And sixth in our own division
We live in the toughest neighborhood in football. I don't know what else we could realistically expect. 6th in the SECW is still good for 27th nationally.
MSU has the smallest athletic budget in the conference and is located
- in one of - if not the - least populous states (who care about football).
- in the poorest state.
- in a football-talent rich state, which unfortunately, everyone else has noticed. (UGA, Oklahoma, Oregon, FSU, etc.)
- in the same division as Alabama, Auburn, LSU, A&M - all national recruiting programs who live in our backyard. Add in Arky, who has a huge donor pool and some history of success (and are the only P5 school in their state).
- in the same state as another SECW team, who happens to love throwing recruiting $ at hookers, blow, and recruits.
****, I'm not making excuses, I'd just say we're making a pretty good showing.