The top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide begins a three-game home stand against unranked Mississippi State Saturday at 11 AM.

While the Crimson Tide leads the all-time series, 79-18-3, the Bulldogs have played the role of a pesky opponent over the years.

The Bulldogs played their best game of the season Saturday in a 35-28 victory over No. 4 Texas A&M.

Before settling in to watch the game, check out the three things you need to know about the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

 

Dan Mullen Coaches His 100th Game at Mississippi State

Dan Mullen enters Saturday’s contest in Tuscaloosa as the third winningest coach in Mississippi State with a 59-40 record. Mullen will be coaching in his 100th game as the head coach of the Bulldogs.

In his tenure as Mississippi State’s head coach, Mullen has taken the Bulldogs to six straight bowl games, recorded a 10-win season during the 2014 season for the just the second time since 1940.

The eighth-year head coach won SEC AP Coach of the Year and Maxwell Football National Coach of the Year in 2014 for leading the Bulldogs to 10 wins in the regular season for the first time in program history.

 

Biletnikoff Award Candidate Fred Ross

If you’re searching for a big play receiver that lacks widespread name recognition, look no further than Bulldogs wide receiver Fred Ross.

Ross is a candidate for the Biletnikoff Award which is awarded to college football’s best wide receiver. The senior from Tyler, Texas, leads the SEC with 9 touchdown receptions, is second in the conference in receptions (54) and is third in the league in receiving yards (641).

Ross owns school records for career receptions (181) and career 100-yard receiving games (9) and is 19 yards away from setting the new school mark for career receiving yards.

 

What Might Have Been?

Mississippi State enters Saturday morning’s game with a 4-5 overall record. While the record points to an inconsistent season, the Bulldogs are a handful of plays away from having a 7-2 record.

They lost three of their five games on the final play of the game. Placekicker Westin Graves missed a 26-yard field goal off the left upright against South Alabama, quarterback Nick Fitzgerald threw an incomplete pass in double overtime at BYU and Kentucky placekicker Austin MacGinnis booted a 51-yard field goal at the buzzer.

In addition to the last second losses, Mississippi State nearly came back from a 23-6 deficit in the fourth quarter at LSU but failed to advance the football on their final drive of the game.

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