The Mississippi State football team has done it again — disappointed their thousands of cowbell-ringing loyal fans.
Football is no easy game, but when a team is in the Southeastern Conference, arguably the hardest conference in college football, they are expected to be good. Mississippi State has consistently disproven that notion and no longer performs at the level it should.
It is hard to remember the last time Mississippi State has competed with the abilities of the 15 other SEC teams, now that they are 0-12 in conference play under Head Coach Jeff Lebby.
No matter if it is a home advantage or a road game, the Dawgs somehow manage to get everyone’s hopes up and then completely blow it in typical Mississippi State fashion.
Let us go back to this season’s first conference game against Tennessee. It was a home game, the Dawgs were 4-0 and UT was coming off a tough loss from Georgia two weeks prior. There was hope in the air and the Dawgs showed that on the field, until they didn’t.
It was a score-for-score game, which led to overtime, meaning there was still hope. But, on the first play of UT’s drive, they scored. There was no effort from Mississippi State, and that caused them their first conference loss of the season with a score of 41-34.
The Dawgs then traveled to face Texas A&M, which should have been over when it started. MSU scored one field goal in the first quarter, then did not score again until a touchdown in the fourth, with a no-good field goal. The Aggies, on the other hand, scored one touchdown in the second quarter, one in the third, and two touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth, dominating State in a 31-9 win.
Next up was a trip down to Gainesville. Everyone thought this was going to be the big game: Mississippi State was coming off of a bye week and could finally win a conference game, and UF was going to fire Head Coach Billy Napier in the process. But again, in true Mississippi State fashion, that is not what happened.
This game was neck to neck and MSU truly had a chance. Mississippi State was down by two points with the ability to earn a big win, until quarterback Blake Shapen threw an interception and ended the game. The Gators handed Mississippi State their third conference loss of the season with a score of 23-21.
And then there was Texas.
The Longhorns traveled to Davis Wade Stadium to face the Dawgs and it seemed that MSU might finally have had a shot. Texas came out strong with a touchdown to start the game, but MSU tied it up quickly. The Dawgs headed into halftime with a 1o point lead and MSU fans had the most electric energy Davis Wade has seen since the win over Arizona State in September.
Coming back from halftime, the Longhorns were short on every run in the third quarter, scoring zero points, until they dominated State’s defense in the fourth and put up 24 points to tie the game.
The teams went into overtime and MSU fell short once again, with a score of 45-38.
Somehow, Mississippi State Football manages to fight all game, and then when the clock starts to run out, they forget how to play.
Aside from Lebby, MSU’s fanbase has made it clear that they want Shapen out and freshman Kamario Taylor in. Shapen has given up one too many missed passes and has suffered an outrageous amount of sacks, resulting in the losses that have been handed to the team.
At the end of the day, it comes down to which team wants it more. Mississippi State has shown its fans that they simply do not want it, or they just do not want it bad enough to pull off a meaningful win.
The Dawgs will head to Arkansas on November 1st and will either continue on their losing streak or shock the south.
