Dawghouse: A Mississippi State Podcast

The NCAA Tournament begins Friday and Mississippi State isn't in the 64 team field. So the reigning National Champions can't defend their 2021 title. Bulldog fans can still savor the memories of last summer while Coach Chris Lemonis rebuilds a roster for 2023 by hitting the NCAA transfer portal hard. A retrospective on the '21 Champions airs June 14 on ESPN. Meanwhile Mississippi State football is...

With the 2022 Bulldog baseball season barely over work on the '23 team was accelerating. Recruiting more signees for next year to go with fall recruits and commitments is the focus now. But Coach Chris Lemonis can't know for certain how many roster spots are available as current players consider leaving or returning and the mid-July MLB Draft looms also. Still Mississippi State is going to the tra...

Mississippi State's path to the SEC Tournament is narrow indeed. The Bulldogs must win at least twice against SEC Champions Tennessee on Dudy Noble Field this weekend. But they also need help elsewhere, with Kentucky or Alabama losing two more times than State does; and Missouri losing at least once. This is the price of inconsistent offense relying too much on power, of slow starting pitching and...

Mississippi State's fragile grip on the last berth in the SEC Tournament slipped at last. The Bulldogs were swept at Texas A&M and now are 13th overall in the league, one spot out of the 12-team conference tourney field. State can still sneak into Hoover but need to beat #1-ranked Tennessee and have either Kentucky or Alabama, or both, get swept in their final series. Bullpen breakdowns and la...

Mississippi State is at Texas A&M for a series that may well settle the Bulldogs' 2022 fate. State is tied for the last available berth in the SEC Tournament with six league games left. The tiebreaks which favor State today will change by next weekend. State can only control any fate by winning against the Aggies and next weekend the top-ranked Tennessee Vols. An offense relying on power has b...

Mississippi State's must-win series with Florida was not just a loss but a sweep. The Bulldogs now are tied for the last SEC Tournament berth. The tiebreak would favor MSU today but will tilt to Kentucky in two weeks. A number of NCAA Champions have failed to make the national tournament the next season, but missing their conference tournament is unthinkable. State has out-hit six of the eight ser...

Mississippi State hosts Florida in a crucial SEC weekend for both ball clubs. Winning this series won't lock up a SEC Tournament berth for either. But a lost weekend can put that team close to elimination from the entire post-season. Both teams began the season in the top-ten of all polls, now neither is ranked at all. Mississippi State shows significant statistical advantages in almost all offens...

Mississippi State lost a must-win and even must-sweep series at Missouri, yet somehow improved the SEC standings with three weekends left. But the NCAA's updated RPI finds the Bulldogs eleven spots lower and that much farther from Tournament selection. The remaining SEC slate does provide RPI opportunities only if the Bulldogs can win at least five of the nine games. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWi...

Charles Cross made more Mississippi State history as a first-round NFL Draft selection, highest by a Mississippi State player in four decades. An All-SEC tackle and three-season Bulldog, Cross turns 22 in November so his best years are ahead. Mike Leach and staff members attended the Las Vegas Draft event where Leach saw his fourth career first-round draft player. Bulldog baseball is on the road n...

Mississippi State won a tight three-game series at Ole Miss to improve both the SEC Tournament standings and NCAA Tournament chances. Bulldog teams have won the last six series in this rivalry. State used muscle to knock out the home-team Rebels, a marked role-reversal for both programs. State is 9th now in the SEC standings with a two-game margin over teams tied for 10th place. The Bulldogs still...

Mississippi State plays at Ole Miss. The weekend’s winner gains mid-SEC season momentum, the loser falls farther off post-season pace. The remaining schedules are just about equal which makes this weekend mean more. Mississippi State has owned the series since 2016, a streak the Rebels will give anything to end on their field. On the football field Mike Leach is making up for a washed-out spring g...

A holiday weekend was good not great for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs took two but were short of sweeping Auburn. They are tied for 9th in the SEC as the league’s season second half begins with post-season status very much in question. State is at rival Ole Miss this weekend. Sustained success is what the Bulldogs need now to improve in the standings and raise their NCAA ratings. Football’s spr...

A home-field sweeping leaves Mississippi State well off the SEC pace and nearing triple-digits in Monday’s updated NCAA RPI. The Bulldogs stay home for four games this week, and must start stacking up wins quickly to secure a SEC Tournament spot and improve NCAA Tournament hopes. Bullpen issues cost the Dogs one win but the larger problem is no production at the plate in RBI situations. Spring foo...

Hitting home runs is fun but Mississippi State needs more balance in the Bulldog offense to take care of visiting LSU in this weekend's SEC West rivalry series. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mississippi State hosts LSU during a crucial nine-game home stand for Bulldog baseball and their NCAA Tournament goals. State has improved its NCAA RPI greatly in two weeks but still is far from assured of post-season status. Coach Chris Lemonis is considering revising his starting rotation for this weekend but seems more likely to make these moves for the Auburn series. The all-righthander starti...

Salvaging a split at Arkansas was the bare Bulldog minimum for one weekend. But if they can turn a gritty Sunday victory into something bigger Mississippi State has nine home games to transform this 2022 season. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mississippi State begins a new month and an extended stretch of SEC West weekends with a trip to Arkansas. Cold conditions are expected in Fayetteville but the Diamond Dogs are feeling some heat to steal a win or two, and end Arkansas’ streak of sweeps at State expense. The Bulldogs also badly need to improve their RPI which has been in uncomfortable triple-digits for weeks. It is a different Razo...

Mississippi State took its must-win series with Alabama and evened the SEC record after two weekends. The Bulldogs got their wins the hardest ways, with 11 of the 15 total runs scored in the seventh innings or after. The weekend still left an incomplete feeling with a Sunday loss preventing a sweep which would have built momentum going into April and four SEC West rivalry series. Starting pitching...

Bulldog baseball is in town for a SEC weekend and hosting Alabama in a series which both clubs need to win. Mississippi State is looking to at least square the SEC record and maybe more. Bulldog batters have been flashing fresh power in the last two weeks and are third in SEC home runs. Maybe as importantly the Dogs are hitting doubles and driving in runs that were missing for weeks. A batting ord...

Mississippi State dropped a SEC season-opening series at Georgia and will likely drop from the top-25 rankings as well. The number which matters more is the NCAA's updated RPI, which can only go up from last week's debut at #178. At this point all that really counts is wins and after dropping a pair to a veteran Georgia team the Diamond Dogs need to at least take this weekend's series with Alabama...

SEC baseball season is underway and Mississippi State steps to the plate this evening at Georgia. Bulldog baseball has been an early-season mystery as offensive and pitching statistics don't exactly square-up. This reflects an ongoing search for the best batting order while injuries have forced revisions to both starting pitching and relief roles. State is #178 in the NCAA's ratings index and need...

A tough loss at Virginia ended Mississippi State's 2021-22 basketball season, in a manner Coach Ben Howland said epitomized the whole campaign. Now Bulldog basketball will wait on the expected news that Howland's own time as head coach has ended after seven seasons. He inherited a complete rebuilding job and did so over time, yet in the process raised expectations for the program his teams could n...

Mississippi State earned a much-needed sweep of visiting Princeton to build some momentum going into SEC baseball season, which opens this weekend at Georgia. Coach Chris Lemonis expects some updates on the health of three pitchers today. Another revised Bulldog batting order forces changes to the defensive lineup as Mississippi State seeks offense above all. A rotation seems taking shape for the...

As Mississippi State breaks for spring, there's no break for Bulldog teams. The basketball Dogs whip South Carolina to earn a quarterfinals matchup with Tennessee in the SEC Tournament. Barring an unlikely run to the tourney title there is no NCAA option, though the NIT is still out there. Either way Ben Howland's seven-season tenure will end with this campaign. Bulldog baseball brings a most unfa...

It's still early but a 6-6 start with some bad losses and no true quality wins already has Mississippi State baseball in a pre-SEC season hole. Concerns for the team pause Monday while awaiting results of a MRI on ace pitcher Landon Sims' arm. The Bulldogs have to decide starters for key midweek games with Texas Tech and if Sims is not available still find a rotation for the weekend series with Pr...