Josh Pate Calls Mississippi State The Most 'Slept On' Team In The SEC West

On his live show The Late Kick, Josh Pate from CBS Sports recently stated that he believed Mississippi State was the most slept on and most overlooked football team in the SEC West.

MSU, coming off of a 9-4 season in 2022, sees quarterback Will Rogers returning while being lead by first-year head coach Zach Arnett, who was promoted in December of 2022 following the death of coach Mike Leach.

Arnett, who has consistently made clear that the team would be moving away from Leach's Air Raid offense, had some analysts questioning the direction of the team.

But Pate has expressed his belief in Arnett's squad.

"They've got a pretty good team," Pate said about the Bulldogs during his most recent episode of The Late Kick.

"You know, there are a lot of teams out there with bigger brand names that have far lower season win totals than the Mississippi State Bulldogs."

What they're going to be moving forward, I think it's impossible to know because you've got a guy that's been thrusted into being an SEC head coach, that was not expected by anyone to be an SEC head coach in 2023. That's not to knock the guy's ability. It is just obvious."

Off the field, Arnett has also been on a tear on the recruiting trail, picking up four 4-star commitments for the 2024 recruiting class this past June alone. The Bulldogs have also just recently landed the commitment top available transfer Seydou Traore from Colorado.

MSU opens the 2023 college football season against Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 2. It will be exciting to see just how much potential this new Bulldogs team has under Arnett.