Jeff Lebby tests Mississippi State fans' patience calling obscene number of QB runs

Mississippi State football suffered its sixth loss of the season Saturday night, falling 49-27 on the road to the Missouri Tigers. It was an all-around ugly game for the Bulldogs, but fans are particularly frustrated with head coach Jeff Lebby's play-calling against the Tigers.

Specifically, they take issue with the large number of QB runs that were called by Lebby. Mississippi State QBs Blake Shapen and Kamario Taylor combined for 27 carries. Those rushes weren't particularly effective, as they yielded a total of just 38 yards.

But despite their ineffectiveness, Lebby was clearly committed to having his QBs carry the ball, so much so that at one point State had nine QB runs, including six-straight during a single drive. That drive ended with a botched snap and hold on a field goal attempt that Missouri would recover and return 62 yards to set up a touchdown.

This graphic displayed during the game's broadcast on the SEC Network really hit home how absurd (and honestly hilarious) that sequence was...

But simply running the QB a lot isn't necessarily why Bulldog fans were upset. It was the fact that the QBs were racking up carries while State's talented running backs were hardly seeing touches in the first half.

Davon Booth and Fluff Bothwell would each see more carries in the second half, but they would still ultimately combine for just 16 rushes, a total that's simply unacceptable given their talent. Starting QB Blake Shapen would lead the team with 17 carries, and though a few of those were sacks and scrambles, it should never be the case that he runs that much in a game.

If any QB on the roster should run that much, it'd be the supremely athletic Kamario Taylor. But given that even he struggled to get anything going on the ground, choosing to spam QB runs was practically malpractice from Jeff Lebby.

Mississippi State fans may never want to see another QB run again after Saturday

Mississippi State fans certainly made their feelings on Lebby's play-calls well known on "X" during the game. They found the stubbornness to be astounding. It was almost as if Lebby was messing with everyone.

Lebby explained postgame that the number of QB runs was partially a decision to try and get the ground game going against the looks Mizzou was giving them defensively and partially a product of the QBs reading to keep the ball on option plays.

That's all fine and well, but when that approach is clearly not working, you've got to change it up. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, well, that's the definition of insanity. And its Mississippi State fans that are going to go insane after watching that performance Saturday night.