2022 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

The 2022 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi, and compete in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by third-year head coach Mike Leach through the regular season, with Zach Arnett taking over for the team’s bowl appearance after Leach's death in December 2022.

2022 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
ReliaQuest Bowl champion
ReliaQuest Bowl, W 19–10 vs. Illinois
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 20
Record	9–4 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Mike Leach (3rd season; regular season) Zach Arnett (bowl game)
Offensive scheme	Air Raid
Defensive coordinator	Zach Arnett (3rd season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Davis Wade Stadium
Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

2022 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 1 Georgia xy$#^		8	–	0					15	–	0
No. 6 Tennessee		6	–	2					11	–	2
No. 23 South Carolina		4	–	4					8	–	5
Kentucky		3	–	5					7	–	6
Florida		3	–	5					6	–	7
Missouri		3	–	5					6	–	7
Vanderbilt		2	–	6					5	–	7
Western Division
No. 16 LSU xy		6	–	2					10	–	4
No. 5 Alabama x		6	–	2					11	–	2
No. 20 Mississippi State		4	–	4					9	–	4
Ole Miss		4	–	4					8	–	5
Arkansas		3	–	5					7	–	6
Auburn		2	–	6					5	–	7
Texas A&M		2	–	6					5	–	7
Championship: Georgia 50, LSU 30
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

In October 2022, 19-year-old freshman offensive lineman Samuel Westmoreland, from Tupelo, Mississippi, committed suicide.^[1] Mississippi State honored Westmoreland with helmet stickers and by painting his initials and number on Scott Field.^[2]

On December 11, Leach was hospitalized in critical condition, and Arnett was elevated to interim head coach.^[3][4] Practice for the Bulldogs ahead of the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl and recruiting, was scheduled to continue as normal.^[5] Leach died in the evening of December 12, with Mississippi State announcing the news in a statement the following morning.^[6][7] Following the death of Leach, Arnett was made the permanent head coach.^[8]

Schedule

Mississippi State and the SEC announced the 2022 football schedule on September 21, 2021.^[9][10]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:30 p.m.	Memphis*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPNU	W 49–23	54,360
September 10	10:00 p.m.	at Arizona*		Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	FS1	W 39–17	46,275
September 17	5:00 p.m.	at LSU		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 16–31	98,520
September 24	11:00 a.m.	Bowling Green*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 45–14	48,376
October 1	3:00 p.m.	No. 17 Texas A&M		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 42–24	51,930
October 8	11:00 a.m.	Arkansas	No. 23	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (SEC Nation)	SECN	W 40–17	57,849
October 15	6:30 p.m.	at No. 22 Kentucky	No. 16	Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN	L 17–27	61,451
October 22	6:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Alabama	No. 24	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 6–30	100,077
November 5	6:30 p.m.	Auburn		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPN2	W 39–33 OT	57,769
November 12	6:00 p.m.	No. 1 Georgia		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPN	L 19–45	60,352
November 19	11:00 a.m.	East Tennessee State*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	ESPN+/SECN+	W 56–7	49,117
November 24	6:00 p.m.	at No. 20 Ole Miss		Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Egg Bowl)	ESPN	W 24–22	62,487
January 2, 2023	11:00 a.m.	vs. Illinois*	No. 22	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (ReliaQuest Bowl)	ESPN2	W 19–10	35,797
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Further information: 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	—	—	23	16	24	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	25	24	20
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	17	24	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	25	23	19
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	24	22	Not released

Coaching staff

Name	Position
Mike Leach	Head coach (regular season)
Tony Hughes	Associate head coach & nickelbacks coach
Zach Arnett	Head Coach (bowl game), defensive coordinator & linebackers coach
Matt Brock	Special teams coordinator & outside linebackers coach
Darcel McBath	Cornerbacks coach
Eric Mele	Running backs coach
Mason Miller	Offensive line coach
Dave Nichol	Inside receivers coach
Jeff Phelps	Defensive line coach
Steve Spurrier Jr.	Outside receivers coach
Jason Washington	Safeties coach
Tyson Brown	Head strength and conditioning coach

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2023 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
1	16	Emmanuel Forbes	CB	Washington Commanders
4	123	Cameron Young	DT	Seattle Seahawks

References

1. "Live like Sam Westmoreland: Family recounts legacy of Mississippi State football player". The Clarion-Ledger.
2. Hunte, Sydney (November 5, 2022). "Mississippi State to honor deceased OL Sam Westmoreland with number painted on field". Saturday Down South. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
3. Sallee, Barrett (December 12, 2022). "Mississippi State coach Mike Leach hospitalized in 'critical condition' with 'personal health issue'". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
4. "Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach still in critical condition". ESPN. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
5. Smith, Danny (December 11, 2022). "MSU head football coach Leach taken to hospital". Starkville Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
6. "MSU Bulldog family, college football community mourns the death of Coach Mike Leach".
7. "Mississippi State coach Mike Leach dies after hospitalization". ESPN. December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
8. "Zach Arnett promoted to Bulldog head coach (Updated)".
9. Andy Kostka (September 21, 2021). "Here's Mississippi State football's 2022 schedule, from opener to Egg Bowl". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
10. Theo DeRosa (September 21, 2021). "2022 Mississippi State football schedule released". The Commercial Dispatch. Retrieved December 6, 2021.