2015 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

2015 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Belk Bowl champion
Belk Bowl, W 51–28 vs. NC State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
2015 record	9–4 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Dan Mullen (7th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Billy Gonzales (2nd as Co OC, 3rd overall season)
Co-offensive coordinator	John Hevesy (2nd as Co OC, 7th overall season)
Offensive scheme	Spread option
Defensive coordinator	Manny Diaz (1st straight; 2nd overall season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Davis Wade Stadium (Capacity: 61,337)
Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

2015 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 25 Florida x		7	–	1					10	–	4
No. 22 Tennessee		5	–	3					9	–	4
Georgia		5	–	3					10	–	3
Vanderbilt		2	–	6					4	–	8
Kentucky		2	–	6					5	–	7
Missouri		1	–	7					5	–	7
South Carolina		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 10 Ole Miss		6	–	2					10	–	3
Arkansas		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 16 LSU		5	–	3					9	–	3
Texas A&M		4	–	4					8	–	5
Mississippi State		4	–	4					9	–	4
Auburn		2	–	6					7	–	6
Championship: Alabama 29, Florida 15
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by seventh-year head coach Dan Mullen. The Bulldogs finished the season 9-4, having won the 2015 Belk Bowl.

Previous season[]

The 2014 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team finished the regular season 10-2, with their only two losses to Alabama and Ole Miss. Mississippi State knocked out three top 10 teams in a row during the season, #8 LSU, #6 Texas A&M, and #2 Auburn. The Bulldogs were ranked as high at #1 in all polls including the new College Football Playoff Rankings for the first time in school history until their first loss to #4 Alabama on November 15, 2014, of a deficit of 5 points. Mississippi State was in the mix to be a part of the all-new College Football Playoffs most of the regular season until their second loss to #18 Ole Miss two weeks after the loss at #4 Alabama. The team finished the regular season ranked seven in the College Football Playoff Rankings and was invited to play in the 2014 Orange Bowl against #12 Georgia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Mississippi State fell short to the Yellow Jackets in Miami Gardens, Florida with a loss of 34-49 and finished 10-3. It was the Bulldogs' third appearance in the Orange Bowl and first since 1941.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	9:00 p.m.	at Southern Miss*		M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	FS1	W 34–16	36,641
September 12	8:15 p.m.	No. 14 LSU	No. 25	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (rivalry)	ESPN	L 19–21	62,531
September 19	3:00 p.m.	Northwestern State*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 62–13	61,574
September 26	6:30 p.m.	at Auburn		Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	ESPN2	W 17–9	87,451
October 3	6:30 p.m.	at No. 14 Texas A&M	No. 21	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	L 17–30	104,455
October 10	3:00 p.m.	Troy*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 45–17	60,866
October 17	11:00 a.m.	Louisiana Tech*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 45–20	61,651
October 24	6:30 p.m.	Kentucky		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 42–16	61,168
November 5	8:00 p.m.	at Missouri	No. 24	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (SEC Nation)	ESPN	W 31–13	58,878
November 14	2:30 p.m.	No. 3 Alabama	No. 20	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (rivalry / SEC Nation)	CBS	L 6–31	62,435
November 21	6:00 p.m.	at Arkansas		Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	ESPN	W 51–50	71,936
November 28	6:15 p.m.	No. 19 Ole Miss	No. 23	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (Egg Bowl)	ESPN2	L 27–38	62,265
December 30	2:30 p.m.	vs. NC State*		Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (Belk Bowl)	ESPN	W 51–28	45,423
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[1]

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	25	RV	RV	21	RV	RV	RV	25	24	20	RV	23	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	20	25	22	RV	RV	RV
CFP	Not released									20	17	NR	21	NR	NR	Not released

Southern Miss[]

Mississippi State at Southern Miss

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 7 7 13 7 34 Golden Eagles 10 0 3 3 16 Date: September 5 Location: M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS Game start: 9:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:25 Game attendance: 36,641 Game weather: 81 °F (27 °C), Rain, winds 11mph Referee: David Smith TV announcers (Fox Sports 1): Tim Brando (Play-by-Play), Spencer Tillman (Color) Source:[2]

Scoring summary 1 5:39 USM S. Brauchle 31-yard kick good USM 3–0 1 5:26 MSU Brandon Holloway 100-yard kickoff return, Westin Graves kick good MSU 7–3 1 2:20 USM J. Washington 19-yard touchdown pass from Nick Mullens, S. Brauchle kick good USM 10–7 2 10:57 MSU Justin Johnson 5-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 14–10 3 12:15 MSU Gus Walley 4-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 21–10 3 10:36 MSU Westin Graves 38-yard kick good MSU 24–10 3 8:37 USM S. Brauchle 27-yard kick good MSU 24–13 3 4:02 MSU Westin Graves 37-yard kick good MSU 27–13 4 13:01 USM S. Brauchle 27-yard kick good MSU 27–16 4 5:55 MSU Dak Prescott 7-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 34–16

Louisiana State[]

#14 LSU at #25 Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total • Tigers 14 0 7 0 21 Bulldogs 0 3 3 13 19 Date: September 12 Location: Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS Game start: 8:15 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:30 Game attendance: 62,531 Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C), Clear skies, winds NW 5mph Referee: Hubert Owens TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (Play-by-Play), Brian Griese (color), Tom Luginbill (Sideline Reporter) Source:[3]

Scoring summary 1 4:37 LSU Leonard Fournette 1-yard touchdown run, Trent Domingue kick good LSU 7–0 1 1:58 LSU Leonard Fournette 26-yard touchdown run, Trent Domingue kick good LSU 14–0 2 0:44 MSU Westin Graves 43-yard kick good LSU 14–3 3 10:04 MSU Westin Graves 24-yard kick good LSU 14–6 3 6:48 LSU Leonard Fournette 18-yard touchdown run, Trent Domingue kick good LSU 21–6 4 14:45 MSU Dak Prescott 1-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good LSU 21–13 4 4:00 MSU De'Runnya Wilson 5-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Dak Prescott pass failed LSU 21–19

Northwestern State[]

Northwestern State at Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total Demons 0 6 7 0 13 • Bulldogs 20 14 14 14 62 Date: September 19 Location: Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS Game start: 3:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:00 Game attendance: 61,574 Game weather: 95 °F (35 °C), Clear skies, light wind Referee: Marc Curles TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (Play-by-Play), Matt Stinchcomb (Color), Kayce Smith (Sideline Reporter) Source:[4]

Scoring summary 1 13:21 MSU Gabe Myles 49-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Logan Cooke pass failed MSU 6–0 1 3:42 MSU Ashton Shumpert 17-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 13–0 1 0:07 MSU Aeris Williams 1-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 20–0 2 10:09 NWSU Chris Moore 52-yard kick good MSU 20–3 2 8:39 MSU Gabe Myles 6-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 27–3 2 2:27 NWSU Chris Moore 26-yard kick good MSU 27–6 2 0:56 MSU Brandon Holloway 6-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 34–6 3 6:59 NWSU De'Mard Llorens 10-yard touchdown run, Chris Moore kick good MSU 34–13 3 4:02 MSU Nick Fitzgerald 4-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 41–13 3 0:26 MSU Joe Morrow 37-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Staley, Westin Graves kick good MSU 48–13 4 12:12 MSU Donald Gray 49-yard touchdown pass from Nick Fitzgerald, Devon Bell kick good MSU 55–13 4 1:48 MSU Nick Fitzgerald 3-yard touchdown run, Devon Bell kick good MSU 62–13

Auburn[]

Mississippi State at Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 7 7 3 0 17 Tigers 0 0 6 3 9 Date: September 26 Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL Game start: 6:30 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:07 Game attendance: 87,451 Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), Mostly Sunny Referee: John McDaid TV announcers (ESPN2): Mark Jones (Play-by-Play), Rod Gilmore (Color), Quint Kessenich (Sideline Reporter) Source:[5]

Scoring summary 1 5:18 MSU Gabe Myles 32-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 7–0 2 8:02 MSU De'Runnya Wilson 17-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 14–0 3 9:41 AU Daniel Carlson 30-yard kick good MSU 14–3 3 3:06 AU Daniel Carlson 25-yard kick good MSU 14–6 3 1:11 MSU Westin Graves 44-yard kick good MSU 17–6 4 1:07 AU Daniel Carlson 51-yard kick good MSU 17–9

Texas A&M[]

#21 Mississippi State at #14 Texas A&M

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 3 7 0 7 17 • Aggies 14 10 3 3 30 Date: October 3 Location: Kyle Field College Station, TX Game start: 6:30 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:22 Game attendance: 104,455 Game weather: 83 °F (28 °C), Fall like weather Referee: Matt Loeffler TV announcers (SECN): Brent Musburger (Play-by-Play), Jesse Palmer (Color), Maria Taylor (Sideline Reporter) Source:[6]

Scoring summary 1 09:59 TAMU R. Seals-Jones 1-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Allen, Taylor Bertolet kick good TAMU 7–0 1 05:29 MSU Westin Graves 38-yard kick good TAMU 7–3 1 03:23 TAMU Damion Ratley 29-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Allen, Taylor Bertolet kick good TAMU 14–3 2 13:11 TAMU Taylor Bertolet 55-yard kick good TAMU 17–3 2 11:33 MSU Malik Dear 44-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good TAMU 17–10 2 00:20 TAMU Tra Carson 1-yard touchdown run, Taylor Bertolet kick good TAMU 24–10 3 13:11 TAMU Taylor Bertolet 24-yard kick good TAMU 27–10 4 12:24 MSU Dak Prescott 5-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good TAMU 27–17 4 05:23 TAMU Taylor Bertolet 30-yard kick good TAMU 30–17

Troy[]

Troy at Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total Trojans 0 0 14 3 17 • Bulldogs 21 17 0 7 45 Date: October 10 Location: Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS Game start: 3:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:04 Game attendance: 60,866 Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), Clear skies Referee: Brad Rogers TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (Play-by-Play), Matt Stinchcomb (Color), Kayce Smith (Sideline Reporter) Source:[7]

Scoring summary 1 14:24 MSU Fred Ross 59-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 7–0 1 13:16 MSU Nelson Adams 0-yard fumble recovery, Westin Graves kick good MSU 14–0 1 03:04 MSU Fred Ross 77-yard punt return, Westin Graves kick good MSU 21–0 2 11:39 MSU Westin Graves 42-yard kick good MSU 24–0 2 08:43 MSU De'Runnya Wilson 28-yard touchdown pass from Nick Fitzgerald, Westin Graves kick good MSU 31–0 2 00:47 MSU Nick Fitzgerald 1-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 38–0 3 03:46 Troy Dontreal Pruitt 5-yard touchdown run, Jed Solomon kick good MSU 38–7 3 00:49 Troy Brandon Burks 74-yard touchdown run, Jed Solomon kick good MSU 38–14 4 11:11 MSU Donald Gray 49-yard touchdown pass from Nick Fitzgerald, Westin Graves kick good MSU 45–14 4 00:27 Troy Jed Solomon 21-yard kick good MSU 45–17

Louisiana Tech[]

Louisiana Tech at Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total Louisiana Tech 14 3 3 0 20 • Mississippi State 7 17 14 7 45 Date: October 17 Location: Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS Game start: 11:00 AM CDT Elapsed time: 3:16 Game attendance: 61,651 Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C), Sunny Referee: Ken Williamson TV announcers (SECN): Mike Couzens (Play-by-Play), Cole Cubelic (Color), Kevin Wiedl (Sideline Reporter) Source:[8]

Scoring summary 1 10:52 LTU Paul Turner 21-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Driskel, Jonathan Barnes kick good LTU 7–0 1 04:27 LTU Trent Taylor 16-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Driskel, Jonathan Barnes kick good LTU 14–0 1 02:30 MSU Aeris Williams 2-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good LTU 14–7 2 11:33 MSU Westin Graves 26-yard kick good LTU 14–10 2 07:23 LTU Jonathan Barnes 33-yard kick good LTU 17–10 2 02:53 MSU De'Runnya Wilson 5-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good Tied 17–17 2 00:57 MSU Dak Prescott 2-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 24–17 3 08:55 MSU De'Runnya Wilson 20-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 31–17 3 04:44 LTU Jonathan Barnes 27-yard kick good MSU 31–20 3 01:30 MSU Fred Brown 12-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 38–20 4 07:10 MSU Brandon Bryant 73-yard interception return MSU 45–20

Kentucky[]

Kentucky at Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 10 3 3 0 16 • Bulldogs 7 21 7 7 42 Date: October 24 Location: Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS Game start: 6:30 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:49 Game attendance: 61,168 Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C), Light winds, Partly cloudy Referee: Tom Ritter TV announcers (SECN): Brent Musburger (Play-by-Play), Jesse Palmer (Color), Maria Taylor (Sideline Reporter) Source:[9]

Scoring summary 1 08:19 UK Patrick Towles 2-yard touchdown run, Austin MacGinnis kick good UK 7–0 1 02:49 MSU Dak Prescott 1-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good Tied 7–7 1 00:56 UK Austin MacGinnis 44-yard kick good UK 10–7 2 13:38 MSU De'Runnya Wilson 13-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 14–10 2 01:34 MSU Brandon Holloway 8-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 21–10 2 00:34 MSU Dak Prescott 20-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 28–10 2 00:03 UK Austin MacGinnis 48-yard kick good MSU 28–13 3 02:55 UK Austin MacGinnis 32-yard kick good MSU 28–16 3 00:59 MSU Darrion Hutcherson 13-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 35–16 4 9:14 MSU Dak Prescott 18-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 42–16

Missouri[]

#24 Mississippi State at Missouri

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 7 7 17 0 31 Tigers 3 10 0 0 13 Date: November 5 Location: Faurot Field Columbia, MO Game start: 8:00 PM CST Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C), Rain TV announcers (ESPN): Joe Tessitore (play by play), David Pollack(color), Jesse Palmer (color), Kaylee Hartung (sideline) Source:[10]

Scoring summary 1 13:03 MSU D. Prescott pass to F. Ross for 36 yards for a TD, (W. Graves kick) MSU 7–0 1 2:00 MIZZ A. Baggett 31 yard field goal MSU 7–3 2 7:05 MIZZ A. Baggett 35 yard field goal MSU 7–6 2 6:03 MSU D. Prescott pass to D. Wilson for 28 yards for a TD, (W. Graves kick) MSU 14–6 2 1:50 MIZZ R. Hansbrough run for 14 yards for a TD, (A. Baggett kick) MSU 14–13 3 12:20 MSU D. Prescott pass to D. Wilson for 5 yards for a TD, (W. Graves kick) MSU 21–13 3 10:01 MSU W. Graves 36 yard field goal MSU 24–13 3 3:26 MSU D. Prescott pass to F. Brown for 8 yards for a TD, (W. Graves kick) MSU 31–13

Alabama[]

#3 Alabama at #20 Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total • Crimson Tide 0 21 3 7 31 Bulldogs 0 3 3 0 6 Date: November 14 Location: Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS Game start: 2:30 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:27 Game attendance: 62,435 Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), Sunny Referee: Ken Williamson Television network: CBS Source:[11]

Scoring summary 2 10:44 AU Cyrus Jones 69-yard punt return, Adam Griffith kick good UA 7–0 2 08:36 UA Calvin Ridley 60-yard touchdown pass from Jake Coker, Adam Griffith kick good UA 14–0 2 06:10 MSU Westin Graves 31-yard kick good UA 14–3 2 05:10 UA Derrick Henry 74-yard touchdown run, Adam Griffith kick good UA 21–3 3 10:43 UA Adam Griffith 42-yard kick good UA 24–3 3 1:24 MSU Westin Graves 39-yard kick good UA 24–6 4 7:53 UA Derrick Henry 65-yard touchdown run, Adam Griffith kick good UA 31–6

Arkansas[]

Mississippi State at Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 14 17 0 20 51 Razorbacks 7 14 21 8 50 Date: November 21 Location: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR Game start: 6:00 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:40 Game attendance: 71,936 Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C), Clear Referee: Hubert Owens TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick (Play-by-Play), Ed Cunningham (Color), Jerry Punch (Sideline Reporter) Source:[12]

Scoring summary 1 10:16 UA Drew Morgan 20-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen, Cole Hedlund kick good UA 7–0 1 07:31 MSU Brandon Holloway 38-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good Tied 7–7 1 03:37 MSU Dak Prescott 4-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good MSU 14–7 2 14:13 UA Jeremy Sprinkle 5-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen, Cole Hedlund kick good Tied 14–14 2 11:47 MSU Westin Graves 21-yard kick good MSU 17–14 2 07:35 MSU Fred Brown 8-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 24–14 2 04:44 MSU Fred Ross 55-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 31–14 2 04:52 UA Jared Cornelius 9-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen, Cole Hedlund kick good MSU 31–21 3 12:00 UA Jeremy Sprinkle 3-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen, Cole Hedlund kick good MSU 31–28 3 11:39 UA Hunter Henry 39-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen, Cole Hedlund kick good UA 35–31 3 06:56 UA Hunter Henry 18-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen, Cole Hedlund kick good UA 42–31 4 12:54 MSU Dak Prescott 4-yard touchdown run, Westin Graves kick good UA 42–38 4 06:58 MSU De'Runnya Wilson 10-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick fail MSU 44–42 4 05:33 UA Jeremy Sprinkle 10-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen, Brandon Allen 2-point conversion pass from Jared Cornelius UA 50–44 4 03:05 MSU Fred Ross 14-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, Westin Graves kick good MSU 51–50

Ole Miss[]

NC State (Belk Bowl)[]

NC State vs Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total Wolfpack 0 14 7 7 28 • Bulldogs 14 17 6 14 51 Date: December 30 Location: Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC Game start: 2:30 PM CST Television network: ESPN Source:

References[]