2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
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)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Davis Wade Stadium
Seasons ←  2007 2009  →

2008 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	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

The 2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University as a member of the Western Division of the Southern Conference (SEC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by Sylvester Croom in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 4–8 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fourth in the SEC's Western Division. ^[1] Mississippi State played home games at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.

Croom resigned at the end of the season. On December 10, Mississippi State hired Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen. ^[2]

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.	Southeastern 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	11:00 a.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	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 prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]

Game summaries

Louisiana Tech

Team	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

See also: 2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

Southeastern Louisiana

Team	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

See also: 2008 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team

Auburn

Team	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

See also: 2008 Auburn Tigers football team

Georgia Tech

Team	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

See also: 2008 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

LSU

Team	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

See also: 2008 LSU Tigers football team

Vanderbilt

Team	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

See also: 2008 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

Tennessee

Team	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

See also: 2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team

Middle Tennessee

Team	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

See also: 2008 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

Kentucky

Team	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

See also: 2008 Kentucky Wildcats football team

Alabama

Team	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

See also: 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team and Alabama–Mississippi State rivalry

Arkansas

Team	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

See also: 2008 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

Ole Miss

Egg Bowl

Team	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 a.m. CST

See also: 2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team and Egg Bowl

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)

Statistics

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

Team

Statistics [17] 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

Offense

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

References

1. "2008 Southeastern Conference Year Summary". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
2. Talbott, Chris (December 10, 2008). "Dan Mullen new Mississippi State football coach". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Retrieved February 21, 2019.
3. Mississippi State Football - 2008 Schedule
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.
17. "Mississippi State Combined Team Statistics". Mississippi State University Athletics. October 11, 2008. Archived from the original on November 1, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.