HOOVER, Ala. – Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen had gotten essentially the same question three times during his session at SEC Media Days.

“Coach, what’s it like competing in a tough division like the SEC West?”

And finally, he said what had been on his mind the whole time.

“When you look at the SEC West, we’re not far off,” Mullen responded. “Which means we’re not far off from the national title.”

A national title in Starkville, Mississippi? While most of the assembled media shook their head at the audacity of Mullen’s answer, the fourth-year head coach continued on with a straight face, saying that Mississippi State is as close as ever to joining the top dogs of the West in Alabama, LSU and Auburn, which have all won national titles in the last five years, and Arkansas.

“You have to bring your A game every single week,” Mullen said about playing in the West. “The margin for error is so small between winning and losing.”

Mullen’s team has surprised many in his first three years, which have included two bowl wins and three straight wins over in-state rival Ole Miss. But Mississippi State is winless against the SEC West outside of the Rebels, something the Bulldogs want to change in 2012.

“Those three teams [Alabama, LSU and Arkansas] are really good,” quarterback Tyler Russell said. “They’re at the top right now, and we’re trying to get to that top two, so we know that they’re in the way and those are the teams that we’ve got to beat if we want to be a really good football team.”

The Bulldogs will have their best chance of the season in week two at home against the Auburn Tigers. The last two games between Auburn and Mississippi State have been decided by just 10 points, and Mullen feels that the game is a good chance for his team to get off on the right track.

“That first conference game sets the tone. That’s huge for us,” he said. “That first conference game is critical … no matter who it is.”

Mullen’s Bulldogs will be led by a more traditional passing attack commanded by quarterback Russell. And with five senior wide receivers to throw to, Russell sees the offense deviating a little bit from the spread attack Mullen traditionally runs to suit the personnel.

“You’ve got to tailor your offense around your strength,” Russell said. “Now we have five senior wide receivers, a good offensive line and running backs that can carry it.”

It’s a far cry from the days when Mullen took over a Bulldog program that had long been in the doghouse of the SEC West. Now, he has his team believing they can compete in one of the toughest divisions in the country.

“When we got there there was something you’d always hear some people maybe doubting their confidence,” he said. “What we want to do is go up and insert a little bit of swagger, a little bit of confidence, a little bit of belief in everybody.”