With the status of being America's top-ranked team comes the pressure of wearing a target on your back. The sports media loves the narrative of undefeated teams who ultimately cave underneath the burden of defending their perfect record.

With college football's playoff race starting to take shape, Mississippi State is a natural recipient of such cumbersome pressures. Not only are the Bulldogs 6-0, but their path to a perfect season is brutal, forcing them to emerge undefeated from ultra-competitive SEC West.

To make matters worse, this is new territory for the program, which had never ranked higher than seventh nationally before soaring to No. 1 earlier this season.

But if you think the Bulldogs are intimidated, their latest hype video begs to differ. The video concludes with Breaking Bad's Walter White saying, "I am not in danger, I am the danger."

After such a long wait, Mississippi State isn't eager to relinquish its status atop the college football mountain. That's good news for head coach Dan Mullen, who might have a hefty bonus riding on a playoff appearance:

SEC Football Academic Incentives

 

NICK Saban, Alabama

Saban is the highest-paid coach in the SEC, earning a base salary of $6.9 million. In addition, Saban also enjoys a max performance bonus of $600,000 annually.

 

NICK Saban, Alabama

Compared to those lofty numbers, Saban's $150,000 max bonus for his team's academic success looks more like a token gesture than a point of emphasis from his higher-ups.

 

Les Miles, LSU

Les Miles has brought BCS championships to Louisiana State, so he's earned the second-highest base salary in the SEC, at $4.3 million.

 

Les Miles, LSU

Miles' academic incentives are more humble, maxing out at $200,000. Even so, that's tied for the second-highest figure in the SEC.

 

Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

The Old Ball Coach has huge performance bonuses built into his contract -- up to $1.15 million, according to Fobres.

 

Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

But the Gamecocks' academic performance bonus is only a fraction of what Spurrier gets for winning football games. The academic incentive tops out at $100,000.

 

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Malzahn's on-field performance bonus is the largest in the SEC, reaching a peak of $1.8 million.

 

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

The same can't be said for the football coach's academic incentives, which max out at $150,000 a year.

 

Mark Richt, Georgia

On top of a $3.2 million annual salary, Georgia's head football coach can earn up to $800,000 in football-related bonuses each season.

 

Mark Richt, Georgia

But Richt's academic incentives are nothing to write home about, topping out at just $50,000.

 

Gary Pinkel, Missouri

Pinkel has huge contract incentives for on-field success. According to Forbes, Pinkel can earn up to $1.455 million extra depending on his team's success.

 

Gary Pinkel, Missouri

Missouri's head coach also has the largest academic incentive package in the SEC, although the $250,000 in bonuses is less than 10 percent his base salary.

 

Butch Jones, Tennessee

In taking over a program desperate to return to its winning ways, Butch Jones received up to $900,000 of performance incentives in his contract with Tennessee.

 

Butch Jones, Tennessee

Academic incentives, on the other hand, top out at $100,000.

 

Bret Bielema, Arkansas

When Arkansas hired Bielema away from Wisconsin, they gave him a contract that includes up to $800,000 in performance bonuses.

 

Bret Bielema, Arkansas

Bielema's football performance bonuses amount to four times his max annual academic bonuses, which are capped at $200,000.

 

Will Muschamp, Florida

Florida didn't open its pocketbook for Muschamp, giving him a base salary of $2.21 million and an SEC-low on-field performance bonus of $450,000.

 

Will Muschamp, Florida

Both figures are much better than Muschamp's academic incentive package, which doesn't exist -- Florida is one of two known SEC schools that offer no academic incentives to their head football coaches.

 

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Stoops' $1.55 million performance bonus package is enormous relative to his league-low $2.1 million annual salary.

 

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Needless to say, the coach's football bonuses cast a tall shadow up against his $50,000 academic bonus package.

 

Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M

Financially speaking, Sumlin doesn't have the greatest compensation package in the SEC. His base salary is tied for a league-low $2.1 million.

 

Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M

Meanwhile, Sumlin's contract offers no bonuses for his team's academic performance.

 

Dan Mullen, Mississippi State

As the head coach of still-undefeated Mississippi State, Mullen is probably cruising toward hefty performance bonuses. But no one knows if any academic rewards will be included.

 

Derek Mason, Vanderbilt

While Vanderbilt takes pride in its reputation as the most academically rigorous school in the SEC, the academic incentives offered to its head football coach are unknown.

 

Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss

Earlier this season, Freeze received a $1 million raise from Ole Miss, raising his base salary to $3 million. The school didn't disclose whether any academic bonuses were included.

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