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. 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.
Schedule
Mississippi State Football - 2008 Schedule
Game summaries Louisiana Tech
Southeastern Louisiana
Auburn
Georgia Tech
LSU
Vanderbilt
Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Kentucky
Alabama
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Coaching staff Name Responsibility Position Group Year Alma mater Sylvester Croom Head coach 5th University of Alabama (1975) Woody McCorvey Asst. Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks 5th Alabama State University (1972) Charlie Harbison Defensive Coordinator Safeties 2nd Gardner–Webb University (1995) Reed Stringer Special Teams Coordinator Tight Ends 5th Delta State University (2001) Rocky Felker Recruiting Coordinator Running Backs 7th Mississippi State University (1972) J.B. Grimes Offensive Linemen 5th Henderson State University (1977) David Turner Defensive Linemen 2nd Davidson University (1985) Melvin Smith Cornerbacks 3rd Millsaps College (1982) Pat Washington Wide Receivers 2nd Auburn University (1987) Louis Campbell Linebackers 1st University of Arkansas (1973) Ben Pollard Head Strength & Conditioning Coach 2nd Texas Tech University (1984) Brad Pendergrass Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations 5th University of Tennessee (1998) Ryan Hollern Coordinator of Recruiting Operations 2nd Gannon University (2001)
Statistics Mississippi State Overall Team Statistics (as of Oct 11, 2008)
Team Statistics 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
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/GBrandon McRae 6-4 33 302 9.2 2 24 50.3Aubrey Bell 6-5 19 171 9.0 0 22 28.5Christian Ducre 6-1 11 91 8.3 1 24 15.2Jamayel Smith 6-2 8 120 15.0 0 41 20.0Co-Eric Riley 6-1 8 75 9.4 0 26 12.5Delmon Robinson 4-0 7 84 12.0 0 25 21.0Eric Hoskins 5-1 5 36 7.2 0 14 7.2Anthony Dixon 6-6 5 22 4.4 0 12 3.7Robert Elliott 4-0 4 53 13.2 0 19 13.2Arnil Stallworth 6-0 4 45 11.2 0 29 7.5Brandon Henderson 6-0 2 11 5.5 1 7 1.8Marcus Green 2-1 1 50 50.0 0 50 25.0Brandon Hart 6-2 1 8 8.0 0 8 1.3Wade Bonner 5-0 1 6 6.0 0 6 1.2Austin Wilbanks 4-2 1 1 1.0 1 1 0.2Total 6 110 1,075 9.8 5 50 179.2Opponents 6 65 829 12.8 4 70 138.2
Defense Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass defense Interceptions Fumbles BlkdKick 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 OBBlake 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 1Eric Richards 3 190 63.3 0 0 Total 37 1,311 35.453 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