Jeff Lebby could earn a lot of goodwill with fans in these final two games

You're not going to find a single person associated with Mississippi State that's pleased with the way this football season has gone. In their first season under head coach Jeff Lebby, the Bulldogs sit at 2-8 and are winless in the SEC. They've already assured themselves their worst season since 2008, and in all likelihood, they're destined for their worst season in over 20 years.

There was plenty of excitement around Jeff Lebby when he was hired. The idea of bringing in a brilliant offensive mind who had success everywhere he'd been (including up the road in state...) seemed like the perfect way to rejuvenate the program.

But things have not at all gone to plan. Lebby's offense has shown enough flashes to at least see the vision there, but that side of the ball hasn't had the instant success most expected. Certainly not enough to carry the team to wins like has been the case with other teams running similar schemes. And with the defense being disastrously bad, Lebby's decision to hire an unproven defensive coordinator and lackluster staff on that side of the ball is hurting his perception in the eyes of fans.

There's just about nothing Jeff Lebby can do at this point to have fans feeling completely confident in the program's future under him. But there is a way he could at least earn back some goodwill going into next season.

A win in these final games would have Mississippi State fans feeling a lot better about Jeff Lebby heading into 2025

Mississippi State has a difficult close to the year. They host #23 Missouri (a team not as good as their ranking or 7-3 record but a far superior team to State nonetheless) in Starkville this weekend, and then on Black Friday, they'll head to Oxford for the Egg Bowl against rival #9 Ole Miss, who's in line to go to the playoff.

The Bulldogs are underdogs by a little more than a touchdown against the Tigers, and the Rebels will certainly be massive home favorites over State next week. Playing a competitive game with Mizzou is a reasonable ask, but avoiding a blowout in Oxford would be incredibly difficult.

But for Lebby, he really needs more than a competitive game or to avoid a blowout in these final two weeks. If he wants there to be optimism around the program going into next season, somehow, someway he needs to find a win against either the Tigers or Rebels.

There may not truly be a big difference between a 3-9 or 2-10 finish, but not having double-digit losses sure feels a lot better to fans. Not to mention how huge it would be to everyone's psyche to get a SEC win. State hasn't gone winless in SEC play since 2002. Avoiding that would do wonders for Lebby's reputation.

And just from a "proof of concept" standpoint, having a big win late in the season to hang your hat on is significant when it comes to building momentum into what will be a vital offseason. You can say, "despite all our struggles, by the end of the year we were playing good enough to defeat an upper-half team in the SEC." That would be a clear sign of progress that carries far more weight than just showing enough fight to keep a game relatively close.

Obviously, between these two games, nothing would be more impactful than an Egg Bowl upset. It's a rivalry game in the final week, and in this case, it would involve ruining a dream season for Ole Miss. As I said earlier, I don't think anything would have fans fully confident in the program's future, but that would have people mostly bought-in.

But we can all be real with ourselves and understand that's highly unlikely to happen. A win over Missouri is far more feasible, though still a tall ask. And though there's nothing about Missouri that carries weight to a State fan, a win over a ranked team late in the year would still be a huge deal to this program. It would be enough to sell hope.

Jeff Lebby clearly recognizes that. In his press conference earlier this week, he said, "We have the opportunity to finish the way we need to finish.  Creating that vision and that understanding with these last two games on the schedule is an unbelievable opportunity."

He knows these games are huge for reasons beyond this season. They're most important for the future of his program in Starkville. We'll see if his Bulldogs can give fans hope for the future as they close out the year.