2016 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team


The 2016 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference. They were led by eighth-year head coach Dan Mullen. Despite having a 5–7 record, the first losing season since 2009, Mississippi State qualified for a bowl bid due to their high APR score. Mississippi State beat the Miami RedHawks in the St. Petersburg Bowl to finish the season at 6–7.

Schedule

Mississippi State announced its 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consists of six home and six away games in the regular season. The Bulldogs will host SEC foes Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina, and Texas A&M, and will travel to Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, and Ole Miss.
The Bulldogs hosted the South Carolina Gamecocks for the first time since 2011. The team traveled to two independent schools, UMass for the first time and to BYU for the first time since 2000. Mississippi State hosted the other two non–conference games against Samford of the Southern Conference and South Alabama of the Sun Belt Conference.

Game summaries

South Alabama

Overall RecordPrevious MeetingPrevious Winner
2–0September 13, 2014Mississippi State, 35–3

South Carolina

Overall RecordPrevious MeetingPrevious Winner
6–9November 2, 2013South Carolina, 34–16

Louisiana State

Overall RecordPrevious MeetingPrevious Winner
34–72–3September 12, 2015LSU, 21–19

UMass

Overall RecordPrevious MeetingPrevious Winner
26–61–2September 26, 2015Mississippi State, 17–9

BYU

Sources:
Overall RecordPrevious MeetingPrevious Winner
1–1December 1, 2001BYU, 41–38

Kentucky

Overall RecordPrevious MeetingPrevious Winner
22–21October 24, 2015Mississippi State, 42–16

Samford

Overall RecordPrevious MeetingPrevious Winner
16–1–1September 21, 1963Mississippi State, 43–0

Texas A&M

Overall RecordPrevious MeetingPrevious Winner
4–5October 3, 2015Texas A&M, 30–17

Miami (OH)