, depending on your point of view. In Starkville, State was lauded for finding ways to win thrillers against Memphis, Auburn, LSU, Kentucky and Mississippi by a total of 10 points. In the rest of the country, State was mocked as one of the worst teams in recent memory to go 8-0, and for not having Tennessee, Florida or Georgia on its schedule. Luck and grit will face substantially larger challenges this year. Start with the schedule: Vanderbilt goes off, Florida comes on. And a Thursday night game at Brigham Young is part of a three-game road swing to start the season. The personnel took a hit as well: Eight starters are gone from one the nation's finest defenses, a unit that surrendered 20 or more points just twice in 12 games. Cornerback Fred Smoot, a loose-lipped All-America candidate, is the star returnee. The defensive losses put added pressure on an offense that was unimaginative and unexplosive, led (if you could call it that) by scattershooting quarterback Wayne Madkin. Thank goodness for place-kicker Scott Westerfield, an all-SEC senior who won the Kentucky and Ole Miss games with field goals in the final seconds. Hugely touted tailback Dontae Walker, who only rushed for 399 yards last year as a freshman, could give the offensive a major boost if he starts living up to the hype. Keep an eye on ... The Porcine Pair of Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack at offensive tackle and Pig Prather at safety. They might not know how to react at Arkansas Nov. 17 when the fans get into their "Whoooo, Pig, Soooie!" routine. It's a good season if ... State wins the Egg Bowl and comes anywhere near last year's success. |
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