STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs are nine games into their conference schedule, and there are still many questions about this team. This team is undoubtedly better than in years past, but how improved are they?

The Bulldogs are coming off a series loss to the sixth-ranked Florida Gators. However, both losses came in walk-off fashion, and they outplayed the Gators 25 out of 27 innings.

MSU is currently 1-6 in one-run games this year, and after the past two years, most of the guys on the roster are not accustomed to winning. This has to do with the lack of success in close games because it takes a killer mentality and experience to put away some of the top teams in the country.

However, this team is tough, which can not be said about the last two teams. However, their two series losses came to top-ten teams. They have not been intimidated or outclassed by either, but they have a flaw to fix before they can beat the nation’s best.

One issue they have embodies it all is that they lack a closer, a guy who can come in and get clutch outs to put the game away. This is not due to a lack of talent, but it goes back to experience and the lack of mental makeup required to perform in those high-leverage situations, which is something the Bulldogs do not have…. yet.

At a program like Mississippi State, it is odd to have this problem, but they do; these guys have to learn how to play in and win big games. In most cases in nonconference play, the Bulldogs can out-talent their competition, and they have, but they do not have that luxury against elite teams, and experience winning big games separates the good from the great teams.

The good news for MSU fans is this is a fixable problem, and they can work on it over the next few weeks. The Bulldogs have a much easier stretch of conference play ahead of them as they host Georgia and Auburn and travel to Ole Miss.

These series will not be easy, but it is a step down from the previous three weekends. They also return to Dudy Noble, which can will them to victory at times, and they also get to go a hostile environment in Oxford. Still, MSU has dominated that rivalry series, and a couple of wins there will be significant for this team.

They have the star power and the arms to be one of the top teams in the country, but they must stack wins to build confidence and learn how to win big games. Mississippi State is a better team than Florida, but the Gators have winning experience, so they found a way to pull out a pair of wins.

The hesitancy to commit to this baseball team is understandable because the last two years have created a dark cloud around this program. However, watching this team play, they look like a team that could host a regional.

Will they achieve that? It is hard to say, but these next three weekends will reveal much about them.