Mississippi State football entered Gainesville with a 14-game SEC losing streak, and they leave Gainesville having extended that streak by another, miserable game. The Bulldogs fell 23-21 to the Florida Gators in a ballgame they had every opportunity to win but just let slip-away. The backbreaker came in the final 30 seconds of the game with MSU in range to attempt a game-winning field goal. QB Blake Shapen threw an awful interception to a Gator defensive lineman, sealing a 15th-straight SEC loss. The Bulldogs are now 4-3 (0-3 SEC) on the season.
Mississippi State can't win with Blake Shapen playing like this
Blake Shapen has not had the type of year he was expected to for State. He's not been sharp passing, and he's taken far too many sacks. But in prior games, there were enough issues around him that MSU's offensive struggles could not solely be laid on him. He was not being set up to succeed. However against Florida, no excuse can be made. The 24/36 for 324 stat line doesn't at all tell the story for how he performed.
He missed multiple wide open touchdowns (hitting any of which would've resulted in a State win), continued his problem of taking sacks he shouldn't, and threw a game-losing pick while in field goal range at the end. Better QB play, and MSU wins. Simple. And if that's how Shapen is going to perform, you cannot keep trotting him out there.
Once again, the Mississippi State defense did enough to win
It was not the prettiest day for the Bulldog defense. They allowed a struggling Florida offense to move the ball fairly effectively throughout to the tune of 452 yards. They missed plenty of tackles, and there were multiple occasions where it was the Gator offense stopping themselves as opposed to State's defense making a play.
But ultimately, the Bulldog defense did enough. They forced turnovers when Florida was driving. They made the key stop late in the fourth to give the offense a final chance. What's been a flawed but timely defense all year was timely once again, and once again, the MSU offense didn't hold up their end of the bargain.
Jeff Lebby earned plenty of deserved criticism for this loss
Jeff Lebby is going to get plenty of heat for this loss, and he deserves it. For as much as QB play impacted the final outcome, Lebby's decision-making played a major role. Calling five-straight QB runs between Kamario Taylor and Shapen in a moment where the offense was having success was head-scratching. Having multiple three-and-outs where a RB didn't touch the ball was baffling. And calling a pass while in comfortable field goal range at the end of the game was absurd. Add in the overall continued lack of execution and discipline on the field, which at this point falls on coaching, and he ultimately wears the brunt of this loss.
This was a game Mississippi State could have won. This was a game Mississippi State should have won considering the present situation the Florida football program is in and how the Gators made plenty of errors themselves. Instead, it's another loss, and there's no shrugging it off. Lebby just took a major hit to his perception in Starkville.