Although Mississippi State has become the most consistent winner in the SEC West over the past four years, the Bulldogs attacked the offseason with a Rodney Dangerfield-sized chip on their shoulders.

They're Jackie Sherrill's blue-collar Bulldogs.

But there's no getting around their status as a favorite this season.

With a 31-13 regular-season record over the past two seasons, as well as being the only SEC program to post back-to-back bowl victories in that span, MSU has its eyes set on an SEC West title.

"It's just plain, ol' fashioned Mississippi State football," said junior All-America linebacker Mario Haggan, who relishes the Bulldogs' role as one of the preseason favorites to win the West. "We know what success smells like, what it tastes like. It's like a good steak. And we don't want anything but the best."

If the Bulldogs are planning on dining with the best, they'll have to beat 'em first.

They kick off the season with a rugged schedule that includes an always-tough Memphis club, Brigham Young, South Carolina and then trips to Florida and Auburn.

Not to worry. The Bulldogs have the most offensive firepower they've had in years -- perhaps ever. They were nothing short of remarkable, statistically speaking, in 2000. They ran for 2,132 yards and passed for 2,118 yards, averaging 30 points per game.

Senior quarterback Wayne Madkin became the school's career passing leader as a junior. He'll trigger an offensive unit that led the league in rushing last season by some 30 yards per game.

"We feel like we can run the ball on anybody," said Madkin, who guided the Bulldogs to the SEC title game in 1998 as a redshirt freshman. "Now, we've got a gang of talented receivers that we're working with. And we have to take our passing game to the next level.

"If we do that, it should be hard for any defense to counter our balance. We want to be the most balanced team in the country."

They'll certainly have one of the best tailback tandems in the nation with senior Dicenzo Miller (1,005 yards, SEC-best 6.3 yards per carry) and junior Dontae Walker (795 yards, SEC third-best 5.4 yards per carry).

Miller, a second-team all-SEC pick who started every game, became just the fifth MSU back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Sure-handed seniors Harold Lindsey and Clarence Parker are the veteran receivers, with a group of youngsters who have game-breaking ability.

Explosive sophomore flanker Justin Jenkins leads the pups. Redshirts Ray Ray Bivines, Antonio Hargro and McKinley Scott join juniors Terrell Grindle (the starter as a sophomore who had knee surgery during the offseason), Brandon Butler and Darius Tubbs.

Junior tight end Donald Lee, a vicious blocker with soft hands, returns for a third season as the starter.

Three senior starters -- guard Courtney Lee, tackle Kenric Fairchild and guard-turned-center Tommy Watson -- return on the offensive line. A fourth, sophomore Derrick Thompson, started in place of injured All-America left tackle Pork Chop Womack during the second half of the 2000 season.

But as deep as the Bulldogs are on offense, they're equally as thin on the other side of the ball. Just five starters return, although the way Sherrill plays his defenses -- using so much of the depth along the way -- that players have experience even though they aren't returning starters.

The biggest is senior defensive tackle Dorsett Davis, a 6-6, 310-pound specimen, the lone returnee up front.

Five newcomers, four of them JC All-Americans, are ticketed for immediate service.

Mario Haggan leads the second line of defense. His 132 tackles in 2000 were the most by a Bulldog in five seasons. And he's just the headliner of a talented and deep linebacking corps that includes second-team all-SEC pick Conner Stephens, a senior and starter since his freshman season.

The secondary returns two starters. Junior free safety Josh Morgan managed 95 tackles, second most on the team. Senior DOG safety Pig Prather, a Lindy's/SportsLine.com preseason All-American, was third with 78 tackles and five sacks.

Senior Shawn Byrdsong, who started four games last season, returns to the other DOG safety spot while JC All-Americans Korey Banks, Richard Ball and Demetric Wright, will battle for the vacant cornerback spots.

The secondary is as deep as it's ever been under Sherrill, even though they lost star cornerback Fred Smoot to the NFL. Quality players are back in seniors Julius Griffith, Marco Minor and Anthony Bryant, sophomores Bryan Shumaker, Milas Randle and David Mooneyham, and redshirt freshmen Jonathan Bell, Slovakia Griffith and Gabe Wallace. And that doesn't include incoming freshman Clarence McDougal, the most highly touted signee of the recruiting class.

"We've got a lot of the right things in place," Haggan said. "But it's up to us to put in the work it takes to make it all come together."

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