2011 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

2011 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Music City Bowl Champions
Music City Bowl vs Wake Forest, W 23–17
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
2011 record	7–6 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach	Dan Mullen (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Les Koenning (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread Option
Defensive coordinator	Chris Wilson (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Davis Wade Stadium (Capacity: 55,082)
Seasons

2011 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
#19 Georgia x		7	–	1					10	–	4
#9 South Carolina		6	–	2					11	–	2
Florida		3	–	5					7	–	6
Vanderbilt		2	–	6					6	–	7
Kentucky		2	–	6					5	–	7
Tennessee		1	–	7					5	–	7
Western Division
#2 LSU x†		8	–	0					13	–	1
#1 Alabama ‡		7	–	1					12	–	1
#5 Arkansas		6	–	2					11	–	2
Auburn		4	–	4					8	–	5
Mississippi State		2	–	6					7	–	6
Ole Miss		0	–	8					2	–	10
Championship: LSU 42, Georgia 10
† – BCS representative as champion ‡ – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions As of January 9, 2012 • Rankings from AP Poll

The 2011 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University in the college football season of 2011–2012. The team was coached by Dan Mullen, who was in his third season with Mississippi State. The Bulldogs played their home games at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi, and compete in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They finished the 2011 season with a 7–6 overall play, 2–6 in SEC play, placing 5th in West Division, and were invited for Music City Bowl, where they defeated Wake Forest.

Personnel

Coaching staff

In the week following the Gator Bowl victory, several changes were made to the Mississippi State coaching staff. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Manny Diaz resigned his position to serve in the same position for Texas as the replacement for Will Muschamp. Co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Chris Wilson was promoted to defensive coordinator to replace Diaz on January 10. At that time, Angelo Mirando was promoted from graduate assistant to wide receivers coach to replace Mark Hudspeth who had resigned earlier to accept the head coaching position at UL Lafayette. Geoff Collins was hired on January 12 to serve as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach to fill the vacant position made when Wilson was promoted.

Name	Position	Seasons at Mississippi State	Alma Mater
Dan Mullen	Head coach	3	Ursinus (1994)
Geoff Collins	Co-Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers	1	Western Carolina (1992)
John Hevesy	Offensive Line, Running Game Coordinator	3	Maine (1994)
Tony Hughes	Safeties, Recruiting Coordinator	3	Southern Miss (1980)
Greg Knox	Running Backs	3	Northeastern State (1986)
Les Koenning	Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks	3	Texas (1981)
Angelo Mirando	Wide Receivers	1	Case Western Reserve (2008)
Scott Sallach	Tight Ends	3	Ursinus (1994)
Melvin Smith	Cornerbacks, Nickelbacks	6	Millsaps (1982)
Chris Wilson	Defensive Coordinator	2	Oklahoma (1993)
Reference:

Recruiting class

2011 Recruits

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date Dee Arrington S Wiggins, Mississippi Stone High School 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 200 lb (91 kg) 4.62 Jul 24, 2010  Scout:File:4 stars.svg.png   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 78 Taveze Calhoun S Morton, Mississippi Morton High School 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) 180 lb (82 kg) – Jan 30, 2011  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 45 Justin Cox CB West Point, Mississippi West Point High School 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) 174 lb (79 kg) 4.41 Jul 24, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 74 Devin Fosselman WR Woodville, Mississippi Wilkinson County High School 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) 192 lb (87 kg) – Jun 20, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 75 John Harris DE Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach Community High School 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) 220 lb (100 kg) – Nov 5, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 77 Zachary Jackson S Heidelberg, Mississippi Heidelberg High School 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) 203 lb (92 kg) 4.53 Feb 16, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 76 P.J. Jones DT Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo High School 6 ft 3.5 in (191.8 cm) 265 lb (120 kg) – Jan 21, 2011  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 77 Daniel Knox TE Collinsville, Mississippi West Lauderdale High School 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) 251 lb (114 kg) – Jul 23, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 77 James Maiden OT Woodville, Mississippi Wilkinson County High School 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 265 lb (120 kg) – Jul 23, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 77 Justin Malone OT Madison, Mississippi Madison-Ridgeland Academy 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) 306 lb (139 kg) – Nov 3, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 76 Kendrick Market S Batesville, Mississippi South Panola High School 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) 179 lb (81 kg) – Oct 17, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 72 Benardrick McKinney OLB Tunica, Mississippi Rosa Fort High School 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 200 lb (91 kg) – Sep 16, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 73 Derek Milton RB Chatham, Virginia Hargrave Military Academy 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) 205 lb (93 kg) – Jan 24, 2011  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 75 Joe Morrow WR Ocean Springs, Mississippi Ocean Springs High School 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 195 lb (88 kg) 4.60 Jul 23, 2010  Scout:File:4 stars.svg.png   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 79 Shaquille Perry RB Walnut, Mississippi Walnut Attendance Center 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 210 lb (95 kg) – Jan 19, 2011  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 72 Dak Prescott QB Haughton, Louisiana Haughton High School 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 225 lb (102 kg) 4.70 Jul 23, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 77 Nick Redmond OT Gulfport, Mississippi Harrison Central High School 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) 292 lb (132 kg) – Sep 26, 2009  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 77 Josh Robinson RB Franklinton, Louisiana Franklinton High School 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) 205 lb (93 kg) 4.50 Jul 23, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 68 Darius Slay CB Fulton, Mississippi Itawamba Community College 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) 190 lb (86 kg) – Jul 29, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: – Preston Smith DE Stone Mountain, Georgia Stephenson High School 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) 215 lb (98 kg) – Sep 29, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 75 Joey Trapp OT Wilmington, California Los Angeles Harbor College 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) 285 lb (129 kg) 4.89 Dec 12, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: – Rufus Warren TE Indianola, Mississippi Gentry High School 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) 238 lb (108 kg) – Jun 15, 2010  Scout:   Rivals:N/A   ESPN grade: 76 Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 44   Rivals: 44  ESPN: NR ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, an average of the two was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Scout.com Football Recruiting: Mississippi State". Scout.com. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=8&yr=2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011. "2011 Player Signees- Mississippi State". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/college-football/recruiting/school/_/id/344/class/2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=14&yr=2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. http://www.rivals.com/TeamRank.asp?type=0&sort=0&year=2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1*	7:00 PM	at Memphis	#20	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	SECRN	W 59–14	33,990
September 10	11:21 AM	at Auburn	#16	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	SECN	L 34–41	87,451
September 15	7:00 PM	#3 LSU	#25	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPN	L 6–19	56,924
September 24*	6:00 PM	Louisiana Tech		Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPNU	W 26–20 OT	55,116
October 1	11:00 AM	at Georgia		Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	SECRN	L 10–24	92,746
October 8*	11:00 AM	at UAB		Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	SECRN	W 21–3	28,351
October 15	11:21 AM	#15 South Carolina		Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	SECN	L 12–14	55,418
October 29	6:00 PM	at Kentucky		Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	SECRN	W 28–16	57,891
November 5*†	6:30 PM	Tennessee–Martin		Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	CSS	W 55–17	55,096
November 12	6:45 PM	#4 Alabama		Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–24	57,871
November 19	2:30 PM	at #6 Arkansas		War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, AR	CBS	L 17–44	55,761
November 26	6:00 PM	Ole Miss		Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Egg Bowl)	ESPNU	W 31–3	55,270
December 30*	5:40 PM	vs. Wake Forest		LP Field • Nashville, TN (Music City Bowl)	ESPN	W 23–17	55,208
*Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

Schedule Source:

Rankings

See also: 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	20	16	25	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches'	20	17	25	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Harris	Not released						NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released
BCS	Not released							NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released

Game notes

Ole Miss

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Ole Miss 0 0 3 0 3 • Mississippi State 14 7 7 3 31 Date: November 26 Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS Game start: 7:00 p.m. EST Scoring summary 1 9:35 MSU Vick Ballard 18 yard pass from Chris Relf (Derek Depasquale kick) MSU 7-0 1 1:22 MSU LaDarius Perkins 36 yard run (Derek Depasquale kick) MSU 14-0 2 6:51 MSU LaDarius Perkins 20 yard pass from Chris Relf (Derek Depasquale kick) MSU 21-0 3 13:38 MSU Vick Ballard 25 yard run (Derek Depasquale kick) MSU 28-0 3 4:59 MISS Byron Rose 28 yard field goal MSU 28-3 4 12:03 MSU Derek Depasquale 35 yard field goal MSU 31-3

Mississippi State wore new uniforms for the game that featured gold numbers, gold shoes and "Hail State" replacing each of the player's last names on the back of the jersey.