2010 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

The 2010 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS 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 at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi, which has been MSU football's "home" stadium since 1914. The Bulldogs finished the season 9–4, 4–4 in SEC play and faced Michigan in the Gator Bowl, which they won 52–14. The team finished with a #15 final ranking in the AP Poll, making them 2010's most improved team in the SEC. Vick Ballard set the school record for rushing touchdowns in a single season with 19 in the 2010 season.

2010 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 52–14 vs. Michigan
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 15
Record	9–4 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Dan Mullen (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Les Koenning (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread (multiple)
Defensive coordinator	Manny Diaz (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Chris Wilson (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Davis Wade Stadium
Seasons ← 2009 2011 →

2010 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 22 South Carolina x		5	–	3					9	–	5
Florida		4	–	4					8	–	5
Georgia		3	–	5					6	–	7
Tennessee		3	–	5					6	–	7
Kentucky		2	–	6					6	–	7
Vanderbilt		1	–	7					2	–	10
Western Division
No. 1 Auburn x$#		8	–	0					14	–	0
No. 12 Arkansas %		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 8 LSU		6	–	2					11	–	2
No. 10 Alabama		5	–	3					10	–	3
No. 15 Mississippi State		4	–	4					9	–	4
Ole Miss*		1	–	7					4	–	8
Championship: Auburn 56, South Carolina 17
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions * Ole Miss vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

On April 17, 2010, before a crowd of 34,127, the largest in Mississippi history, the Maroon squad defeated the White squad 26–13 in Mississippi State's spring football game held at Davis Wade Stadium Saturday evening.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	6:00 pm	Memphis*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPNU	W 49–7	56,032[1]
September 9	6:30 pm	No. 21 Auburn		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPN	L 14–17	54,806[2]
September 18	6:00 pm	at No. 15 LSU		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	ESPNU	L 7–29	92,538[3]
September 25	6:00 pm	Georgia		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECRN	W 24–12	56,721[4]
October 2	11:00 am	Alcorn State*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECRN	W 49–16	50,439[5]
October 9	7:00 pm	at Houston*		Robertson Stadium Houston, TX	CBSCS	W 47–24	32,067[6]
October 16	6:00 pm	at No. 22 Florida		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPNU	W 10–7	90,517[7]
October 23	6:00 pm	UAB*	No. 24	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPNU	W 29–24	56,423[8]
October 30	6:00 pm	Kentucky	No. 23	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPNU	W 24–17	54,168[9]
November 13	6:15 pm	at No. 11 Alabama	No. 17	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 10–30	101,821[10]
November 20	6:00 pm	No. 13 Arkansas	No. 22	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPN	L 31–38 2OT	56,406[11]
November 27	6:00 pm	at Ole Miss	No. 25	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Egg Bowl)	ESPNU	W 31–23	58,625[12]
January 1	12:30 pm	vs. Michigan*	No. 21	EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ESPN2	W 52–14	77,497[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Memphis

See also: 2010 Memphis Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	7	7
Bulldogs	14	7	21	7	49

Auburn

See also: 2010 Auburn Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
#21 Tigers	7	10	0	0	17
Bulldogs	7	0	7	0	14

LSU

See also: 2010 LSU Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	7	0	7
#15 Tigers	3	9	14	3	29

Georgia

See also: 2010 Georgia Bulldogs football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Georgia Bulldogs	0	6	0	6	12
Mississippi State Bulldogs	7	0	0	17	24

Alcorn State

See also: 2010 Alcorn State Braves football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	0	16	0	0	16
Bulldogs	7	28	0	14	49

Houston

See also: 2010 Houston Cougars football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	23	10	7	7	47
Cougars	7	3	7	7	24

Florida

See also: 2010 Florida Gators football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	10	0	0	0	10
#22 Gators	0	0	7	0	7

UAB

See also: 2010 UAB Blazers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	3	7	7	7	24
#24 Bulldogs	7	3	10	9	29

Kentucky

See also: 2010 Kentucky Wildcats football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	3	7	0	17
#21 Bulldogs	10	7	0	7	24

Alabama

See also: 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Bulldogs	3	0	0	7	10
#12 Crimson Tide	6	14	7	3	30

Arkansas

See also: 2010 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

	1	2	3	4	2OT	Total
#13 Razorbacks	14	3	7	7	7	38
#21 Bulldogs	7	14	0	10	0	31

Ole Miss

See also: 2010 Ole Miss Rebels football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
#25 Bulldogs	0	21	10	0	31
Rebels	6	3	0	14	23

Gator Bowl

See also: 2010 Michigan Wolverines football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
#21 Bulldogs	10	21	14	7	52
Wolverines	14	0	0	0	14