Mullens' conservatism is almost disqualifying

I thought we should have gone for that 4th and 3. Without question. We missed too many opportunities early in the game and had a chance to take a shot there and really put some stress on Alabama. Should have gone for it.

I thought the decision to punt there was a bad call and changed the course of the game. Your offense had a much better chance of picking up three yards than your defense did of stopping Hurts.

Although they lost, this was the best Miss State has played Alabama in Mullen's tenure, even better than 2014. The first 3 quarters were actually advantage to Miss St. Maybe he should have done things a little differently in certain moments, notably the drive after Bama missed that fg, or maybe he should have gone for it on that 4th and short (although that's a BIG gamble when your defense has been playing decently throughout the game). But he got an out-matched team to play a competitive game and I'm still impressed with what he has put together at State.

Bama sort of took control in the 4th quarter and played their best football at the end of the game in the biggest moments, which is what good teams do. I also think Miss St tired out and some of their depth issues showed a bit towards the end. In any case I think Mullen would be a great hire for a lot of big schools if he should ever choose to leave Starkville.

I don't think he went that conservative. The left side of the line had been getting a good push all night. He ran Williams to the left, and I am sure that he expected more than a yard on the play. It wasn't like it was a random run into the middle. On the next play, they were trying to get 3rd down to a manageable distance, and Bama shut Fitz down for another 1 yard gain. MSU with on 3rd and less that 5 has a really high conversion rate. We aren't good at 3rd and 8 or more. The next play was OK, but it is one where you want your player to win the one on one. He didn't.

Not going for it on 4th and 3.5 was an OK decision. Your punter needs to keep the ball on the field short of the goal line. If the defense gets the 3rd and 15 stop, the coaching decisions look just fine.

Mullen generally coaches pretty bad against us. His gameplan last night (and his guys execution) was perfect.

But Texas A&M passing on him for something like this is pretty much why you guys are Texas A&M.