2014 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team
The 2014 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dan Mullen, who was in his sixth season with Mississippi State. The Bulldogs played their home games at the newly expanded and renovated Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The 2014 season was one of the most successful seasons in Mississippi State's 110-year football history. In mid-October, they shot to #1 in the polls for the first time in school history, and the highest that any FBS team in Mississippi had been ranked at that late date in the season in half a century. They ultimately finished 10–3, the third 10-win season in school history. They netted a berth in the Orange Bowl, the second major-bowl appearance in school history, where they were defeated by Georgia Tech. Before the season Departing players Key losses for the Bulldogs included: Denico Autry, starting defensive end and current member of the Tennessee Titans Gabe Jackson, offensive guard who was selected by the Raiders in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft LaDarius Perkins, starting running back