Fun Fact: Mike Leach = first MSU coach with a winning record vs. ranked teams?

[Bulldogg31]

I can’t find another state coach with a winning record in games vs. ranked teams. Here’s the breakdown in the PC (Post-Croom) era:


Dan Mullen (7-33 record, .170 winning %)
2009 - (1-4) Beat #20 Ole Miss
2010 - (1-4) Beat #22 Florida
2011 - (0-4)
2012 - (0-4)
2013 - (0-5)
2014 - (3-3) Beat #8 TAMU, #2 AUB, #6 LSU
2015 - (0-4)
2016 - (1-2) Beat #7 TAMU
2017 - (1-3) Beat #12 LSU


JoMo (2-5, .285 winning %)
2018 - (2-2) Beat #8 AUB, #16 TAMU
2019 - (0-3)


Leach (5-4, .556 winning %)
2020 - (2-3) Beat #6 LSU, #22 Tulsa
2021 - (3-1) Beat #15 TAMU, #12 KY, #16 AUB
* Ole Miss is currently #12

So Mullen had 7 wins over ranked teams in a decade, Leach has 5 already with at least one more coming up, and possibly one more in the bowl game.

Incredible. I was wrong about the Pirate. Dude can get it done.

 

[Bulldogg31]

If you throw out the Bama losses for everyone it looks even better…

Mullen goes to 7-24 (.225)
Moorhead goes to 2-3 (.400)
Leach goes to 5-2 (.714)

Wow

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Can you show records based on where the team was ranked in the final poll?

 

[Bulldogg31]

Can you show records based on where the team was ranked in the final poll?

It can be done. I use Sports Reference to track them. Here you go:


https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/mississippi-state/2021-schedule.html

 

[Ralph Cramden]

I love this team. Yes its aggravating as 17 when they lose by 3 but they are only gonna get better

 

[onewoof]

The battle wounds still haunt many posters on this board. I pray for their quick recovery.

The past is the past.

 

[PirateDawg]

The battle wounds still haunt many posters on this board. I pray for their quick recovery.

The past is the past.

Baby with the bath water so to speak!

 

[Smoked Toag]

Can you show records based on where the team was ranked in the final poll?

Yeah, never understood why folks used the ranking at the time they played. It doesn't matter. Perhaps it adds an element of pressure somewhere but that will be there anyway, folks know who the good teams are.

 

[johnson86-1]

Yeah, never understood why folks used the ranking at the time they played. It doesn't matter. Perhaps it adds an element of pressure somewhere but that will be there anyway, folks know who the good teams are.

Because the polls are really ******?

Using the ranking at the time is pretty flawed also, especially early in the year, but it's sort of a self fulfilling prophecy for us that teams we beat won't usually end the season ranked for two reasons. One, most poll voters are pretty low information, so even when we are good, they will penalize teams pretty harshly for losing to us. Two, low information voters tend to assume a certain number of teams from each conference should be ranked. If we finish fourth in the West, anybody that finished behind us is probably going to have a hard time being ranked in the AP or Coaches. They don't want to see 20% of the top 25 in one division of one conference, even though that has probably been the case in some years. If we finish third, there's probably at most going to be one team behind us that finishes ranked, so a year in which we are a top 15 team might result in us going 1-2 at best against the top 25 based on end of year rankings.