Mississippi State sure does sound like Kentucky

Nov 4, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA;Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Zavion Thomas (1) dives for the endzone while defended by Kentucky Wildcats defensive back Jonquis Hardaway (6) during the fourth quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-Imagn Images

When the media’s voted on order of finish is released on Friday by the SEC, odds are extremely high that Kentucky and Mississippi State will be the last two teams listed. Expectations for 2025 are low for the two teams who combined to win just one conference game in 2024. But these two programs have more in common than just being the two teams that the general public sees as the worst in the SEC.

When second-year Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby made his opening address at SEC Media Days on Wednesday, I thought he was describing the Kentucky football program.

“You think about the transformation. 80% of our players on our roster right now, they’re guys that are in their first or second year of being inside the program,” Lebby said. “You think about 16 new players since January 1, 43 midyears, then having the ability to sign five O-linemen, a couple of tight ends, a couple others on the defensive side of the ball in the spring portal.”

“I think about how we’ve created some momentum inside of our building by signing a really good high school class, by signing a really good portal class, addressing the needs that we had to address to change the outcome this fall. That’s all we’ve talked about, is our plan and our process to change the outcome.”

Man, that sure does sound a lot like Kentucky’s offseason build.

Since the season ended, we saw Mark Stoops and his staff complete a complete roster flip in Lexington. Right around 80 percent of the roster is in its first or second year with the program after the Cats added 25 transfers and 25 high school additions. That is 50 new players that this football organization had to onboard in the offseasdon. Many will play big roles this season. The Cats could have 7-8 transfers starting on offense and 4-5 starting on defense. The same is true at Mississippi State.

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Both teams are looking to complete a flip after a woeful year by keeping most of the same coaching staff but utilizing heavy personnel changes. Those roster moves will ultimately determine if both teams sink or swim this season. Lebby and Stoops are both making big bets on high-volume talent evaluation and implementation without changing much — if any — schematic structure within the program. While State is still trying to establish a culture under Lebby, UK is attempting to reset a culture under Stoops.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that these two teams are seen through the same prism at SEC Media Days. The plan for each to have a bounce-back campaign in 2025 is very, very similar. When things go bad in college football now, teams try to flip the roster to correct the wrongs. Kentucky and Mississippi State will each bank heavy roster turnover to turn into positive changes.

Kentucky and Mississippi State have a lot in common. Many are expecting them to finish at the bottom of the league. Time will tell if either can overachieve expectations with this team-building strategy.