Mississippi State football had a strong start this season. Starting 4-0 was a great sight. While season opener Southern Miss is not a strong team, beating a Mississippi school enhanced the positivity. Starting the season with a win jumpstarts a positive reaction.

What took the cake was the 24-20 win over No. 12 Arizona State. The student section was lively and cheered with intensity throughout the entire game. The hope that Mississippi State fans had for their football team was undeniable.

Having the mercy rule applied to the Alcorn State game 63-0 was the cherry on top. It made fans feel like Mississippi State was on top. The Dawgs followed up with another win against Northern Illinois. The team was playing with fire and had so much potential, which was evident in their skills.

Just like that, Mississippi State was undefeated for the first time since 2014, starting off the 2025 season with a 4-0 record. Not only was this great for the football team, but it was great for the university as a whole.

Going into the 2025-2026 school year, people were already manifesting another sorry year for Mississippi State. Another year full of losses, which was now considered the norm at this university. However, our football team quickly took us by surprise.

At this point, a small upheaval started when people wanted Mississippi State to be considered for a rank. They beat a ranked team, played well and were undefeated. Some people were beginning to question why Mississippi State was not ranked considering they were 4-0, including a victory from a ranked team. People were becoming angry at the fact that other teams that weren’t undefeated were continuing to stay or even move up in ranks, while Mississippi State stayed unranked. People hoped that Mississippi State would be able to sneak into the rankings.

People argued that they had yet to play a team in their division and that the teams they beat were not big teams, besides Arizona State. Regardless of this upheaval, fans and football watchers all over were excited to see how the rest of Mississippi State’s season would play out.

The anticipation reached its peak when Mississippi State took on the Tennessee Volunteers at home. This game, completely packed, had the entire stadium buzzing with excitement. With Mississippi State taking the lead at the beginning of the first quarter, people knew this was going to be a good game.

No one was mistaken about that. Tennessee, No. 15 in the nation, had trouble with unranked Mississippi State. The game was neck-and-neck the entire time, and fans were on the edge of their seats from kickoff to the final seconds.

That game went into overtime, and unfortunately, Mississippi State walked out no longer an undefeated team. While many were disappointed, everyone knew they had fought hard and people still had hope for this team.

This hope quickly faded as fans watched from home or at Kyle Field when the Bulldogs took on the Texas A&M Aggies. That game, which ended 9-31 and was MSU’s second loss, was a rough watch.

They started with a 3-0 lead for most of the first half, but the Aggies came back. They scored right before the first half ended and cemented the lead with three touchdowns in the second half.

Immediately, people began to lose hope, and the debate for being ranked was immediately out of the question. Students and fans quickly gave up on their football team, and looking at the rest of MSU’s schedule, people could not see a huge chance for another win for the remainder of the season.

The University of Florida and Mississippi State University did not end much better. Mississippi State had many opportunities to win this game, but in the end, they blew it. They fought hard, but not hard enough.

Mississippi State is currently 1-11 in conference play. That is not a good record. Fans are frustrated. They started off strong and get handed many opportunities to score or even to win the game, but they choke. This cycle is becoming really irritating for fans and students who just want to see their team win, especially when they get so close.

Fans are becoming upset and are talking about wanting to bench the starting quarterback, Blake Shapen. The team seems to be lacking offensively,  and Shapen has not been looking the best. He has a good arm, but he makes a lot of mistakes and constantly seems to crack under pressure. Not only that, people are beginning to push for head coach Jeff Lebby to get fired. He started off strong, but recent play calls in games are really upsetting fans. There are many missed opportunities for scores that have arisen from his faulty calls.

Everyone’s frustrations were validated when the Bulldogs threw away a win that was practically at their fingertips. Mississippi State took on the Texas Longhorns, and were winning for a good portion of the game, but managed to let Texas catch up by almost 20 points in the second half, and bring the game into overtime. Shapen blew it in overtime and Mississippi State took yet another close loss. While some argue that Mississippi State should have won that game, most understand that they lost because they failed to stay consistent in the fourth quarter.

But, despite all of this, Mississippi State had their first SEC win of the season, and first SEC win since October 21st, 2023. It was a back and forth game, and the team cut it close at the end, but instead of choking in the fourth quarter, they scored a touchdown with 48 seconds left of the game and took the win.

Fans are happy about finally having an SEC win, but still not too confident in the remainder of the season. One win does not determine how a team plays, and this win has not changed my view on this team. Mississippi State has consistency, and that consistency is to lose it in the fourth quarter or in overtime. Games tend to always be very close, and the next few games are going to be hard ones to win.

There is little fire left with Mississippi State fans. Georgia, Missouri, and Ole Miss all have good chances of beating us the next few weeks. While Arkansas’ win was a good one to see, fans have lost hope, and it seems like these five wins are all that the Bulldogs are going to get. Barely winning the Arkansas game shows how the rest of the reason will be a struggle.

Unfortunately, my hopes are not too high on the remainder of the season. Pressure is high and fans are frustrated, this might make an impact on the confidence of these players. Games not played at home and games against some of these really good SEC teams are huge challenges for Mississippi State.

The season is not getting any lighter, so the team must keep fighting. Fans want to see results, and the team should want to as well. Hopefully, the bulldogs can find a way to get a few more wins for the remainder of the season.