Everything head coach Jeff Lebby said following State's 23-21 loss at Florida on Saturday

Mississippi State lost another heartbreaker in the SEC as a Florida interception in the closing seconds clinched a 23-21 loss for the Bulldogs. It marked the 15th straight conference loss for the Bulldogs.

Afterwards, head coach Jeff Lebby met with the media to discuss the final moments among other topics:

Q: On that last possession, you got in field-goal range but didn’t end up going for the field goal?
Lebby: Yeah. We wanted to be right around the 20 yard line, we felt like that was one of those things where that is an incredibly safe field goal spot for us. So we had the ability there to go gain six yards. I do, I love the call. I don’t like what the outcome was. But we did, we had a ton of opportunities, it comes down to that last play. We’ve got to find a way to fill the dropper and see it while at the same time making a better decision at receiver. If those two things happen I feel really good about it. We are able to kill the ball and go kick a field goal.

Q: On Kyle Ferrie‘s missed field goal, it looked good. What did they tell you there?
Lebby: Same here. What they ended up saying was it was something we weren’t going to be able to review. It was right over the top of the upright and not reviewable.

Q: How much did that missed field goal factor into passing the ball late?
Lebby: Again, we got no timeouts left. All we’re trying to do is find a way to go gain six, seven more yards to be able to kill the ball, throw something real-high percentage that’s easy. Again, the execution and very frustrating with how the game ends. But when you got something you feel like is going to gain six, seven yards, that takes a lot of pressure off that field goal kicker. So we’re at the 29, 30-yard line, find a way to go gain six or seven and you feel really good then.

Q: What do you think changed in the fourth quarter where you moved the ball better?
Lebby: It was just making plays. I don’t know if we had a negative play in the fourth quarter. That’s it. The negative plays in the first half, we were moving the ball. I think we had three drives there in the second quarter where we ended up getting no points and it was because of negative plays. That was the story.

Q: Did you feel like there were three drives in the first half you should’ve finished better?
Lebby: Again, the message after the game was there’s other moments to win the game, not just the last time we had possession of the football. All of the plays inside the game give us the ability to have game control, controlling the game. Instead we are in that situation and we had the opportunity to go win the game. We had two great drives back-to-back, the defense gets a stop and the game ended the way it does. But there’s all these different plays inside the game that give us the ability to have game control and control the game that are keeping us from doing that, first of all.

Q: What do you think was contributing to some of those offensive struggles when you didn’t finish drives?
Lebby: Negative plays. Us being behind the sticks. That’s where it was. It was something different on a couple of those drives where we got to find ways to get us back to 2nd and 8. We get six yards on first down and get an (illegal) shift and we snap the ball when the guy is still moving. Then it’s 1st and 15 and we ended up losing two to go to 2nd and 17 yards. Those are things we’ve got to find ways to clean up. Those are the plays inside the game that keep us from having game control and controlling the game at an earlier point.

Q: Late in the game you had them stopped twice but had two penalties that extended the drive for Florida. Take us through that.
Lebby: Frustrating. We had great moments, defensively, but we give them 30 yards in penalties on that last field goal. They go make a 52-yarder right there on that last drive with about six and a half minutes left.

Q: How do you feel the run game performed tonight without Fluff Bothwell?
Lebby: We were very streaky, very inconsistent. We had some issues on the interior at times where we had a chance to go target things a little better that we got to clean up. Then we had a couple of opportunities where if we’re staying on the tire track, we got a chance to go gain six or seven yards instead of being 2nd and 9. So it’s all those things and that’s the message to our football team.

When things are really good it’s because of everybody. When things are not going the way you want them to go, everybody has control of it. That’s the message. Our guys, I believe we’re going to respond the right way. We’re tired of just being close. There’s no question about that, that our guys are going to wake up tomorrow morning and they are going to make a choice to respond and understand we are going to be back in Davis Wade next Saturday.

Q: How do you feel the offensive line played today?
Lebby: I thought we were better. Obviously, having Albert (Reese) back helped. Still at times, we got a couple of things where we got some layups on the perimeter and some balls that have a chance to be big chunks down the field. We just got to play cleaner fundamentally to finish so the ball can get in the air. Those were some things in the first half that were frustrating.

Q: How frustrating is it to see this long SEC losing streak?
Lebby: Not being on the right side of it is frustrating. There’s no question about it, tired of being close. Our guys are tired of being close. But we are going to respond in the right way. I believe in our guys 100 percent. I believe in this football team. I love coaching them. They have done a great job sticking together and we are going to continue to do that as we get ready to get back home next week.

Q: When Blake Shapen throws a pick like that to end the game, after the game what is your message to him?
Lebby: Respond. Find a way to take the positives and continue to build on those. He’s got a lot of things left out in front of him. The toughness he plays with every single Saturday is incredible. Played incredibly tough today. He’s going to want plenty of things back and I’m going to want things back. But respond the right way. Keep fighting like heck to get better. He will do that because he’s a great competitor and is a great leader.

Q: Brenen Thompson had a huge game. Did you see anything on film where you thought that could happen?
Lebby: I was not going to get out of this game without forcing the ball to 0 (Thompson) because of some matchups. He responded for us.

Q: Thoughts on Brylan Lanier‘s big game?
Lebby: Again, finding ways to get his hands on the football and make the play. That’s the stress non-stop. Find a way to make it and he did that.

Q: What have you seen from those defensive leaders who keep coming up with big moments but it’s still not enough?
Lebby: We got a bunch of guys that are fighting the right way. They are playing the game the right way. Got to continue to find ways to get off the field at times. But they’ve had incredible energy. I hit on this a minute ago but I am loving this group to coach. These guys come to work. They are about each other, about the right stuff and understand we still got a lot in front of us.