2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Conference	Southeastern Conference 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)

2009 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
#3 Florida x%		8	–	0					13	–	1
Georgia		4	–	4					8	–	5
Tennessee		4	–	4					7	–	6
Kentucky		3	–	5					7	–	6
South Carolina		3	–	5					7	–	6
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	10
Western Division
#1 Alabama x$#		8	–	0					14	–	0
#17 LSU		5	–	3					9	–	4
#20 Ole Miss		4	–	4					9	–	4
Arkansas		3	–	5					8	–	5
Auburn		3	–	5					8	–	5
Mississippi State		3	–	5					5	–	7
Championship: Alabama 32, Florida 13
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

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.

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
September 12	6:00 p.m.	at Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	SECRN	L 24–49	85,269
September 19	6:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	SECRN	W 15–3	31,840
September 26	11:21 a.m.	#7 LSU	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Rivalry)	SECN	L 26–30	53,612
October 3	6:30 p.m.	#25 Georgia Tech*	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	CSS	L 31–42	50,035
October 10	11:30 a.m.	Houston*	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPNU	L 24–31	48,019
October 17	11:30 a.m.	at Middle Tennessee*	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN	ESPNU	W 27–6	23,882
October 24	6:30 p.m.	#1 Florida	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS	ESPN	L 19–29	57,178
October 31	6:00 p.m.	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY (Rivalry)	SECRN	W 31–24	67,953
November 14	6:00 p.m.	#2 Alabama	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Rivalry)	ESPN	L 3–31	58,103
November 21	11:21 a.m.	at Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, AR	SECN	L 21–42	55,634
November 28	11:21 a.m.	#25 Ole Miss	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Egg Bowl)	SECN	W 41–27	55,365
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll as released week prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Schedule Source:

Depth chart

Defense FS Johnthan Banks Wade Bonner WLB MLB SLB ⋅ Jamar Chaney ⋅ Karlin Brown Brandon Wilson ⋅ SS Charles Mitchell Emmanuel Gatling CB Marcus Washington Corey Broomfield DE DT DT DE Brandon Cooper Charles Burns Kyle Love Pernell McPhee Nick Bell Fletcher Cox Josh Boyd Sean Ferguson CB Maurice Langston Damein Anderson Offense X Brandon McRae Leon Berry H Chad Bumphis Brandon Heavens LT LG C RG RT Derek Sherrod Quentin Saulsberry J.C. Brignone Craig Jenkins Addison Lawrence Chris Spencer Mark Melichar D.J. Looney Tobias Smith Phillip Freeman TE Marcus Green Kendrick Cook Z O'Neal Wilder Tay Bowser QB Tyson Lee Chris Relf Key Reserves RB Arnil Stallworth RB Robert Elliot WR Chris Smith FB Patrick Hanrahan FS Zach Smith RB Anthony Dixon Christian Ducre' Special Teams PK Derek DePasuale PK Sean Brauchle P Heath Hutchins KR Leon Berry PR Leon Berry LS Aaron Feld H Chris Cameron

Statistics

Team

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total Mississippi State 21 30 31 28 110 Opponents 27 20 21 21 89

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