We move on to our first bowl team and take a look at Mississippi State's 2011 regular season:

OFFENSE: C

With the weapons Mississippi State brought back this season, a lot was expected from the Bulldogs in 2011. Things started fine, as the Bulldogs racked up a ton of yards and points through the first two weeks. But even though Mississippi State scored 34 points and totaled 531 yards in Week 2 against Auburn, quarterback Chris Relf's game-tying touchdown run was stopped short of the goal line and it seemed like everything changed for the Bulldogs. The offense just never got back to its 2010 form and Relf's play suffered throughout the season. The Bulldogs eventually had a quarterback battle on their hands with Relf and Tyler Russell, who eventually took over as Mississippi State's No. 1 QB. Running back Vick Ballard passed his rushing mark from last year, gaining 1,009 yards, but finished with eight touchdowns, which is 11 fewer than last year. Even with solid depth at wide receiver, Mississippi State's passing game averaged just 186.2 yards per game and the Bulldogs finished the season ranking sixth in the SEC in total offense, averaging 355.1 yards per game.

DEFENSE: B -

The Bulldogs entered the season with questions inside its front seven. Mississippi State had talent on the interior of the line with Fletcher Cox and Josh Boyd, but had to replacing three starting linebackers. The Bulldogs were also replacing defensive coordinator Manny Diaz with Chris Wilson. No one was quite sure what the Bulldogs would do on defense, but the defensive backfield was stacked with talent. Cornerback Johnthan Banks highlighted the Bulldog's secondary, having a very solid year in Starkville. He defended 14 passes, intercepted five passes, had three sacks and totaled 64 tackles. There was a lot of bend in Mississippi State's defense, but the unit played better than most expected at times. Mississippi State gave up 355.9 yards per game, but only 19.9 points per contest. Mississippi State's pass defense ranked ninth in the league, but allowed just nine passing touchdowns.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C-

The Bulldogs didn't have much success at all returning kickoffs. Mississippi State was last in the SEC in kickoff returns, averaging only 17.7 yards per return. Mississippi State was the only team to average fewer than 20 yards on kick returns. Mississippi State did better on punt returns, getting a touchdown from both Banks and Chad Bumphis. Mississippi State connected on 11 of 18 field goals, but was sixth in punting, as punter Baker Swedenburg averaged 41.9 yards per punt and netted 38 yards per kick.

COACHING: C

Dan Mullen did a tremendous job in 2010, getting the Bulldogs to nine wins for the first time since 1999. This year, the Bulldogs took a step back, even with lofty expectations before the season. Mississippi State enters the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl against Wake Forest with a 6-6 record. Mullen continued his SEC West slide, yet again beating only Ole Miss from his side of the division. The offense failed to live up to its expectations, but the defense did perform better than expected for the most part. Despite some rough patches, Mullen kept his team competitive for the entire season, winning the games the Bulldogs were supposed to, and has Mississippi State in the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in more than a decade.