Mississippi State coach John Cohen called it, but also is ready to move forward.

When Cohen took the job at State two summers ago, he predicted at least one year of hard times before the Bulldogs would be able to get things going.

State finished last season with a 25-29 record and a 9-20 mark in the SEC. It obviously also failed to reach an NCAA regional and the SEC tournament.

With year one in the books, State is ready to return to normal in the spring.

Accomplishing that goal will require some good luck.

The Bulldogs welcomed an outstanding class of newcomers to campus this fall, but have several areas that must improve between now and the spring.

For instance, the pitching staff finished last season with a 6.57 ERA. Meanwhile, the offense mustered just a .298 batting average.

It's time to dissect the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State's five fall keys

1. Use last season as a learning process -- Anytime a new coach enters the fold, the players typically have a brand new system to learn. The Bulldogs encountered that issue last season when Cohen took over. Cohen is a hard-nosed coach that demands a lot out of his players. So, it's not a huge surprise the Bulldogs suffered through some failures. State now should be in the right spot from an attitude standpoint. But now comes the hard part: showing Cohen that his philosophies are understood. Last season was a learning process, but the 2010 campaign will be about returning to prosperity.

2. Rise to the occasion at the plate -- The Bulldogs have the potential to hit with consistency and for a high batting average in the spring. State finished last season with a .298 average and welcomes back four hitters that finished the '09 campaign with batting averages better than .300. The list includes Ryan Duffy, Jet Butler, Russ Sneed and Connor Powers. Duffy batted .339 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs last season, Butler batted .335 with four homers and 37 RBIs, Sneed batted .333 with nine homers and 43 RBIs and Powers batted .301 with 19 homers and 63 RBIs. Powers' return is huge for State. Factor in the newcomers and there's no reason for State not to be productive at the plate.

3. Get big-time campaigns from Routt and Whitney -- There's a strong chance a newcomer or two will move into the weekend rotation between now and the spring. But the Bulldogs will still need huge campaigns from sophomore left-handed pitcher Nick Routt and senior left-handed pitcher Tyler Whitney. Routt had an impressive first year for the Bulldogs. He started 13 games and compiled a 4.15 ERA in 86 2/3 innings. He also struck out 87 and walked 28 and teams hit him at a .262 clip. Whitney, meanwhile, started 11 games and compiled a 5.18 ERA in 66 innings. However, teams hit him at a relatively high .303 clip. The Bulldogs have their eyes on plenty of pitchers this fall, but the pitching staff could greatly benefit from Routt and Whitney stepping up.

4. Create some quality pitching depth -- Outside of Routt and Whitney, the Bulldogs have much work to do on the mound. They welcome back just key pitcher Greg Houston. But there's a catch: Houston had a 6.93 ERA last season. Those numbers are unacceptable. With last season's struggles on the mound, look for newcomers Luke Bole, Ben Bracewell, C.C. Watson and Chad Girodo to immediately factor into the equation. State needs the newcomers to rise to the occasion to have a chance to turn the corner in the spring. Are the youngsters up to the task.

5. Newcomers need to quickly develop -- The Bulldogs certainly welcomed back a few key cogs this fall, but it's most noteworthy that they welcomed 24 newcomers to campus. That simply is an astonishing number. The Bulldogs need many of these newcomers to produce sooner rather than later. We've already discussed the key newcomers on the mound. But also keep an eye on some positional newcomers, including catcher Wes Thigpen, shortstop Jonathan Ogden and outfielders Trey Johnson and Jaron Shepherd. State has an impressive class of newcomers, but we'll see if they can live up to their billing in the spring. If they do, the Bulldogs could be in business.