SEC Football Q&A: Does Ole Miss or Mississippi State Have More Staying Power?

The season is in the books, the College Football Playoff field is set, and fans are making plans to follow their teams to bowl sites around the country over the holidays.

Two of the big surprises this season were Ole Miss and Mississippi State ascending to the national conversation. The Rebels and Bulldogs both made appearances in the playoff rankings during the season, with Mississippi State earning the No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history.

Which one has more staying power?

That question along with Georgia's quarterback battle and playoff expansion are discussed in this week's SEC Q&A.

I'll hold my judgement on Mississippi State until this offseason. For Ole Miss, though, this year was absolutely the start of what could be a rise to prominence in the SEC West.

Look who the primary contributors were on this year's Ole Miss team. Defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche? Sophomore. Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell? Sophomore. Safety Tony Conner? Sophomore. Running back Jordan Wilkins? Freshman. That's on top of other youngsters who haven't yet made an impact, including safety C.J. Hampton—a former 4-star prospect during the last recruiting cycle. 

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We already knew head coach Hugh Freeze and the staff were lights out on the recruiting trail, and Freeze's new contract brings more stability to a program that has had a hard time sustaining success over the last few decades.

Mississippi State, on the other hand, could be a different story. 

Head coach Dan Mullen proved me wrong this season, leading his team to the No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history. That team, though, is a veteran-laden group that includes 12 senior starters as well as junior quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Josh Robinson—both of whom could jump to the NFL if they receive good draft projections.

This is a program that has finished no higher than 22nd in 247Sports's team recruiting rankings over the last five years and finished ranked in the 30s three times over that time span. Recruiting isn't everything, and Mullen's ability to coach up his players is phenomenal. But to be successful next season, he's going to have to do it with a roster that could look much different than it does right now.

Because of that, I'll hold off on judging Mississippi State's staying power until the Bulldogs prove they can win with a relatively new cast of characters.

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@BarrettSallee will UGA miss Hutson Mason in 2015?

— FantasyBCS (@fantasybcs) December 2, 2014"

Yes, absolutely.

Hutson Mason was more of a game manager early this season, but he came on strong late, throwing 10 touchdowns and only one pick during the month of November. It was a long time coming, too. 

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The redshirt senior finally got his crack at the starting quarterback role this season, but with Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb around to tote the rock, he became more of a caretaker early in the season. His experience within the offense, even though he didn't see much playing time until 2014, gave head coach Mark Richt and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo the confidence that they could trust him to not make mistakes.

That trust won't exist with the new quarterback next year, which will likely be rising sophomore Brice Ramsey, rising junior Faton Bauta or rising redshirt freshman Jacob Park.

Can those guys handle the job? Maybe, but they're going to have to earn the trust that Mason earned long ago, which might lead to a few speed bumps.

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@BarrettSallee playoff expansion would be a cascading mess. Would never end. Debate would just move to which 2-loss teams were done wrong.

— Chad Gilbert (@chadgilbert64) December 9, 2014"

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@BarrettSallee (and does a 2-loss team deserve any shot at a national title anyways?)

— Chad Gilbert (@chadgilbert64) December 9, 2014"

No, a two-loss team doesn't deserve to win the national championship, and sometimes, a one-loss team doesn't, either. Say, perhaps, one that lost to Virginia Tech at home?

I agree that expanding the playoff would be a mess. If we go to an eight-team postseason, there's no way that commissioners let that happen unless there are automatic bids for conference champions of the Power Five conferences and the champion of the "Group of Five."

Not all conferences are created equal. The Big 12 doesn't have a conference championship game, and its commissioner, Bob Bowlsby, can't even figure out which team is his conference champion even though it was settled on the field.

The likelihood of the eight best teams making an eight-team playoff is slim to none, and slim left the building long ago. You'd have a team ranked 20th in there. If there's an upset on championship Saturday, an unranked team could get in.

Expanding the playoff beyond four teams would put more of an emphasis on access even though the goal is—and should be—to reward excellence.

An eight-team playoff would do much more harm than good.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.