Jeff Lebby gets another season. He was always going to get that, but this SEC win finally gives him some real grace with Mississippi State fans. This year has been a roller coaster with Lebby and company. It started out strong when Mississippi State began 4-0, rushed a field, sold out Davis Wade and had real momentum heading into Tennessee on Sept. 27.
Then everything flipped.
Mississippi State almost had the Vols beat, but let it slip away in the final moments. Then the game against Texas A&M on Oct. 4 was close for three quarters before it broke open late. Then, the Florida loss came from a situation that should have been a run call, but was a pass instead, when a defensive lineman got an interception.
Then, the Texas loss was the worst of all. A seventeen-point lead disappeared in overtime. MSU kept putting itself in winning positions and could not finish.
Last week’s game at Arkansas changed the story — this was a must-win. Mississippi State trailed by multiple scores entering the fourth quarter and this time did not fold. The Bulldogs scored seventeen points in the fourth quarter and finished the game with the go-ahead touchdown to Anthony Evans III with under a minute left.
Mississippi State finally closed, which matters more than people realize. It is not just a win, it is proof. This is the confirmation that the work is not empty.
Quarterback Kamario Taylor came in early in the second half after Blake Shapen was shaken up on a roughing the passer call and sparked the comeback. Taylor threw a deep touchdown to Evans and later ran in a score to bring Mississippi State back in it.
His mobility opened up the field, and his confidence changed the energy on the sideline. But when the game moved into closing time, it was better to have the older quarterback. Shapen returned on the following possession, settled things down, and finished the job. It was not flashy and it was not complicated. It was just execution when it mattered most.
The Bulldogs also had discipline. Arkansas committed 18 penalties for 193 yards. Mississippi State committed only four. Arkansas repeatedly put itself behind the chains and inside long second and third-down situations. Mississippi State did not, and that is not a small thing.
It was the difference between living in panic mode and playing balanced football in the fourth quarter. Arkansas handed Mississippi State extra possessions and extra yards. The Bulldogs used them.
Just like that, Mississippi State snapped a sixteen-game SEC losing streak. That changes everything around campus. SEC Nation is coming, Barstool is coming and Georgia is coming. And now this place has some belief again.
Students can now go to class with a different tone. The conversation shifts from complaining to hope. Mississippi State finally gave itself something to talk about that does not involve pain.
This is where Mississippi State fans need to chill out, since they have been calling for Lebby to be fired every week. The reality is that the roster is not built out yet. The depth is not where it needs to be, and Mississippi State has still gone toe-to-toe with Tennessee and Florida. They even had Texas beat until the fourth quarter.
The film has always shown progress, but the results just did not match until the Arkansas win.
Momentum and confidence matter in college football. This win came at the perfect time, and it gives Mississippi State something to build on going forward. Georgia can be beaten. Tennessee and Florida almost were. Mississippi State hung right there with both of those teams.
If Mississippi State is healthy, and Lebby and Hutzler stay balanced without reaching too far, then this can be another game that comes down to the fourth quarter instead of completely falling apart.
Saturday felt like the first sign of something actually happening. If Mississippi State carries this momentum into Georgia, then this win will not just be a relief; it will be the start of something.
