South Carolina Football: Getting to know the opponent: Mississippi State

KM: Mississippi State and South Carolina football are very similar programs historically and in the current SEC. Both teams have also had short stretches of time in which they have been elite. What would it take for either program to “get over the hump” and become a consistent contender in the SEC?

EE: This answer would have been a bit different a few years ago, but with where college football as a whole is headed, it is imperative that MSU establish some real influence with the athletics department’s official NIL collective, the Bulldog Initiative. This year, they have taken steps to streamline the groups that were operating all with the same purpose, and I hope that momentum continues on the NIL front.
Additionally, I think it is about establishing an image for the program. Of course, that is a change that no one was really looking to make a year ago, but here we are. “Blue collar” gets used over and over again by Arnett, so that definitely looks to be something he is implementing throughout the program, and is something he pushes on the recruiting trail as well. Running the ball and winning trench battles would certainly be music to the ears of the elder statesmen of the MSU fanbase. The Athletics department knows that’s where the alumni money is, too.