Mississippi State Bulldogs Must Sustain Last Season's Success

The Mississippi State Bulldogs had a magical season in 2014. MSU won its first nine games and reached number one in the national rankings and in the College Football Playoff rankings. Quarterback Dak Prescott appeared to be on his way to the Heisman Trophy and Dan Mullen was headed for Coach of the Year awards.

Then, reality set in. Mississippi State lost three of its last four games to finish at 10-3, providing a disappointing end to what looked to be a championship season.

But the disappointment of what could have been has faded and MSU is embracing last season’s accomplishments. For the first time in school history, the Bulldogs won 10 games in a season. And with Prescott returning, this appears to be a program on the rise in the mighty SEC Western Division.

Now, Mullen and his team must prove that last season was not a fluke. Sustained success can be hard to come by, but that will be the goal for MSU in 2015. The Bulldogs will try once again to compete for the division title, the SEC championship and all of the benefits that would come with that.

Some people don’t think MSU can build on last season. In fact, in the preseason coaches’ poll, the Bulldogs did not make the Top 25, although they did finish 26th. While that would be great and perfectly acceptable in most cases, Mississippi State looks at the poll and sees six of its 2015 opponents ranked above them. That fact means that it will be a challenge for MSU to sustain last year’s success. But that remains the MSU goal for this season.

Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.