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Mississippi State picked to finish last in SEC West
Mississippi State had one of the best seasons in its history in 2014, but that apparently hasn't earned them a lot of respect just yet.
Athlon Sports released its 2015 season preview last week, and the Bulldogs were picked to finish last in the SEC West at 7-5 overall and 3-5 in conference play. That'd obviously be quite a drop-off from last year's 10-3 record and Capital One Bowl appearance.
To be fair, the seventh-place projection isn't an indictment of Mississippi State as much as it praise for the rest of the division. The Bulldogs are ranked 21st in the country, where is Alabama is No. 2, Auburn No. 4, Ole Miss No. 11, LSU No. 15, Arkansas No. 16 and Texas A&M No. 20.
Additionally, Athlon picked Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott as the first-team quarterback and the second-place finisher for the SEC offensive player of the year award, behind Georgia running back Nick Chubb.
So it's not as if Mississippi State isn't being recognized as a quality team; it's just that Athlon sees the rest of the division being so stacked that the Bulldogs seemingly will have a tough time repeating last year's success, even with Prescott back.
Note that if you feel strongly about the Athlon projection one way or the other, you can put your money where your mouth is. Vegas (to be more specific, betting site 5Dimes, the first to release lines on 2015 season win totals) has Mississippi State's over/under at exactly seven.
Image credit: Jim Lytle-Associated Press
