2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
TaxSlayer Bowl champion
TaxSlayer Bowl, W 31–27 vs. Louisville
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 19
Record	9–4 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Dan Mullen (9th season; regular season); Greg Knox (interim; bowl game);
Co-offensive coordinator	Billy Gonzales (4th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	John Hevesy (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Todd Grantham (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Davis Wade Stadium (Capacity: 61,337)
	Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

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 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern 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
Western 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.^[1] 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

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	17	24	—	—	RV	RV	21	18	17	16	24	24	19
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	19	24	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	18	19	17	24	23	20
CFP	Not released									16	16	16	14	23	23	Not released

Schedule

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.^[2]

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.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	3:00 p.m.	No. 14 (FCS) Charleston Southern*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 49–0	54,215
September 9	6:30 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech*		Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	CBSSN	W 57–21	28,100
September 16	6:00 p.m.	No. 12 LSU		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (rivalry)	ESPN	W 37–7	60,596
September 23	6:00 p.m.	at No. 11 Georgia	No. 17	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	ESPN	L 3–31	92,746
September 30	5:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Auburn	No. 24	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	ESPN	L 10–49	86,901
October 14	11:00 a.m.	BYU*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 35–10	54,866
October 21	3:00 p.m.	Kentucky		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 45–7	58,963
October 28	6:15 p.m.	at Texas A&M		Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPN	W 35–14	96,128
November 4	11:00 a.m.	UMass*	No. 16	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 34–23	57,374
November 11	6:00 p.m.	No. 2 Alabama	No. 16	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (rivalry)	ESPN	L 24–31	61,344
November 18	11:00 a.m.	at Arkansas	No. 16	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	CBS	W 28–21	64,153
November 23	6:30 p.m.	Ole Miss	No. 14	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (Egg Bowl)	ESPN	L 28–31	59,345
December 30	11:00 a.m.	vs. Louisville*	No. 23	EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL (TaxSlayer Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–27	41,310
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 31 released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[3]

Game summaries

Charleston Southern

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

At Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
MSU Bulldogs	16	20	21	0	57
LTU Bulldogs	9	5	0	7	21

LSU

	1	2	3	4	Total
No.12 Tigers	0	7	0	0	7
Bulldogs	0	17	13	7	37

At Georgia

	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

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

BYU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	3	7	0	10
Bulldogs	7	14	7	7	35

Kentucky

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

At Texas A&M

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

UMass

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

Alabama

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

At Arkansas

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

Ole Miss

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

vs Louisville–TaxSlayer Bowl

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

References

^ Bratton, Michael Wayne (November 26, 2017). "Mississippi State announces Dan Mullen has left the program, search for replacement has begun". Saturday Down South. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
^ "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.
^ "2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 18, 2016.

[r569-1] Bratton, Michael Wayne (November 26, 2017). "Mississippi State announces Dan Mullen has left the program, search for replacement has begun". Saturday Down South. Retrieved November 23, 2024.

[MSU17-2] "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.

[3] "2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 18, 2016.

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