MSU will open the season ranked in the top 20 of both major polls for the first time since 2011.
Football Ranked No. 18 in Preseason AP Poll
August 20, 2018 | Football
by Brandon Langlois, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Just weeks after earning its highest preseason Coaches poll ranking since 1981, Mississippi State checked in at No. 18 in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.
The Bulldogs' No. 18 AP ranking is their highest preseason position in the poll since entering the 1981 season at No. 14. MSU earned 450 points and was the fourth-highest ranked Southeastern Conference team behind No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia and No. 9 Auburn. Of the 25 ranked teams, five of them come from the SEC with three of them on State's schedule this season.
The 2018 season marks the first time the Bulldogs will open the year in the top 20 of both major polls since 2011, when they were ranked No. 20 by both the AP and coaches.
State previously landed at No. 18 in this year's preseason Amway Coaches Top 25 released on Aug. 2. Dating back to last season, it's the eighth straight week that MSU has been ranked.
The Bulldogs finished the 2017 campaign at No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the Coaches poll and return 18 starters from that team.
First-year head coach Joe Moorhead and his squad will practice Monday and Tuesday before their third and final scrimmage Wednesday inside Davis Wade Stadium.
The Bulldogs will kick off the 2018 season on Sept. 1, when they host Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Season tickets, mini-plans and individual game tickets for the 2018 Bulldog season can be purchased at HailState.com/MoorCowbell, by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS or in person at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office on the first floor of the Bryan Athletic Administration Building (288 Lakeview Drive), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
2018 – No. 18
2011 – No. 20
2001 – No. 20
1993 – No. 24
1992 – No. 22
1981 – No. 14
1977 – No. 16
1958 – No. 15
* - preseason AP Top 25 Poll data available from 1958-present by CollegePollArchive.com
MSU in the Preseason Coaches Poll
2018 – No. 18
2011 – No. 20
2001 – No. 19
1993 – No. 25
1981 – No. 15
* - preseason Coaches Poll data from 1950-75 unavailable (only final available)
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Just weeks after earning its highest preseason Coaches poll ranking since 1981, Mississippi State checked in at No. 18 in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.
The Bulldogs' No. 18 AP ranking is their highest preseason position in the poll since entering the 1981 season at No. 14. MSU earned 450 points and was the fourth-highest ranked Southeastern Conference team behind No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia and No. 9 Auburn. Of the 25 ranked teams, five of them come from the SEC with three of them on State's schedule this season.
The 2018 season marks the first time the Bulldogs will open the year in the top 20 of both major polls since 2011, when they were ranked No. 20 by both the AP and coaches.
State previously landed at No. 18 in this year's preseason Amway Coaches Top 25 released on Aug. 2. Dating back to last season, it's the eighth straight week that MSU has been ranked.
The Bulldogs finished the 2017 campaign at No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the Coaches poll and return 18 starters from that team.
First-year head coach Joe Moorhead and his squad will practice Monday and Tuesday before their third and final scrimmage Wednesday inside Davis Wade Stadium.
The Bulldogs will kick off the 2018 season on Sept. 1, when they host Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Season tickets, mini-plans and individual game tickets for the 2018 Bulldog season can be purchased at HailState.com/MoorCowbell, by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS or in person at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office on the first floor of the Bryan Athletic Administration Building (288 Lakeview Drive), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Preseason AP Top 25 Poll
1. Alabama (42 first-place votes)
2. Clemson (18)
3. Georgia
4. Wisconsin (1)
5. Ohio State
6. Washington
7. Oklahoma
8. Miami
9. Auburn
10. Penn State
11. Michigan State
12. Notre Dame
13. Stanford
14. Michigan
15. USC
16. TCU
17. West Virginia
18. Mississippi State
19. Florida State
20. Virginia Tech
21. UCF
22. Boise State
23. Texas
24. Oregon
25. LSU
2018 – No. 18
2011 – No. 20
2001 – No. 20
1993 – No. 24
1992 – No. 22
1981 – No. 14
1977 – No. 16
1958 – No. 15
* - preseason AP Top 25 Poll data available from 1958-present by CollegePollArchive.com
MSU in the Preseason Coaches Poll
2018 – No. 18
2011 – No. 20
2001 – No. 19
1993 – No. 25
1981 – No. 15
* - preseason Coaches Poll data from 1950-75 unavailable (only final available)
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