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Mississippi State

Mississippi State's defense comes up big when it mattered the most

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones09/07/25PaulJonesOn3
isaac smith7
Photo by Jared Thomas, Maroon and White Daily

For many months in the future, there will be a lot of memorable conversations about Blake Shapen’s 58-yard touchdown pass to Brenen Thompson to cap off State’s magical 24-20 win over Arizona State.

But all of that was set up by the job the Bulldog defense did on the previous possession. With the score tied at 17-17 in the closing moments, even the most die-hard State fans thought Arizona State was going to bleed the clock dry and find the end zone with little time remaining.

But State’s defense had other ideas. The Bulldogs came up with three consecutive stops inside the three-yard line to limit the Sun Devils to a field goal with 1:38 remaining in regulation. That included a key stop by senior Nic Mitchell and gave the offense a shot to win it.

“The thought right there was to make sure we used all our timeouts and find a way to fight like heck to hold them to a field goal,” recalled hea coach Jeff Lebby. “Man, you talk about proud moments as a football coach inside that game. There’s none prouder than finding a way to hold them to a field goal at the two yard line after what had happened on that drive.

“For us to bow our neck, get the ball back. We had plenty of time to go play because how we do play. There was a lot of belief there.”

For a defense that was downright putrid most of last season, it was a statement that this is a different defense. It made a statement that this is a different season.

“This win shows what Mississippi State is, and that is a blue-collar program,” safety Isaac Smith said. “We proved that to be true tonight. It feels really good to stick it out and have this moment. I have been telling people that I feel something special coming, and today we proved that.”

Even with their backs literally against the wall, the defense proved that they could also help win games this year. And that was the message on that goal-line stand.

“Coach Lebby came up to us during the timeouts, telling us to ‘get the ball out’,” added Smith, who had eight tackles. “It is that mentality of keeping them out of the end zone and to force a field goal that fueled us. That third down stop, got the ball to Blake Shapen and the boys, and they made it happen.”

State’s defense was nearly dominant in the first half, limiting Arizona State to only 92 yards of offense. The Sun Devils got their run game going downhill in the second half, and things looked mighty bleak when their offense was in a rhythm.

But all was secure when Hunter Washington closed out the game and iced it with his first interception of the season.

“For me, I just went out there for the last couple of plays and we knew we had to believe and finish the drive,” said Washington. “Just follow down to our level of training. That is what Coach (Coleman) Hutzler always preaches, day in and day out. As the play went down, I just fell down to my training and Coach always teaches me what to do. In that specific play I just got my hands on the ball.”

And it was more than just a win. It was a much-needed shot in the arm for a program desperate after last year’s 2-10 woeful campaign. It was a message that State’s defense can, yes, once again make plays to help determine the outcome of games.

“I feel like we did pretty good,” Washington mentioned. “I know we still have things to work on. We have an opportunity in this upcoming week to get better. I just want to thank my teammates and we all bought into the program knowing we could flip the script. I put them before me.”

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