To say Mississippi State’s defense struggled mightily in 2016 would be an understatement. And the number of problems seemed nearly endless.
The Bulldogs gave up 31.8 points and 459.1 yards per game, both of which ranked much closer to the bottom of the country than the top (93rd and 110th, respectively). The pass defense was even worse at 281.5 yards per game (120th). While the rush defense was better than most of the other areas (177.5 yards per game, which ranked 70th), it was hardly great.
As bad those numbers were, there was a stretch in which the Bulldogs surrendered more than 600 yards of offense three times in four games.