Mississippi State football's offense goes stagnant in Egg Bowl loss

Our long national nightmare is over. Mississippi State football lost in the Egg Bowl 26-14 to the Ole Miss Rebels. The Bulldogs played a competitive game throughout, but in the end, it was not enough to upset the #14 Rebels. Mississippi State finishes the season at 2-10, going winless in the SEC.

The Mississippi State defense did all you could ask for

State's defense has been horrific this season. But in the last game of the year, they had their best performance of the year and gave themselves a chance to win. The same 3-down, 3-safety defense fans have criticized all season worked precisely as designed. They didn't allow the Rebels to get anything going in the passing game, and they forced the Rebels to have to grind out long drives to score outside of one long play that was the result of a missed tackle. Don't let the 254 rushing yards fool you. Ole Miss was by no means gashing State on the ground or even steadily moving the ball.

They forced six punts and allowed just six points off three turnovers that put them in bad positions. Holding Ole Miss under 400 yards and to 26 points is as good as you could have possibly asked for. Coleman Hutzler has taken plenty of criticism this year, and a lot of it is fair. But he had a good gameplan in this game, and his team executed it well.

State's offense completely wasted that defensive performance

On the flipside, the Bulldog offense didn't hold up its end of the bargain. They got off to an incredibly fast start. They had 150 yards and 14 points in the first quarter. The next three quarters? 141 yards and 0 points. They could not run the ball at all on the Rebel front. Michael Van Buren did a great job of connecting on shots downfield in the first half, but once Ole Miss adjusted, those big plays went away. And as has been the case all year, when State isn't hitting explosives, they aren't moving the football.

What makes it all the more frustrating is the number of opportunities wasted. State got to the Ole Miss 33 in the first half off an explosive play and came away with no points. Van Buren underthrew a pass to Davon Booth that could've gone for a TD. It was instead intercepted. After getting a 1st & Goal at the 1-yard line, still with time to comeback, they failed to score. And just in general, for State's defense to have gotten as many stops as they did, only managing 14 points and getting shutout over the final 45 minutes of gametime is painful.

There's no denying Jeff Lebby is a brilliant offensive mind. You've seen State show promise at times this season. And you can understand their are limitations to this offense given their personnel, especially against an elite defense like Ole Miss has. But to not be able to do anything after the opening drives is incredibly frustrating.

The next month is monumental for the future of the program

Jeff Lebby just turned in the worst season Mississippi State has had in over 20 years. What little shine he still had midway through the year has fully worn off. Even in a rebuilding year against a tough schedule, finishing at 2-10 is unacceptable. This fanbase is no longer fully bought-in. They have major questions and concerns.

This next month will be defining. We will have the early signing period beginning next week. The transfer portal will officially open. He is going to have to show major upgrades to the talent on this roster. If he doesn't, why would anyone believe things get considerably better next year?

And of course there's the question of what he does with his staff. Whether you believe Coleman Hutzler should or shouldn't be retained, making some changes to the staff is a necessity. We'll see how Jeff Lebby goes about handling things in these coming weeks. What he does will likely determine his future in Starkville.