In what seems as impossible as it does, Mississippi State Football has three games remaining on the 2023 schedule. Needing to win two of the remaining three, Mississippi State has a harsh reality to face and overcome before missing a bowl game for the first time since 2009. A streak that Mississippi State has a lot of pride in is now in jeopardy. Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium was about as depressing as it comes; the Bulldog faithful showed up in numbers, eager to cheer on the Bulldogs to victory over the visiting Kentucky Wildcats. Fans arrived early to celebrate the success of the 1998 Southeastern Conference Western Divison Champions; everything in the pregame was perfect.

However, as kick-off rolled around for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, they would go three and out on their first possession, and the Kentucky Wildcats were off to the races by scoring a touchdown first. Mississippi State would cut into the lead by putting together a drive that would add the only points of the night for the boys in Maroon and White a field goal. From there, Mike Wright would throw a pick-six that sucked the entire life out of Davis Wade Stadium before reaching halftime of the heavy-weight fight between the Wildcats and Bulldogs.

Facing the facts might be too challenging for some around the program to overcome. The fact is, Mississippi State Football is dead last in recruiting as of November 7th; the perception around the program is at an all-time low, and Mississippi State keeps losing games embarrassingly to teams that have no business losing to. Coach Arnett has lost the support of his fan base, a fan base that has been there from the start to carry the burden of replacing the legendary Mike Leach, who tragically passed away in December. However, as tragic and heartbreaking as it was, Coach Arnett took over a program with a lot of success to build off of. Instead of using the momentum from last season, where the Bulldogs finished with nine wins, including wins over Texas A&M, Arkansas, Auburn, and Ole Miss, Coach Arnett decided he wanted to do things his way, backfiring for the young coach.

As the season has progressed, instead of getting better by each game, Mississippi State has gotten steadily worse without progression at all. Offensive Coordinator Kevin Barbay has failed to lead the Mississippi State offense into the modern age of college football. It seems as if wasting away the talent on the offensive side of the ball is the goal for the 2023 season. Although not true, there are more unanswered questions surrounding the unit than before. Sure, things can magically change overnight for the Mississippi State offense, but a few folks will have to swallow some pride for the unit to do better.

As far as the future goes, the Mississippi State Athletics Administrators will have some difficult decisions to make once the season is officially over. On one hand, you get rid of Coach Arnett after one season to find a replacement that will fit the program for the future, and a lot of people in the fan base are happy. On the other, you have the harsh truth that firing a coach after one season is a bit extreme, even in a climate that faces college football in 2023.

Mississippi State will head to College Station, Texas, on Saturday night to take on the Aggies in another must-win situation.