Booster problems at Mississippi State

Between Saban's salary and all the upgrades Bama has done, it wouldn't surprise me if it's less...

I've logged my share of time on all of the SEC campuses and I have no concept of how any recruit, with the possible exception of local kids, would go willingly to that school if any other SEC school was interested.

 

You're right.

Reports to the contrary, Tyler Russell (the current QB, FYI) wasn't going anywhere other than Southern Miss, Mississippi or MSU, that is unless he wanted to spend his career on the bench. Yet up the road in Oxford, there's an "allure" Ole Miss sells and it works. UM has a commitment (right now) from an athletic quarterback from Dallas.

It looks like MSU will be competitive until Mullen leaves, then it will sink back from middle of the pack to lower tier.

I compare State in the SEC to Iowa State in the Big 12. The two cannot compete for conference championships. It's simply not a level playing field.

 

Player-Albert Means. Booster-Logan Young.

I was originally skeptical about the circumstances of Young's death but it appears to have been an accident.

 

Shocking, I tell ya.

 

By "allure" you means "nubile coeds," right?

 

Mississippi State is usually only as good as the coach is. They've gotten some good ones, but most of the ones who do well in any sport are either hired away or they're run off by a fanbase that expects more than is realistic.

If you can win eight games at Mississippi State, you're doing pretty well.

If you have to coach at a school like MSU, you basically have to focus on local kids, Juco transfers, people who get booted from the bigger programs and then if a booster buys a kid or two, that can help as well.

I don't envy anyone who has to recruit to that place. Yes, the women are amazing, but they're amazing at most other SEC schools.

 

This.
If Mississippi State (or Ole Miss, for that matter) can get to the level of winning 7-9 games per year, things MIGHT break right for them to win the SEC one of these days. And by that, I mean LSU and Alabama both having down years at the same time State has a great team, gets a few lucky breaks and finds a way to go 10-2 or 11-1.
In other words, pretty much what happened with Auburn in 2010.
As long as Alabama and LSU are good enough to keep fans and boosters invested in their programs, everyone else in the SEC West is playing for third place. You'll get the odd year where a third team breaks through, but no one else is going to consistently win that division.

 

LSU and Alabama are one bad coaching hire away from going in the ditch. That's all it takes.

 

True, but I can't see Les Miles or Nick Saban going anywhere anytime soon. Miles has pulled himself back from the brink after a couple mediocre seasons and Saban has earned a lifetime pass at Alabama.
It doesn't seem like Miles has had any inclination to leave except for his flirtation with Michigan, and that ship has probably sailed for good. Likewise with Saban, who is a punchline in the NFL and would be a damn fool to go to any other college program of his own free will.

 

Nah, the communities are night-and-day different. Somewhat like the Coast compared to the Delta.

 

An Ole Miss grad once told me that "Oktibbeha" as in Oktibbeha County is an old Indian word that means "Trailer Park".

 

Even when Saban does leave/retire, I expect Kirby Smart is the successor. I only assume that is why he's not left yet. (That and Richt finding a way to save his job every time he's on the hot seat)