2025 Mississippi State Football Predictions: Bulldogs Ranked 58th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136

This isn't your average college football ranking.

My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:

• Who do I think is good?
• Why do I think they're good?
• What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?

Here is a look at where Mississippi State lands in my Ultimate 136.

Mississippi State Bulldogs ranking: 58
Last year’s ranking: 78
Top player: RB Fluff Bothwell: Finished tied for the most rushing TDs in the Sun Belt last season with 13, and finished tied for seventh in rushing yards with 832.

[Mississippi State's 2025 schedule]

RJ's take: It’s difficult to believe, but Mississippi State had gone bowling 13 years in a row until Zach Arnett’s Year 1, which turned out to be his only year as head coach in Starkville. Jeff Lebby is receiving a bit more patience after a 2-10 season that included a loss to Toledo at home.

Insult to injury, MSU’s two best players in 2024 — QB Michael Van Buren (LSU) and WR Kevin Coleman (Missouri) — transferred within the conference to better teams. In fairness, there weren’t a lot of teams the Bulldogs were better than last year. Now, Lebby will try to make a Year 2 for himself and QB Blake Shapen into one where the program can go bowling or risk a slide into a 2016 to 2023 Nebraska-type oblivion. Six wins when half of your opponents figure to be top 25 teams at some point — Georgia, Texas, Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, Arizona State — might be asking a lot.

[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]

Mississippi State Win Total Odds: Over 3.5 (-142) Under 3.5 (+116)

Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.

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Mississippi State Bulldogs