Big news out of Starkville, MS today as it is very well possible that the Bulldogs will be moving on from Defensive Coordinator Coleman Hutzler as it is believed that he has been, “relieved of his duties”. Taking over for the Bulldogs defensive playcalling will be former defensive coordinator and head coach Zach Arnett.
In the last two seasons, the Mississippi State Bulldogs defense has finished 127th and 95th in the country amongst all FBS teams.
Although the 2024 season may have been rough for Bulldog fans, this 2025 season showed huge improvements but also showed that they still have a way to go on the defensive side of the ball.
The Mississippi State defense still showed struggles in stopping the run game this season, as they allowed an average of 189.5 rushing yards per game. That was certainly an improvement from the 2024 season where the Bulldogs gave up an average of 216.9 rushing yards per game.
As the run defense did improve, so did the pass rushing. The Bulldogs posted just 10 sacks in 2024 and doubled up this season finishing with 20 sacks. Again, the key word is IMPROVEMENT.
In the 24 games under Hutzler, opponents gained 400 yards or more 15 times and 500 yards or more six times. Nothing changed in the Egg Bowl, as the Bulldogs defense gave up 545 yards at 7.3 yards per play.
Is it surprising that Arnett is coming back to Starkville? Maybe. But it does make sense looking back at the ranking of Arnett lead defenses that were all ranked: 35th, 40th, and 29th overall.
If the Bulldogs had a top 40 ranked defense, I think they would currently be preparing to play in a bowl game.
Coach Arnett recently was an analyst for Florida State in 2025, and an analyst at Ole Miss in 2024.
Hopefully, for Bulldog fans like myself, he is back in Starkville to fix a broken defense.
