So much of how a season unfolds will often be about who you play and when you play them. Mississippi State only has control over when they play their four nonconference games each season. The games played in the SEC are determined by the League Office.
One of the advantages some teams have in beating blue blood programs around the country is often to play then early in the season if they are replacing a lot of experienced players. But this might be true of the Mississippi State Bulldogs as well in 2015.
Mississippi State entered 2015 coming off of one of the best seasons in the school’s history.