Mississippi State football just had a meltdown of epic proportions in Starkville on Saturday evening. The Bulldogs led the No. 22 Texas Longhorns 38-21 in the fourth quarter, having dominated the game throughout.
But momentum shifted in the complete opposite direction in the game's final 10 minutes of regulation. Texas scored 17-straight points, tying the game with 1:47 to go on a 79-yard punt return touchdown. The teams would go to overtime, where the Longhorns would make it 24-straight points, taking the lead 45-38.
Mississippi State could not match Texas in the overtime period, and their monumental collapse became final. The Bulldogs blew a massive fourth quarter lead at home to drop to 4-4 on the season, 0-4 in the SEC, and lose their 16th-straight SEC game overall.
There's some historical perspective on the loss that makes it look even worse for State...
Entering today FBS teams had lost 429 straight games when trailing by at least 17 points with 10 remaining in the 4th quarter, per CBS' research team.
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) October 26, 2025
Texas just broke that streak, scoring 24 straight in a 45-38 overtime win over Mississippi State. pic.twitter.com/c8YbqwZ0jy
According to Chris Hummer of 247 Sports and CBS Sports, FBS teams trailing by at least 17 points with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter had lost 429 straight games. Or in other words, teams that held a lead of at least 17 points with 10 minutes remaining the fourth quarter, like Mississippi State did against Texas, had won 429 straight games.
In Mississippi State's failed quest to snap their SEC losing streak, they managed to snap the last possible streak they would have wanted to.
The analytics make it all the more agonizing. According to ESPN's numbers, Mississippi State had a 98.6% chance of winning the game with 11:40 to go in the fourth quarter. It's absolutely unfathomable that they failed to win this football game.
Texas had a 1.4% chance to win with 11:40 left in the 4th quarter 🤯
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 26, 2025
The Longhorns finished the game on a 24-0 run to get the OT victory at Mississippi State. pic.twitter.com/rjaiSzSrx6
It's often said that rebuilding programs have to learn how to win, and to say Mississippi State is taking that to heart would be a massive understatement. This is now a third game for the Bulldogs that they've lost almost entirely because of their own miscues this season. They literally do not know how to win in a spot like this, apparently even with a 17-point fourth quarter lead. And now it's getting to the point where you can't help but ask if they will ever manage to figure it out.