If Mississippi State football wants to go bowling, they're going to have to win the Egg Bowl a little less than two weeks from now. The Bulldogs failed to earn their sixth win of the season on Saturday, losing to the Missouri Tigers 49-27. State had plenty of opportunities to be in the game late, but horrid run defense and multiple blunders, both by players and by coaches, led to a lopsided defeat. The Bulldogs will go into their bye week 5-6 on the season, 1-6 in the SEC.
Mississippi State got in its own way...again
State had one of the more absurd sequences you'll see in this game. Down 14-10 in the 2nd quarter, State had 1st and goal at the Mizzou five. They would run eight plays (a pair of Mizzou penalties extended the drive), failing to reach the endzone on any of them and then botching the snap and hold on a FG attempt. The Tigers would recover the loose ball on that final play of the drive, running it back 62 yards to the State 23. They would score five plays later to go ahead 21-10.
That was a massive swing for the momentum of the game. And it got worse. Mizzou would return of pair of interceptions for TDs in the second half, both happening with the game still in reach for State. That's effectively 21 points being gifted to the opponent, and the Bulldogs have no chance of winning like that.
Mississippi State's defense is completely out of gas
For much of the season, the Bulldog defense has proven to be significantly improved. They've been a unit that has continually found ways to make the key plays necessary to keep State in games despite talent deficiencies. But whatever juice they've had has run out. Missouri piled up 438 yards, including 328 on the ground, on the Bulldogs. 300 of those rush yards belonged to Ahmad Hardy, the most rushing yards by a single player in the FBS this season. Defending the run has become impossible for this team late in the year, and it's simply hard to win when your opponents can bully you on the ground.
Jeff Lebby's management of the QB position is a massive problem
This was an ugly game for Lebby, and his handling of the QB position is what made things look particularly bad. Lebby continued to ride with Blake Shapen in the midst of another underwhelming performance, all while the far more promising Kamario Taylor stood on the sidelines, at least until the game was totally out of reach. The unwillingness to make a change and try and provide a spark for the offense is truly mind-blowing. Add in Lebby's play-calling decisions, leaning heavily on QB run and not giving touches to State's backs, and he truly looked clueless in this game. State fans lost even more faith in Jeff Lebby with this game.