Ole Miss or Mississippi State: Which school has the better chance of repeating success in 2015?
By Dave Bevan
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The strength of schedule could tell the story…
Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
We’ve mentioned this before, Mississippi State had an easy schedule in 2014 that worked in their favor. They beat three teams that finished the season with winning records, and their non-conference schedule gave very little credibility to their strength of schedule. That strength of schedule may work in the Bulldogs favor again in the 2015 season. Their 2015 non-conference schedule consists of a road game against Southern Miss, Northwestern State, Troy, and Louisiana Tech.
However, all of those non-conference games will be sucked up by the middle of October, leaving the Bulldogs a tough five SEC game stretch. They will have tough road games against Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Missouri. They will have home field advantage to the SEC elite foes Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss.
The Rebels will have a much easier non-conference schedule in 2015. They will host UT-Martin in the season opener, then Fresno State, New Mexico State, and a road game against Memphis. Their SEC slate comes at no easy task either. The Rebels open their SEC play at Alabama. They will then host Vanderbilt on September 19th and will not have another SEC home game until October 24th against Texas A&M. They will also have to go on the road against Florida, Auburn, and Mississippi State. The relief of having LSU and Arkansas at home will be the only plus.
Next: This prediction could be way too bold for your eyes...