Year one of the Jeff Lebby era in Starkville has been a testament to the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ resilience. Navigating the uncharted waters of rebuilding a program from the ground up, the team has shown remarkable strength in adversity. The program was in shambles when Coach Lebby took over as Head Coach, just a season removed from tragically losing Coach Mike Leach. Despite the circumstances, Coach Lebby has taken this team and started to mold them into the vision he has for the future of Mississippi State Football, a journey that should make every Bulldogs fan proud and inspired.

With the loss to Arkansas on Saturday, Mississippi State will miss the postseason for a second straight season. However, the remaining four games of the season are significant. The Bulldogs have everything to play for the pride they have for the front of the jersey that reads Mississippi State. The Arkansas game might have felt like a step back, but the Bulldogs have three SEC games left against teams fighting for a bid to the College Football Playoff. This is the Bulldogs’ chance to show their potential and disrupt the seasons of these teams, igniting a sense of hope and excitement in the hearts of every Bulldogs fan.

Leave everything at the door, including the terrible defensive performances, a new season filled to the brim with pride for the maroon and white starts on Saturday as the Bulldogs welcome Umass to Davis Wade Stadium for the final non-conference game of the season. An Umass team that too lost to Toledo earlier in the year has one more FCS win than Mississippi State, setting the scene for Mississippi State to earn a practice win over a team that has spent time at the bottom of college football for years. Umass lost to SEC foe, the Missouri Tigers, just a few weeks ago by a score of 45-3.

As far as the remaining Southeastern Conference games go, Mississippi State will face the harsh reality of being a steep underdog in all three, two of which come on the road. First of those is a trip to Rocky Top, where Tennessee will be fresh off a physically demanding rivalry game against Kentucky. The Volunteers will likely escape with a hard-fought match against a Wildcats team that went on the road in September and beat the 5th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels inside Vaught Hemingway. Of the three SEC games left, the Tennessee game is likely the hardest to see a path where Mississippi State can win; Tennessee is one of the teams with a legitimate chance at making noise in the College Football Playoff come December. But it’s in these moments of adversity that the Bulldogs’ resilience shines, inspiring a sense of support and admiration in every Bulldogs fan.

As far as Missouri goes, the Tigers are a weird team. Missouri can beat anybody in the county but has been one of the most inconvenient teams in the Southeastern Conference this season. It’s the final home game at Davis Wade Stadium, and the Tigers could spend a little time overlooking Mississippi State as they focus their attention on a rivalry game with the Arkansas Razorbacks on November 30th. Missouri will likely handle business, but there’s something about this game sandwiched between South Carolina and Arkansas that could give the Bulldogs a trap game to build off of for the future under the leadership of Coach Lebby.

Then there’s the Egg Bowl. It’s the one game where records and talent on the roster get tossed, and pride for the front of the jersey takes center stage. At that point, Ole Miss could roll into the Egg Bowl with Mississippi State with very little to play for if they lose one more game between now and then. No matter the record, there’s not a more toxic rivalry than that between the Rebels and Bulldogs; there’s a hate there that’s hard to describe unless you’ve been around the game yourself. That said, Ole Miss has the better team this year, but weird things happen in that game, and if things played the way they’re looking, Mississippi State could pull a Kentucky and shock the world by ruining the Rebels season. Although unlikely, a win over Ole Miss in his first year as Head Coach would give Coach Lebby and his Bulldogs something to build off for the upcoming Mississippi State Football season.

Measuring success is something to keep in mind as Coach Lebby and the Bulldogs wrap up the season; a combination of two wins will give the program momentum heading into the fall of 2025 when expectations will be higher than ever. Building for the future of Mississippi State Football starts and ends within the next four weeks; some fans will check out, but digging deep and playing with pride in the Maroon and White will take the Bulldogs to the next level under the leadership of Coach Lebby.

Mississippi State will return to action on Saturday as they welcome Umass to Davis Wade Stadium.

( Photo Credits – Mississippi State Football on X )