Mississippi State welcomed the Florida Gators to Davis Wade Stadium for the Southeastern Conference opener in what might have been the battle for last place in the SEC standing. Florida jumped out to an early lead over the Bulldogs and never looked back. From the untrained eye, Mississippi State looked as if they did against Toledo. However, there were a few positives to hold on to as the Bulldogs shifted the focus to the blunt force trauma of the upcoming few games against Texas and Georgia.

First, Mississippi State did much better running the football on Saturday than at any point this season. Mississippi State had five guys combine for 240 yards for three touchdowns. Johnnie Daniels and Davon Booth combined for 152 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Blake Shapen had the other rushing touchdown on 32 yards on the ground. A sustained running game will position Mississippi State to open up the passing lanes to score more from afar.

Second, Mississippi State did much better against Florida on the offensive line, creating running lanes while allowing time for Blake Shapen to get comfortable in the pocket while finding the open Bulldogs receiver. The Mississippi State offensive line allowed three sacks on Saturday and seven tackles for loss.

Third, Mississippi State never quit. Despite a halftime deficit of 28-14, the Bulldogs kept fighting. There were times when the Bulldogs could have thrown in the towel and allowed Florida to do what Toledo did to them, but the Bulldogs kept the fighting spirit before falling 45-28 to the Gators.

As far as the bad, the defense was terrible. There’s no way around it: Mississippi State allowed for a mediocre quarterback in Graham Mertz to take on the appearance of Tim Tebow, completing 19 of 21 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Florida also ran the ball well for 226 yards with two touchdowns.

Mississippi State will return to action next Saturday when it travels to Austin, Texas, to take on the top-ranked Texas Longhorns. Things might get ugly, but every week is a new challenge, and after this week, the Bulldogs are heading in the right direction under Head Coach Jeff Lebby. In a time of rebuild, patience is a virtue as it takes time to change the culture of a program that has been so much in three years.

Photo Credits: Mississippi State Football on X