2014 MSU football review: Where did this season rank for you all-time?

Where does this season rank for you all-time for MSU football? What about for all sports?

This season probably has to rank as the greatest season in MSU football history. Certainly in the top 3. 1940 is in the discussion for best season, as we went undefeated and won the Orange Bowl. (Parallels, anyone?) 1998 also deserves mention, as it featured our only trip to the SEC Championship Game and a SEC West title. But this season had a ton of historic achievements: Our first #1 national ranking, our only 10-win regular season, and defeating 3 straight Top 10 opponents. That last one is something only 4 other teams in the history of college football have done. So for me personally, I would say this season is the best in school history.

In terms of comparing it to all sports, I would say once again it's in that top 3-5 category. 1940 & 1998 football are in that group. 1985 & 2013 baseball and 1995 & 96 basketball are also in the discussion. Personally, I'd say 2014 football is the best, but that hinges on the outcome of the Orange Bowl. Should we win, I think that makes it the undisputed best season in school history, regardless of sport. But the 1996 Final Four run & 2013 CWS Finals run are strong contenders for me. - Follow @MSUDawgBurke

It is definitely one of the best seasons in our lifetimes I would say, if not THE best in my lifetime. I think a lot of people became wrapped up in being #1 and were obsessed with making the playoff that they forgot to sit back and appreciate how great this season was (and has a chance to get even better). Not only did State beat LSU in Baton Rouge for the first time in twenty some years, we were ranked #1 in the country for multiple weeks. Of course a trip to the SEC title game to play an overrated Missouri team would have been great, but I think we should appreciate as Mississippi State fans that a team that went 7-6 last year, is now 10-2 and playing in the Orange Bowl against a good Georgia Tech team. Much better than the Liberty Bowl! - Follow @moaleck

This season was definitely the greatest one in MSU football history. 1940 and 1998 were great years with a Orange bowl win and an SEC title game appearance, but going 10-2 in today's SEC is a great accomplishment. People can say the league is down and this and that, but it was really more of a power shift. And it's a huge credit to MSU, in a year where everybody in the league cannibalized each other, to still make it to 10 wins.

As far as what this season ranks in all sports, I'd have to put it #2 behind 2013 baseball. It's hard to make a case against a national championship appearance, but the two are neck and neck. A lot depends on the Orange bowl. The perception of this season is completely different with a win or a loss. - Follow @Coka_Cola26

It's hard to say this wasn't t best year ever for MSU football, especially considering the strength of the SEC West this year. This season is easily the peak of MSU's national relevance in any year. The only non-football seasons that compare are the 1985 and 2013 baseball seasons. If those late 1950s/early 1960s teams were allowed to play in the postseason, some of them would be pushing for the top of the list as well. I do think a loss in the Orange Bowl would knock this season down a peg. - Follow @JamesCarskadon

I hesitate to be the arbiter of anything's "all-time" significance. I've been alive all of thirty-three years, so my perspective is extraordinarily limited. I can prattle on about how Dark Side of the Moon is the greatest album of all time, and how The Third Man is the greatest film of all time, but I don't really know what the hell I'm talking about. I've only listened to so many albums and watched so many movies.

But, yeah, Dark Side is the best of all time, as is The Third Man. Deal with it.

Until State wins another SEC championship, it's hard to say that any season will surpass 1941. Then there's State's other semi-recent 10-win season, 1999, which gave us all one of the best college defenses I've ever watched (along with a few too many closer-than-close finishes that made a number of games far more exciting than maybe they should have been). And, even though the win total only reached a modest eight, 1998 did bring State it's only SEC West title.

For my money, those are the only other seasons that most could claim to be as good as or better than this season.

But one thing this team brought that others—especially those '98 and '99 teams—didn't was an honest belief in superiority. For the first time ever in my time as a State fan, I honestly believe that if this team's offense and defense were clicking at the same time, we would have a good chance to beat anyone in the country. Mind you, by "clicking" I don't mean "playing perfect football." I mean that I think this team is good enough to compete with anyone if we just play solidly on both sides of the ball throughout a single game. That's pretty damn impressive.

So, for whatever it's worth, I'll say this is certainly one of the all-time great football teams in the history of Mississippi State athletics, and perhaps one of the school's best teams in general. - Follow @PredictionPain2

For football, it has to be the best season in Mississippi State history. No, the Bulldogs did not win the SEC West like they did in 1998, but the SEC West is indescribably tougher today than it was 16 years ago. In some ways, the teams in 1999 and 2000 were better than the 1998 team, but they could not capture the West. The early 1940s saw a great run of Mississippi State football, including an SEC championship. It is hard to compare the two different eras.

While one could make an argument for the SEC championship season or the SEC West championship season, I think what will set this season apart is that this may go down as a transformative season. None of those seasons led to a growth and improvement in the Mississippi State program that proved to have staying power beyond two or three seasons. I fully believe the 2014 season will be different. Mississippi State will not always be 10-2 or better, but I think this season has set the stage for the Bulldogs to start moving into the territory where they are a perennial top-25 team.

As far as comparing this season to all time seasons across all sports at Mississippi State, I'm not sure that can easily be done. I think seasons in different sports stand alone. There is nothing that compares to the thrill of watching your team compete for a national championship, which is something many Mississippi State fans did in person in Omaha. However, seeing Mississippi State attain the No. 1 ranking in football was also indescribable, an in a lot of ways, more surreal than watching baseball play for a national title. Mississippi State baseball has always been a top-notch program, and it really seemed more surprising that the Bulldogs had not played for a national championship than it was that they had finally made it to the national championship. I honestly feel that many Mississippi State fans never felt their team would ever be ranked No. 1 during the season.

The difference in those two feelings is why, if forced to pick, I'd put this football season above all other seasons at Mississippi State. - Follow @justinrsutton

As someone who is not a life-long MSU fan, I don't feel qualified to answer this... But if I have to, it's easily the best season of any MSU sport I've seen. Period. - Follow @Charlie_Burris

Even though I was the one who posed this question, it's almost unfair given that none of us were alive for the other season up for debate with this one, 1940.  With that being said, this was certainly the greatest Mississippi State football season of the modern era without a doubt.  Think about it: beating three top ten teams, ranked #1 in first ever College Football Playoff poll, and a legitimate shot at the playoffs going into the final week of the season.  I came into this season expecting 7-5 or 8-4 but hoping for more, and I was proven wrong while seeing my expectations bested.  I also got to see an MSU player lead the Heisman race at one point, which, given the context of our football history, was insane.  I got to see so much this year, even though I convinced myself at the end that it wasn't that great because of the sour tasting Egg Bowl results.  When I remove myself from the sting of the final week and review the whole body of work, though, I have to mark this down as the most memorable season in State's history, at least in my lifetime.

As for all sports, this season was great, but it doesn't top the 2013 baseball season for me.  Given the fact that State was two games away from a national championship and just in the way that a really fun team got there to begin with, I think that team and that season will hold the top spot for me until Dan or John Cohen take home the big prize. - Follow @cristilmethod