Following a needed bye week, the Mississippi State Bulldogs are back in action this week as they head south to the Sunshine State to take on the Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon. With rumblings of a changing of the guard at Florida, the Bulldogs travel to the Swamp with a bit of mometum to pick up their 5th win of the season while the Florida locker room deals with off-field noise with the possible firing of Head Coach Billy Napier no matter the outcome on Saturday, the Gators might be a bit distracted or the rumblings could in fact motivate the guys making things difficult for the Bulldogs on Saturday. 

For Mississippi State, missing Fluff Bothwell might be problematic, but the Bulldogs still have Davon Booth, Blake Shapen, and Brenen Thompson to make the offense go. Last time out against Texas A&M, the Bulldogs struggled on the offensive side of the ball, scoring just nine points while battling the injury bug and facing a championship-caliber Texas A&M defense. On the offensive side of the ball, Coach Lebby and his units need to return to the basics by running a balanced attack that establishes the run game to open passing lanes for scoring opportunities. 

On the defense side of the ball, Mississippi State will need to figure out a way to slow down the roll of DJ Lagway at quarterback and Jadan Baugh at running back. In the win over Texas last Saturday, Lagway threw for 298 yards, with two touchdowns, while Baugh ran all over the Texas defense with 107 yards on the ground with a touchdown. Against Texas A&M, the Bulldogs’ defense allowed 31 points. 

Overall, it’s always tough to go on the road and find a way, especially in the Southeastern Conference, but the Bulldogs might have run into the perfect storm for an upset, as the Gators might be distracted from the noise of Coach Napier being let go as early as Sunday, no matter the outcome. A win over Florida would be a massive step in the right direction as Coach Lebby and his staff try to get their Bulldogs to navigate two more victories to reach the postseason after going 2-10 last season. It won’t be easy, but there’s a path for the Bulldogs to pick up a 5th win and the first conference win of the season. Just go into the Swamp and control what you can control. 

Mississippi State and Florida will get underway on Saturday afternoon at 3:15 on the SEC Network. 

Photo Credits- Mississippi State Football on X