After a long hiatus since the Egg Bowl, Mississippi State football is back in action as it looks to end the 2025 season with a matchup against the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl next Friday. Despite not winning the sixth game, Mississippi State has an opportunity to have an extra month of practice while building mometum for the fall of 2026, where Coach Lebby is primed for a return to the spotlight for his Bulldogs. All of that mometum started a few weeks ago when Mississippi State opened bowl prep and spent the extra time building as a team for next season, a next season that has the potential to return Mississippi State the chance to win eight to nine games while having the conversation of playing in a better postseason event and maybe even taking their seat as the next team from Mississippi to reach the College Football Playoff. 

Despite not winning the 6th game, there has been a buzz around the program that is hard to mistake for anything but confidence heading into the 2026 season for Coach Lebby and the Bulldogs. 

So, what can the Bulldogs faithful expect from Duke’s Mayo Bowl? 

First, expect KaMario Taylor and the offensive side of the ball to show signs of what they’ll look like next year. We saw a glimpse of it in the Egg Bowl when Coach Lebby decided to go with KaMario Taylor over Blake Shapen as the starting quarterback. They didn’t have time to overhaul the offense to solely fit Taylor, but the offensive side of the ball seemed to open up a bit more in that game against Ole Miss. Mississippi State had some drives that stalled out in the Egg Bowl, but overall, the perception about the offensive unit heading into the offseason was seemingly positive, with KaMario Taylor leading the offense. As far as the bowl games go, we will likely see a hybrid offense that resembles the old offense, but is also geared to the strengths of KaMario Taylor. 

Second, on the defensive side of the ball, expect a little bit of something different with the changing of the guard at defensive coordinator. Coach Lebby made the decision in the week following the Egg Bowl to replace Coleman Hutzler as defensive coordinator with the former Mississippi State Head Coach Zach Arnett. Defense might be the biggest question mark heading into the bowl game, as Coach Arnett comes in midway through bowl prep as an observer with limited coaching responsibilities until the offseason. Mississippi State struggled this season on the defensive side of the ball in many aspects, but it’ll be interesting to see if Coach Arnett played the role of an observer or jumped right in to overhaul the defense. Mississippi State will go up agaisnt dual-threat quarterback on Friday night as they face a familiar foe in Robby Ashford. Mississippi State recently saw Ashford at South Carolina and Auburn before transferring to Wake Forest to end his college football career as a Demon Deacon. 

Lastly, as game week rolls around and the Bulldogs make their way to Charlotte, expect a business trip mindset from Coach Lebby and the boys. Often, we see teams not take postseason football seriously, but for Coach Lebby and the Mississippi State, as Friday against Wake Forest has the potential to only be a fun trip that ends with a trophy, but sets the tone for the 2026 season where the Bulldogs have the potential with a loaded talented rich roster to make a run at a potential College Football Playoff run. All that starts on Friday as they look to win a 6th game to remain unbeaten against nonconference foes this season. What Mississippi State is doing with this postseason trip is using it as a stepping stone for a breakout third year of the Jeff Lebby era in Starkville. 

Mississippi State and Wake Forest will get underway on Friday night under the lights in Charlotte on ESPN. Mississippi State enters the game with Wake Forest as a three-and-a-half-point favorite. 

Photo Credits- Mississippi State Football on X