SEC Snapshot: Mississippi State

Spring practices have ended. The transfer portal has slowed to a crawl. We are entering Summer Radio SZN. As such, let’s get our minds right for the upcoming college football season by taking a 10,000-foot view of every SEC football team.

For some of the best years in the history of Mississippi State football, the Bulldogs were an annual opponent on Kentucky’s SEC schedule. Now that the program has bottomed out, they are nowhere to be found. It’s a real shame, although they should take a step forward in year two under Jeff Lebby.

SEC Snapshots: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt

Preseason Rankings

SP+: 55
Returning Production: 8
Win Total: 3.5

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Main Storyline: Jeff Lebby Needs a Year 2 Bump

Mississippi State did what you have to do to be successful in Starkville. Mike Leach went a non-traditional path and it was working exceptionally well. Following an 8-win regular season, the Dawgs were teed up for a great 2023 campaign when Leach tragically passed away. They promoted defensive coordinator Zach Arnett and it failed miserably when he veered away from the Air Raid. He was canned after only one season.

Mississippi State went back to the offense-first roots planted by Leach by hiring Jeff Lebby to run the Art Briles offense. It seems like a wise long-term plan, but it was a disaster in the short term. After dropping a nail-biter at Arizona State in week two, they were blown out at home by Toledo, setting the tone for a terrible 2-10 season.

That happens in the first year of the rebuild. One can expect them to take significant strides in year two, but there are a lot of holes to fill, particularly on a defense that allowed 34.1 points per game last fall. They’re going to have to outscore teams to win. At least there’s a familiar face leading the offense.

Who’s the Quarterback?

Jeffy Lebby brought a quarterback with him from Baylor. Blake Shapen completed 68.5% of his passes for 974 yards and eight touchdowns through the first four games of the season when he suffered an injury that took him out for the rest of the year.

Most importantly, Shapen only threw one pick. Part of that efficiency is by design in Lebby’s offense, however, there are reasons to believe he can be an above-average SEC quarterback this fall.

Similar to Zach Calzada at Kentucky, there’s a big question at wide receiver: Does he have enough good weapons to throw the ball to? The Dawgs were gutted in the transfer portal, forced to bring in a bunch of players with limited production. Former Ole Miss pass-catcher Ayden Williams might be Shapen’s top option and it might not be good enough to win SEC football games.

Biggest Question: Can they protect Blake Shapen?

In addition to the pass-catching problem, they’ve also got problems in the trenches. One Bulldog beat reporter said after spring practice, “The offensive line still appears to be a massive work in progress.” That’s not a good sign.

One positive is that the pace and space of this offense does not require dominant play in the trenches. However, for the passing game to be successful, it needs a running game to keep opponents honest. Mississippi State has some quality running backs. Fluff Bothwell was a great add from the transfer portal. The key to this program’s success is making sure the offensive line is just good enough to keep Shapen clean and open up enough holes to let the running backs make plays.

Mississippi State Football Schedule

Shout out to the powers that be for bringing Mississippi State to Hattiesburg to open the season. There will be plenty of pressure to perform well right away. If they can secure a win and stress-test a CFP team in week two, there’s an avenue for State to have some momentum once a difficult SEC slate kicks off.

Date	Opponent	Location
Aug 30, 2025	Southern Miss	M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, MS
Sep 6, 2025	Arizona State	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Sep 13, 2025	Alcorn State	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Sep 20, 2025	Northern Illinois	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Sep 27, 2025	Tennessee	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Oct 4, 2025	Texas A&M	Kyle Field, College Station, TX
Oct 11, 2025	Bye Week	—
Oct 18, 2025	Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL
Oct 25, 2025	Texas	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Nov 1, 2025	Arkansas	DWR Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, AR
Nov 8, 2025	Georgia	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Nov 15, 2025	Missouri	Faurot Field, Columbia, MO
Nov 22, 2025	Bye Week	—
Nov 28, 2025	Ole Miss	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS

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