Mississippi State Bulldogs

2005 Season Summary

Head coach Sylvester Croom inherited a mess left by shady Jackie Sherrill, whose program reached rock bottom in 2003 with a mark of 2-10 both straight up and against the spread as Sherrill went into retirement with 8 wins in his final three seasons at the helm. To be fair, Sherrill had the Bulldogs in bowl games and as an SEC contender for a number of years prior but the turn of the millennium seemed to have a deeper meaning for Mississippi State as the Sherrill era seemed to be exhausted.

Improvement was gradual but measurable

Croom got off to a slow start, which included a 7-9 home loss to 1-AA Maine in the season's third game of 2004. In the season's seventh game, however, Mississippi State came out of nowhere to blindside Florida in a 38-31 upset win as whopping 24-point dogs, which caused Ron Zook to be fired the next day as head Gator. Improvement was gradual but measurable as the Bulldogs closed 2004 with four straight covers until losing the Egg Bowl to Ole Miss 3-20 as 5.5-point road dogs in the season finale. Another point of hope was that Croom dramatically cut down on MSU's turnover ratio from the year before as he instilled his philosophy of not allowing a team to beat itself with mistakes.

Croom's program

Croom spent the offseason getting tough and cracking down on malcontents that wouldn't buy into his program as a total of 17 players were run off the team entering the 2005 training camp as Mississippi State was being transformed into Croom's program.

Mixed Messages

Mississippi State opened the 2005 season with a 38-6 home win over 1-AA Murray State. This was followed up with the SEC opener at Auburn, who was reeling after an opening game loss at home to Georgia Tech. The Tigers were a 14.5-point chalk and shutout the Bulldogs 28-0.

Mississippi State next played a "road" game against displaced Tulane, who could not play at their normal home at the Louisiana Superdome due to Hurricane Katrina. The Bulldogs was bargain 3-point chalks and took a 21-14 win/cover. This was followed by a home game against powerhouse Georgia, who was a 16-point chalk. MSU got the cash in a 10-23 loss as they were sending mixed messages to gamblers with a mark of 2-2 straight up and 2-1 against the spread.

Blowout loss signaled trouble ahead

Mississippi State next hosted LSU as a 15.5-point dog and was beaten in ugly fashion 7-37. This was MSU's worst performance of the season and the blowout loss signaled trouble ahead. At Florida in a revenge matchup the Bulldogs were a 26-point dog, and managed a push in a 9-35 loss.

Free fall began

Disaster occurred for Croom's team in their next game at home versus Houston of Conference USA. Mississippi State was a 1.5-point chalk due to SEC home pedigree but was upset 16-28 as their free fall began.

Things got worse they next week as the Bulldogs traveled to hapless Kentucky, who was working on being the worst team in the SEC. MSU was a 1-point chalk, which should illustrate how little Kentucky was thought of, and yet the Wildcats prevailed 13-7.

Rock bottom

The school that rejected Croom as a head coach, Alabama, where Croom served under legendary Bear Bryant, was next on the schedule. The Bulldogs were 16-point dogs against the undefeated Crimson Tide, who took a 17-0 decision. This was followed up with the road finale at Arkansas as Mississippi State lost 10-44 as 14-point dogs for their fourth consecutive loss against the spread during a 0-5-1 ATS string.

Value was restored

With that terrible losing streak against the points, the Bulldogs' value was restored as they were a 1.5-point home dog in the "Egg Bowl" against archrival Ole Miss. Mississippi State prevailed 35-14 to close 2005 on a winning note.