2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

The 2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 2008 college football season. The team's head coach was Sylvester Croom. The Bulldogs played their six home games in 2008 at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi and finished with a 4–8 overall record.

2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Western Division
2008 record	4–8 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach	Sylvester Croom (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Woody McCorvey (5th season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Charlie Harbison (1st season)
Home stadium	Davis Wade Stadium (55,082)

2008 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 1 Florida x$#		7	–	1					13	–	1
No. 13 Georgia		6	–	2					10	–	3
Vanderbilt		4	–	4					7	–	6
South Carolina		4	–	4					7	–	6
Tennessee		3	–	5					5	–	7
Kentucky		2	–	6					7	–	6
Western Division
No. 6 Alabama x%		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 14 Ole Miss		5	–	3					9	–	4
LSU		3	–	5					8	–	5
Arkansas		2	–	6					5	–	7
Auburn		2	–	6					5	–	7
Mississippi State		2	–	6					4	–	8
Championship: Florida 31, Alabama 20
– BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Croom resigned at the end of the season and on December 10, Mississippi State hired Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen.[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	5:45 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech*	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	ESPN2	L 14–22	25,224
September 6	6:00 p.m.	SE Louisiana*	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS		W 34–10	41,938
September 13	6:00 p.m.	No. 9 Auburn	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPN2	L 2–3	55,082
September 20	12:00 p.m.	at Georgia Tech*	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	Raycom	L 7–38	48,402
September 27	6:30 p.m.	at No. 5 LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 24–34	92,710
October 11	1:30 p.m.	No. 13 Vanderbilt	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	PPV	W 17–14	43,619
October 18	6:00 p.m.	at Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	PPV	L 3–34	98,239
October 25	6:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee*	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPNU	W 31–22	40,024
November 1	1:30 p.m.	Kentucky	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (rivalry)	PPV	L 13–14	40,168
November 15	6:45 p.m.	at No. 1 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–32	92,138
November 22	1:30 p.m.	Arkansas	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS		W 31–28	42,056
November 28	11:30 a.m.	at No. 25 Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Egg Bowl)	Raycom	L 0–45	55,231
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released week prior to game All times are in Central time

• Rankings indicate opponent's position in AP Poll as released week prior to game. Schedule Source:[2]

Game summaries

Louisiana Tech

1 2 3 4 Total MSU Bulldogs 7 7 0 0 14 • LT Bulldogs 3 6 10 3 22 Date: August 30 Location: Joe Aillet Stadium, Ruston, Louisiana Game attendance: 25,224

Last Meeting: September 21, 1996, L 23–38
Series Record: MSU leads 7–2

Southeastern Louisiana

1 2 3 4 Total Lions 3 0 0 7 10 • Bulldogs 7 13 14 0 34 Date: September 6 Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi Game attendance: 41,938

Last Meeting: Never Met
Series Record: Never Met

Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total • Tigers 0 3 0 0 3 Bulldogs 0 0 0 2 2 Date: September 13, 2008 Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi Game attendance: 55,082

Last Meeting: September 15, 2007, W 19–14
Series Record: MSU trails 23–56–2

Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 0 0 7 7 • Yellow Jackets 14 7 10 7 38 Date: September 20, 2008 Location: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta Game attendance: 48,402

Last Meeting: October 5, 1929, L 13–27
Series Record: MSU trails 0–2

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 3 0 14 7 24 • Tigers 10 7 7 10 34 Date: September 27, 2008 Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Game attendance: 92,710

Last Meeting: August 30, 2007, L 0–45
Series Record: MSU trails 33–65–3

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total Commodores 0 7 0 7 14 • Bulldogs 3 0 7 7 17 Date: October 11, 2008 Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi Game attendance: 43,619

Last Meeting: October 2, 2004, L 13–31
Series Record: MSU leads 10–7–2

Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 3 0 0 3 • Volunteers 0 6 7 21 34 Date: October 18 Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee Game attendance: 98,239

Last Meeting: October 13, 2007, L 21–33
Series Record: MSU trails 15–27–1

Middle Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total Blue Raiders 3 10 3 6 22 • Bulldogs 14 0 10 7 31 Date: October 25 Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi Game attendance: 40,024

Last Meeting:October 28, 2000,W 61–35
Series Record: MSU leads 2–0

Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total • Wildcats 0 0 14 0 14 Bulldogs 7 0 0 6 13 Date: November 1 Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi Game attendance: 40,168

Last Meeting: October 27, 2007, W 31–14
Series Record: MSU trails 15–20

Alabama

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 7 0 0 7 • Crimson Tide 5 7 10 10 32 Date: 2008-11-15 Location: Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Last Meeting: November 10, 2007, W 17–12
Series Record: MSU trails 18–71–3

Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total Razorbacks 14 0 7 7 28 • Bulldogs 7 10 7 7 31 Date: November 17 Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi

Last Meeting: November 17, 2007, L 31–45
Series Record: MSU trails 5–12–1

Ole Miss

Egg Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 0 • Rebels 24 7 7 7 45 Date: November 28 Location: Vaught–Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Mississippi Game start: 11:30 AM CST

Last Meeting: November 23, 2007, W 17–14
Series Record: MSU trails 39–59–6

Statistics

Mississippi State Overall Team Statistics (as of Oct 11, 2008)

Team

Statistics[3] Mississippi State Opponents Scoring 183 296 Points per game 15.2 24.7 First downs 187 200 Rushing 69 95 Passing 108 89 Penalties 10 16 Total offensive yards 3,312 3,990 Avg per Game 276.0 327.5 Rushing 1,220 1,811 Passing 2,092 2,119 Fumbles–Lost 19-8 20-8 Penalties–Yards 68-544 76-643 Average per game 45.3 53.6

Statistics Mississippi State Opponents Punts–Yards 82-3,099 66-2,671 Average per punt 37.8 40.5 Average ToP/game 30:15 29:45 3rd down conversions 58-178 59-168 3rd down percentage 33 35 4th down conversions 8-18 10-11 4th down percentage 44 91 Touchdowns scored 23 35 Field goals–Att–Long 7–13–42 17-25–20 PAT–Att 22–23 33-34 Attendance 260,716 411,944 Average 43,453 68,657

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total Mississippi State 48 47 38 50 183 Opponents 76 60 78 82 296

Rushing

Name	GP-GS	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Anthony Dixon	12-12	197	930	61	869	4.4	7	71	72.4
Christian Ducre	12-1	56	234	12	222	4.0	2	20	18.5
Robert Elliott	4-0	18	65	4	61	3.4	1	15	15.2
Tyson Lee	11-8	62	228	191	37	0.6	1	18	3.4
Wesley Carroll	7-4	18	54	72	-18	-1.0	0	20	-2.6
Jamayel Smith	12-4	2	13	10	3	1.5	0	9	0.2
Wade Bonner	12-0	7	11	1	10	1.4	0	3	0.8
Brandon Hart	12-2	4	9	0	9	2.2	1	4	0.8
Chris Relf	2-0	7	20	33	-13	-1.9	0	10	-6.5
Eric Hoskins	11-4	1	3	0	3	3.0	0	3	0.3
Brandon McRae	12-10	1	0	1	-1	-1.0	0	0	-0.1
Marcus Green	2-1	1	0	3	-3	-3.0	0	0	-1.5
TEAM	8-0	8	0	30	-30	-3.8	0	0	-3.8
Total	12	397	1645	425	1220	3.1	13	71	101.7
Opponents	12	443	2055	244	1811	4.1	19	88	150.9

Passing

Name	GP-GS	Effic	Att-Cmp-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg/G
Tyson Lee	11-8	112.96	153-260-5	58.8	1519	7	41	138.1
Wesley Carroll	7-4	85.17	55-115-7	47.8	560	3	50	80.0
Chris Relf	2-0	34.36	2-9-0	22.2	13	0	12	6.5
TEAM	8-0	0.00	0-1-0	0.0	0	0	0	0.0
Total	12	102.53	210-385-12	54.5	2,092	10	50	174.3
Opponents	12	115.40	169-324-8	52.2	2119	13	87	176.6

Receiving

Name	GP-GS	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Brandon McRae	6-4	33	302	9.2	2	24	50.3
Aubrey Bell	6-5	19	171	9.0	0	22	28.5
Christian Ducre	6-1	11	91	8.3	1	24	15.2
Jamayel Smith	6-2	8	120	15.0	0	41	20.0
Co-Eric Riley	6-1	8	75	9.4	0	26	12.5
Delmon Robinson	4-0	7	84	12.0	0	25	21.0
Eric Hoskins	5-1	5	36	7.2	0	14	7.2
Anthony Dixon	6-6	5	22	4.4	0	12	3.7
Robert Elliott	4-0	4	53	13.2	0	19	13.2
Arnil Stallworth	6-0	4	45	11.2	0	29	7.5
Brandon Henderson	6-0	2	11	5.5	1	7	1.8
Marcus Green	2-1	1	50	50.0	0	50	25.0
Brandon Hart	6-2	1	8	8.0	0	8	1.3
Wade Bonner	5-0	1	6	6.0	0	6	1.2
Austin Wilbanks	4-2	1	1	1.0	1	1	0.2
Total	6	110	1,075	9.8	5	50	179.2
Opponents	6	65	829	12.8	4	70	138.2

Defense

Name	GP	Tackles				Sacks	Pass Defense		Interceptions				Fumbles		Blkd Kick
		Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No-Yds	BrUp	QBH	No.-Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Rcv-Yds	FF
Total

Special teams

Name	Punting								Kickoffs
	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB
Blake McAdams	35	1,261	36.0	53	0	12	8	0
Adam Carlson	2	50	25.0	28	0	0	1	0	18	1,016	56.4	0	1
Eric Richards									3	190	63.3	0	0
Total	37	1,311	35.4	53	0	12	9	0	21	1,206	57.4	0	1

Name	Punt Returns					Kick Returns
	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Total

Coaching staff

Name	Responsibility	Position Group	Year	Alma Mater
Sylvester Croom[4]	Head Coach		5th	University of Alabama (1975)
Woody McCorvey[5]	Asst. Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator	Quarterbacks	5th	Alabama State University (1972)
Charlie Harbison[6]	Defensive Coordinator	Safeties	2nd	Gardner–Webb University (1995)
Reed Stringer[7]	Special Teams Coordinator	Tight Ends	5th	Delta State University (2001)
Rocky Felker[8]	Recruiting Coordinator	Running Backs	7th	Mississippi State University (1972)
J.B. Grimes[9]		Offensive Linemen	5th	Henderson State University (1977)
David Turner[10]		Defensive Linemen	2nd	Davidson University (1985)
Melvin Smith[11]		Cornerbacks	3rd	Millsaps College (1982)
Pat Washington[12]		Wide Receivers	2nd	Auburn University (1987)
Louis Campbell[13]		Linebackers	1st	University of Arkansas (1973)
Ben Pollard[14]	Head Strength & Conditioning Coach		2nd	Texas Tech University (1984)
Brad Pendergrass[15]	Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations		5th	University of Tennessee (1998)
Ryan Hollern[16]	Coordinator of Recruiting Operations		2nd	Gannon University (2001)

References

1. Talbott, Chris (December 10, 2008). "Dan Mullen new Mississippi State football coach". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
2. Mississippi State Football - 2008 Schedule
3. "Mississippi State Combined Team Statistics". Mississippi State University Athletics. October 11, 2008. Archived from the original on November 1, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
4. "Sylvester Croom – Head Football Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
5. "Woody McCorvey – Assistant Head Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
6. "Charlie Harbison – Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
7. "Reed Stringer – Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
8. "Rocky Felker – Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
9. "J.B. Grimes – Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
10. "David Turner – Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
11. "Melvin Smith – Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
12. "Pat Washington – Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
13. "Louis Campbell – Assistant Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
14. "Ben Pollard – Head Strength Coach". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
15. "Brad Pendergrass – Assistant AD". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
16. "Ryan Hollern – Football Coordinator". Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2008.