Everything head coach Jeff Lebby said after Saturday's 38-35 win at Arkansas

After a string of heartbreakers in the SEC, Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4) finally got its first win inside the league on Saturday with a 38-35 win at Arkansas. The Bulldogs trailed by 14 points in the fourth quarter but rallied to break the 16-game SEC losing streak.

Afterwards, head coach Jeff Lebby met with the media to recap the victory:

Q: Your team had every reason to quit today so it feels like a culture win today. Your thoughts?
Lebby: Incredibly proud of our guys. So proud of our fight and playing the next play. We’ve seen it non-stop but making the plays in the fourth quarter to win the football game, having the ability to convert on fourth down after everything we had went through in the game. For our guys to keep believing, play the next play an execute in a time like that, to me it shows toughness. That is what I just got through talking about in there. Tough people win in life. We’ve got a tough football team. I’m proud of those guys and we got a lot left out in front of us.

Q: Take us through Blake Shapen getting hurt, KaMario Taylor coming in and then Shapen returning.
Lebby: We got buzzed down and we were made to look at Blake after he took the big hit. SO for us, then we had to go through the box-checking and make sure he wasn’t symptomatic to be able to come back into the game and that takes awhile. Blake never had symptoms, he felt great, wanted to get back into the game. Proud of KaMario for the way he played and did what he did on those two touchdowns drives. But we needed an old guy to be able to go win this game, felt that way and he did. Came back in, plays unbelievably tough and he leads us down the field to go win the game in the fourth quarter.

Q: After so many close calls, what did that mean to you to see Blake get it done like that?
Lebby: It means everything because again, the way the guy plays the game. His toughness, man, he will die for us. He puts it on the line every time he steps in between the white lines. That’s what leaders are made of. Just talked about tough people win. Blake is a winner and he is going to win in life because he’s got great toughness. He puts it on the line. For him to be able to feel good, I talked about on Monday. I wanted our guys to feel good. I wanted our fanbase to be able to feel good. That is important to me and today was the right stuff.

Q: How did you keep your guys focused after all the penalties and trash-talking?
Lebby: It is about putting the ball down and playing the next snap. The most important play of the game was the next play and the only one that we got. So finding ways to stress that and our guys believed in that and finding ways to execute.

Q: Looked like Anthony Evans just wasn’t going to be denied on that last catch?
Lebby: Again for him, he’s been a really good ball-in-hand guy for us. He almost turns into a running back when he gets it in his hands, plays really tough. So loved that he was able to go make the play to get the first down and then obviously, get in the end zone and go score. Some great moments. If you are talking about toughness, you got no chance inside this conference if you are not built that way. We’ve got to continue to build on that.

Q: Your thoughts on finally ending the long SEC losing streak?
Lebby: It feels good to get a win. It absolutely does. I’ve continued to focus on this football team and this season and who we are in the moment. Not comparing ourselves to anything in the past. Who we are today and what gives us the best opportunity to win every single Saturday and that’s been our focus. I guess the streak will not be talked about anymore, which I do love. We got a happy locker room. The guys played their butt off to go win.

Q: How would you describe the locker room after a win like that?
Lebby: Guys loving the moment. The fun is in winning. We do what we do year-round and there’s so few opportunities on each Saturday where it is incredibly important to go find a way to go win. Being able to come on the road and play the way we did at times, which was far from clean, and then playing the way we did late to give us a chance to win the game, it’s special.

Q: You have talked a lot about taking control of the moment before. After seeing your team do that finally, does that add an extra layer of importance to the win?
Lebby: It gives us some things to point to when we get back in those situations and understanding it is a very real thing. We don’t just say it to say it. Play the next play. It’s the only play that matters and it’s the next one. You have to have that mentality. The people that we play week-in and week-out, that’s the reality of the game. Things are going to be far from perfect for us. But being able to play the next play and control the controllables will ultimately give us the opportunity to do what we want to do.

Q: You took a timeout before that fourth down play and you said you wished you would’ve done that late in the Texas game. What was the discussion about there?
Lebby: Because there was plenty of time and being able to take one and talk through what we were going to go run and get everyone on the same page. It’s something that we’ve repped a thousand times. But in that moment there’s no reason to no bring them over and talk to them about it and make sure everybody is on the same page.

Q: How big was it for the defense to make those huge stops in the fourth quarter?
Lebby: Incredible. We did play a bunch of the drop-eight stuff. We wanted eyes on the quarterback. I think you have to play that way against these guys. So you bleed a little bit at times, which isn’t perfect. But we needed eyes on the football because of the quarterback position . For us to play the way we played on the last couple of drives, defensively, is just awesome. Because it again was far from perfect all day, but then we are able to turn it on and get off the field and create the stops to give us a chance to go win the game.

Q: Your thoughts on Malick Sylla emerging as a pass rusher and his clutch plays late?
Lebby: Again, it’s about making the plays in the moment to give you an opportunity to win the game. That’s a huge one there.

Q: We asked about how the players are feeling. How about you after a win like that?
Lebby: I’m excited for our players. I am. Man, I’m proud of those guys. The ability to do what they just did in an atmosphere I would say is as good as we’ve been in in a fourth quarter, as loud as it was. To just continue to stay the course and play the next play, I’m proud of them. Again, we’ve got a ton to do. I can’t wait to be able to get back in Davis Wade next Saturday. We’ve got a great opponent coming in to our house. So I’m proud of our guys and glad they have the opportunity to feel good.

Q: Was there any thought about leaving KaMario in the game after he led those touchdown drives?
Lebby: No. I was wanting to know what was going on with Blake and making sure that he was okay. In that situation I wanted to have the opportunity to have Blake, who has done it and lived it and been around it. I thought that was really important. Again, what Kamario did was huge for us and we needed it in a big way. But I wanted to get back to Blake and it was able to work out.

Q: Adding to that, how big was it for KaMario to deliver like that?
Lebby: It’s huge for him, his development, his growth. I’ve continued to talk about making sure I’m putting him in positions of success as we move this thing forward. That’s important to me. But for him being able to get inside of a huge game and be inside some big moments and go do what he was able to do I think speaks to him as he’s continued to prepare the right way. Hasn’t talked about worrying about an opportunity, just that’s he going to do with it when he gets it. So I’m proud of him and how he’s handled it.

Q: What was the process of them buzzing down to see how Shapen was?
Lebby: The official comes over and says ‘hey, (Shapen) has to come out of the game. They buzzed us down and hen he automatically gets with our medical staff and they start going through the steps to see whether or not he’s going to be cleared to go play.

Q: Any updates on the players like Jahron Manning that left the game?
Lebby: We don’t. We had some guys obviously get banged up but we don’t have anything. We’ll probably let the injury report speak to that on Wednesday.