Mississippi State Bulldogs football coach Jeff Lebby sent strong message on ASU win, UT loss with TAMU looming

Mississippi State Bulldogs football coach Jeff Lebby sent strong message on ASU win, UT loss with TAMU looming originally appeared on The Sporting News

Mississippi State Bulldogs football coach Jeff Lebby has Starkville and the entire Magnolia State more hopeful than it’s ever been in the wake of Mike Leach’s tragic passing in 2022. After a one-year stint where Zach Arnett and Greg Knox split duties in 2023, Lebby was hired with an eye on slow growth and stability.

At 4-1 and with a 24-20 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils, Mississippi State finally has that. Coming off a 41-34 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in overtime, the Bulldogs are in danger of slipping back to reality with three matchups against ranked teams in their final seven games, though. Wins against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, Alcorn State Braves, and NIU Huskies only prove so much.

The Athletic’s Justin Williams celebrated the ASU win and even went as far as saying Mississippi State “might be the most improved power conference team in the country,” but stopped short of predicting an upset of the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday. TAMU is hovering around a two-touchdown favorite in most sportsbooks.

“Mississippi State dropped a late lead in an overtime loss at home to Tennessee, but it might be the most improved power conference team in the country in coach Jeff Lebby’s second season. The Bulldogs already have a nonconference win over Arizona State, and a road upset at Texas A&M would really put people on notice. That’s a tough task against an Aggies team that showed it can win 41-40 on the road against Notre Dame with almost 500 yards of offense, then win 16-10 at home against Auburn while holding the Tigers under 200 yards,” Williams wrote.

The Bulldogs have a greatly improved run game and have no problem putting up points. Their defense is greatly improved, but Texas A&M has an elite RB room led by Le'Veon Moss, a spectacular one-two receiving punch in Mario Craver and KC Concepcion, and one of the big-name quarterbacks who hasn’t let the college football world down, Marcel Reed, leading the charge.

It’s going to be a tough game for Coleman Hutzler and Matt Barnes’ unit, but if Lebby could mitigate the mistakes by quarterback Blake Shapen and maximize running back Fluff Bothwell, the SEC’s fourth-ranked rusher, there’s a chance for a significant upset.

We’ll see what Lebby’s made of as a play-caller against the Aggies. Mike Elko knows how to coach up a defense, but his unit has been prone to having points put up on them this season and last in College Station.

The Bulldogs may just have the athletes to make this a shootout. Based on Mississippi State’s Power 4 games this year, the odds are high that this game will be a fun one under the lights at Kyle Field.