Historically good: MSU in midst of best stretch since 1940s
STARKVILLE — Happiness consumed Dan Mullen after the last question by ESPN’s Kaylee Hartung on Thursday night. He gravitated toward the fans in the bleachers standing behind Mississippi State’s bench at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri.
Mullen high-fived fans and handed one his visor. The youngster pumped his fist with a smile that stretched ear to ear.
A few pictures with fans interrupted his hugs and handshakes before he waved his arms like a conductor to the fans singing Mississippi State’s alma mater.
Not since the Bulldogs’ win against Auburn last year, which propelled Mississippi State to No. 1, had the seventh-year coach displayed such joy.
“Winning in the SEC is hard and winning on the road in the SEC is really hard,” Mullen said. “It’s not easy to do in this league and to come into this environment, a tough place, Thursday night, the weather, all this other stuff, late, late, late night kickoff, to get a win, I’m juiced.”
The 31-13 win at Missouri captured the program’s 20th win in the last 25 games. It matches No. 3 Alabama – No. 20 MSU’s next opponent on Saturday – for the best record in the Southeastern Conference during that time.
The stretch also equals Mississippi State’s most successful since a 34-5-1 record from 1939-1942. MSU won an Orange Bowl and the SEC during that time.
Mississippi State is coming off an Orange Bowl appearance last year. At 7-2 and 3-2 within the conference, the Bulldogs still hold an outside shot at capturing a West division crown.
“Not to downplay Missouri, but we’ve got better talent coming up,” junior Chris Jones said. “So we’re going to watch film and see if we can get an advantage on them.”
Three wins in the final three games – Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss – would provide Mississippi State with consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in school history. Another New Year’s Six bowl wouldn’t be out of the question.
It would also even Mullen’s SEC record at 28-28. His overall winning percentage would be .629. He would need 10 more wins to pass College Football Hall of Famer Allyn McKeen, who led MSU to that historic stretch in the 1940s, and move into second place all-time in program history behind Jackie Sherrill's 75.
“We work hard to try to get some wins,” Mullen said. “When we get them, I love it.”
The Bulldogs have reeled off four straight victories since its 30-17 loss at Texas A&M. At the time, it handed MSU its second defeat through a month of the season. The Bulldogs didn’t lose its first game until November last year.
But Mullen forced his team to regroup. The Bulldogs have scored at least 31 points in each of the past four games, the longest streak since last year’s run through LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn.
To date, those three wins last year represent Mullen’s most impressive stretch of his career. Closing out 2015 with seven straight wins might top that.
“We left (Texas A&M) a young football team. Everyone was obviously down. I said there’s an awful lot to play for this season,” Mullen said. “We needed to get better and I think we have.”
Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.