2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Conference Southeastern Conference Western Division
2008 record 4–8 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach Sylvester Croom
Offensive coordinator Woody McCorvey
Offensive scheme West Coast
Defensive coordinator Charlie Harbison
Base defense 4-3/Multiple Front
Home stadium Davis Wade Stadium (55,082)
2008 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Eastern Division
#1 Florida x†#   7 – 1         13 – 1  
#13 Georgia   6 – 2         10 – 3  
Vanderbilt   4 – 4         7 – 6  
South Carolina   4 – 4         7 – 6  
Tennessee   3 – 5         5 – 7  
Kentucky   2 – 6         7 – 6  
Western Division
#6 Alabama x‡   8 – 0         12 – 2  
#14 Ole Miss   5 – 3         9 – 4  
LSU   3 – 5         8 – 5  
Arkansas   2 – 6         5 – 7  
Auburn   2 – 6         5 – 7  
Mississippi State   2 – 6         4 – 8  
Championship: Florida 31, Alabama 20
# – BCS National Champion
† – BCS representative as conference champion
‡ – BCS at-large representative
x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 2008 college football season. The team's head coach was Sylvester Croom. The Bulldogs played their six home games in 2008 at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi. Despite going 4–8 and having two home losses, both home losses were by a single point.

Croom resigned at the end of the season. On December 10, Mississippi State hired Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen.[1]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
August 30 5:45 p.m. at Louisiana Tech* Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN2 L 14–22   25,224
September 6 6:00 p.m. SE Louisiana* Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS W 34–10   41,938
September 13 6:00 p.m. #9 Auburn Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS ESPN2 L 2–3   55,082
September 20 12:00 p.m. at Georgia Tech* Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA Raycom L 7–38   48,402
September 27 6:30 p.m. at #5 LSU Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA (Rivalry) ESPN2 L 24–34   92,710
October 11 1:30 p.m. #13 Vanderbilt Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS PPV W 17–14   43,619
October 18 6:00 p.m. at Tennessee Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN PPV L 3–34   98,239
October 25 6:00 p.m. Middle Tennessee*dagger Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS ESPNU W 31–22   40,024
November 1 1:30 p.m. Kentucky Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Rivalry) PPV L 13–14   40,168
November 15 6:45 p.m. at #1 Alabama Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL (Rivalry) ESPN L 7–32   92,138
November 22 1:30 p.m. Arkansas Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS W 31–28   42,056
November 28 11:30 a.m. at #25 Ole Miss Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS (Egg Bowl) Raycom L 0–45   55,231
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. All times are in Central Time.

Game notes

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

1 234Total
MSU Bulldogs 7 700 14
• LT Bulldogs 3 6103 22

Last Meeting: September 21, 1996, L 23–38
Series Record: MSU leads 7–2


Southeastern Louisiana University Lions

1 234Total
Lions 3 007 10
• Bulldogs 7 13140 34

Last Meeting: Never Met
Series Record: Never Met


Auburn Tigers

1 234Total
• Tigers 0 300 3
Bulldogs 0 002 2

Last Meeting: September 15, 2007, W 19–14
Series Record: MSU trails 23–56–2


Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

1 234Total
Bulldogs 0 007 7
• Yellow Jackets 14 7107 38

Last Meeting: October 5, 1929, L 13–27
Series Record: MSU trails 0–2


Louisiana State University Tigers

1 234Total
Bulldogs 3 0147 24
• Tigers 10 7710 34

Last Meeting: August 30, 2007, L 0–45
Series Record: MSU trails 33–65–3


Vanderbilt Commodores

1 234Total
Commodores 0 707 14
• Bulldogs 3 077 17

Last Meeting: October 2, 2004, L 13–31
Series Record: MSU leads 10–7–2


University of Tennessee Volunteers

1 234Total
Bulldogs 0 300 3
• Volunteers 0 6721 34

Last Meeting: October 13, 2007, L 21–33
Series Record: MSU trails 15–27–1


Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders

1 234Total
Blue Raiders 3 1036 22
• Bulldogs 14 0107 31

Last Meeting:October 28, 2000,W 61–35
Series Record: MSU leads 2–0


Kentucky Wildcats

1 234Total
• Wildcats 0 0140 14
Bulldogs 7 006 13

Last Meeting: October 27, 2007, W 31–14
Series Record: MSU trails 15–20


Alabama Crimson Tide

1 234Total
Bulldogs 0 700 7
• Crimson Tide 5 71010 32

Last Meeting: November 10, 2007, W 17–12
Series Record: MSU trails 18–71–3


See also: 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team and Alabama–Mississippi State rivalry

Arkansas Razorbacks

1 234Total
Razorbacks 14 077 28
• Bulldogs 7 1077 31

Last Meeting: November 17, 2007, L 31–45
Series Record: MSU trails 5–12–1


Mississippi Rebels (Egg Bowl)

Egg Bowl
1 234Total
Bulldogs 0 000 0
• Rebels 24 777 45

Last Meeting: November 23, 2007, W 17–14
Series Record: MSU trails 39–59–6



Statistics

Mississippi State Overall Team Statistics (as of Oct 11, 2008)

Team

Statistics[3] Mississippi State Opponents
Scoring 183 296
Points per game 15.2 24.7
First downs 187 200
Rushing 69 95
Passing 108 89
Penalties 10 16
Total offensive yards 3,312 3,990
Avg per Game 276.0 327.5
Rushing 1,220 1,811
Passing 2,092 2,119
Fumbles–Lost 19-8 20-8
Penalties–Yards 68-544 76-643
Average per game 45.3 53.6
Statistics Mississippi State Opponents
Punts–Yards 82-3,099 66-2,671
Average per punt 37.8 40.5
Average ToP/game 30:15 29:45
3rd down conversions 58-178 59-168
3rd down percentage 33 35
4th down conversions 8-18 10-11
4th down percentage 44 91
Touchdowns scored 23 35
Field goals–Att–Long 7–13–42 17-25–20
PAT–Att 22–23 33-34
Attendance 260,716 411,944
Average 43,453 68,657

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total
Mississippi State 48 47 38 50 183
Opponents 76 60 78 82 296

Offense

Rushing

Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
Anthony Dixon 12-12 197 930 61 869 4.4 7 71 72.4
Christian Ducre 12-1 56 234 12 222 4.0 2 20 18.5
Robert Elliott 4-0 18 65 4 61 3.4 1 15 15.2
Tyson Lee 11-8 62 228 191 37 0.6 1 18 3.4
Wesley Carroll 7-4 18 54 72 -18 -1.0 0 20 -2.6
Jamayel Smith 12-4 2 13 10 3 1.5 0 9 0.2
Wade Bonner 12-0 7 11 1 10 1.4 0 3 0.8
Brandon Hart 12-2 4 9 0 9 2.2 1 4 0.8
Chris Relf 2-0 7 20 33 -13 -1.9 0 10 -6.5
Eric Hoskins 11-4 1 3 0 3 3.0 0 3 0.3
Brandon McRae 12-10 1 0 1 -1 -1.0 0 0 -0.1
Marcus Green 2-1 1 0 3 -3 -3.0 0 0 -1.5
TEAM 8-0 8 0 30 -30 -3.8 0 0 -3.8
Total 12 397 1645 425 1220 3.1 13 71 101.7
Opponents 12 443 2055 244 1811 4.1 19 88 150.9

Passing

Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G
Tyson Lee 11-8 112.96 153-260-5 58.8 1519 7 41 138.1
Wesley Carroll 7-4 85.17 55-115-7 47.8 560 3 50 80.0
Chris Relf 2-0 34.36 2-9-0 22.2 13 0 12 6.5
TEAM 8-0 0.00 0-1-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0
Total 12 102.53 210-385-12 54.5 2,092 10 50 174.3
Opponents 12 115.40 169-324-8 52.2 2119 13 87 176.6

Receiving

Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Brandon McRae 6-4 33 302 9.2 2 24 50.3
Aubrey Bell 6-5 19 171 9.0 0 22 28.5
Christian Ducre 6-1 11 91 8.3 1 24 15.2
Jamayel Smith 6-2 8 120 15.0 0 41 20.0
Co-Eric Riley 6-1 8 75 9.4 0 26 12.5
Delmon Robinson 4-0 7 84 12.0 0 25 21.0
Eric Hoskins 5-1 5 36 7.2 0 14 7.2
Anthony Dixon 6-6 5 22 4.4 0 12 3.7
Robert Elliott 4-0 4 53 13.2 0 19 13.2
Arnil Stallworth 6-0 4 45 11.2 0 29 7.5
Brandon Henderson 6-0 2 11 5.5 1 7 1.8
Marcus Green 2-1 1 50 50.0 0 50 25.0
Brandon Hart 6-2 1 8 8.0 0 8 1.3
Wade Bonner 5-0 1 6 6.0 0 6 1.2
Austin Wilbanks 4-2 1 1 1.0 1 1 0.2
Total 6 110 1,075 9.8 5 50 179.2
Opponents 6 65 829 12.8 4 70 138.2

Defense

Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkd
Kick
Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF
Total

Special teams

Name Punting Kickoffs
No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB
Blake McAdams 35 1,261 36.0 53 0 12 8 0
Adam Carlson 2 50 25.0 28 0 0 1 0 18 1,016 56.4 0 1
Eric Richards 3 190 63.3 0 0
Total 37 1,311 35.453 0 12 9 0 21 1,206 57.4 0 1
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long
Total

Coaching staff

Name Responsibility Position Group Year Alma Mater
Sylvester Croom[4] Head Coach 5th University of Alabama (1975)
Woody McCorvey[5] Asst. Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks 5th Alabama State University (1972)
Charlie Harbison[6] Defensive Coordinator Safeties 2nd Gardner-Webb University (1995)
Reed Stringer[7] Special Teams Coordinator Tight Ends 5th Delta State University (2001)
Rocky Felker[8] Recruiting Coordinator Running Backs 7th Mississippi State University (1972)
J.B. Grimes[9] Offensive Linemen 5th Henderson State University (1977)
David Turner[10] Defensive Linemen 2nd Davidson University (1985)
Melvin Smith[11] Cornerbacks 3rd Millsaps College (1982)
Pat Washington[12] Wide Receivers 2nd Auburn University (1987)
Louis Campbell[13] Linebackers 1st University of Arkansas (1973)
Ben Pollard[14] Head Strength & Conditioning Coach 2nd Texas Tech University (1984)
Brad Pendergrass[15] Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations 5th University of Tennessee (1998)
Ryan Hollern[16] Coordinator of Recruiting Operations 2nd Gannon University (2001)

References

  1. ↑ "Dan Mullen new Mississippi State football coach". Sports Illustrated. December 10, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
  2. ↑ Mississippi State Football - 2008 Schedule
  3. ↑ "Mississippi State Combined Team Statistics". Mississippi State University Athletics. October 11, 2008. Archived from the original on November 1, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Sylvester Croom - Head Football Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Woody McCorvey - Assistant Head Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Charlie Harbison - Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Reed Stringer - Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Rocky Felker - Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  9. ↑ "J.B. Grimes - Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  10. ↑ "David Turner - Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Melvin Smith - Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Pat Washington - Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Louis Campbell - Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Ben Pollard - Head Strength Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Brad Pendergrass - Assistant AD". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Ryan Hollern - Football Coordinator". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Retrieved September 3, 2008.