It’s that time of the college football season again, where we check in on our favorite village idiot, Mississippi State Bulldogs Head Coach Mike Leach. At the start of this season, we predicted a 6-6 record for him in 2021, and well … now we may want to revise that idea.

While ESPN’s Football Power Index somehow rates Mississippi State 30th in the nation, currently, the formula still predicts just 6 victories for the Bulldogs. The same metrics rate the Mississippi State schedule just 50th in the country so far, as the Bulldogs beat Louisiana Tech by 1 point to open the season, followed by a 14-point victory over North Carolina State.

Then Leach’s squad suffered two losses in a row, to Memphis and LSU, respectively. This is right where we saw the team, in truth, based on our August viewpoint. But now, we don’t see the rest of the season playing out the way we thought, as both Kentucky and Ole Miss are playing well right now (combined 7-0). While both those games are at home for the Bulldogs, we see the flaws in Leach’s usual schtick.

Check out this quote from LSU after last Saturday’s loss: “You just gotta know, that’s Mississippi State’s offense, ” linebacker Damone Clark said. “All week our coaches have been saying, ‘Don’t bite on the cheese.'”

Literally, that’s all Leach can run, his one-trick pony offensive scheme. His vaunted offense is averaging just 28.2 points a game right now, which ranks 75th in the country. Never known as a defensive wizard, the Mississippi State defense is ranked 80th in scoring defense. With the heart of the schedule coming up, those numbers both will just tank since two “easy” teams have already been played.

The next six games might just yield one victory for Leach: the Vanderbilt game on October 23. Otherwise, it’s Texas A&M, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Auburn next up. The Bulldogs close with a cupcake game (Tennessee State) and then the Egg Bowl against Mississippi to close out the regular season.

It’s very possible this squad goes 4-8 this year, and there will be no bowl-game exceptions to save Leach’s minimal reputation at that point like there was last year.