2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
2009 record	5–7 (3–5 SEC)
Head coach	Dan Mullen (1st year)
Offensive coordinator	Les Koenning (1st year)
Offensive scheme	Spread option
Defensive coordinator	Carl Torbush (1st year)
Home stadium	Davis Wade Stadium (Capacity: 55,082)

The 2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 2009 college football season. Mississippi State has been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) since the league's inception in 1932, and has participated in that conference's Western Division since 1992. The Bulldogs played their home games in 2009 at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi, which has been MSU football's home stadium since 1914.

Head coach Sylvester Croom resigned at the end of the 2008 season. The position was filled by former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, making this Mullen's first stint as a head coach. The Bulldogs finished the season 5–7 (3–5 SEC). The NCAA rated MSU's 2009 schedule as the toughest in the country and the 2nd toughest in the past 10 years. ^[1]

On November 30, 2009, Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon was awarded the Conerly Trophy as the best college football player in the State of Mississippi. He joined previous MSU Conerly Trophy winners J.J. Johnson and Jerious Norwood.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	2:30 p.m.	Jackson State*	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPNU	W 45–7	54,232[2]
September 12	6:00 p.m.	at Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	SECRN	L 24–49	85,269[3]
September 19	6:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	SECRN	W 15–3	31,840[4]
September 26	11:21 a.m.	No. 7 LSU	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Rivalry)	SECN	L 26–30	53,612[5]
October 3	6:30 p.m.	No. 25 Georgia Tech*	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	CSS	L 31–42	50,035[6]
October 10	11:30 a.m.	Houston*	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPNU	L 24–31	48,019[7]
October 17	11:30 a.m.	at Middle Tennessee*	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN	ESPNU	W 27–6	23,882[8]
October 24	6:30 p.m.	No. 1 Florida	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPN	L 19–29	57,178[9]
October 31	6:00 p.m.	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY (Rivalry)	SECRN	W 31–24	67,953[10]
November 14	6:00 p.m.	No. 2 Alabama	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Rivalry)	ESPN	L 3–31	58,103[11]
November 21	11:21 a.m.	at Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, AR	SECN	L 21–42	55,634[12]
November 28	11:21 a.m.	No. 25 Ole Miss	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Egg Bowl)	SECN	W 41–27	55,365[13]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll as released week prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Schedule Source: ^[14]

Depth chart

Statistics

Team

Scores by quarter

Coaching staff

• Dan Mullen - Head Coach (0 Years)
• Mark Hudspeth - Passing Game Coordinator (0 Years)
• John Hevesy
• Tony Hughes
• Greg Knox
• Les Koenning
• Melvin Smith
• Reed Stringer (6 Years)
• Carl Torbush - Defensive Coordinator
• David Turner (3 Years)
• Matt Balis - Head Strength Coach

References