COLUMN: Bulldogs keep the faith in Lebby and it pays off in win

Everyone in maroon and white had to admit at least a touch of dread in those final minutes against Arkansas.

In three of the team’s previous losses in SEC play this season, Mississippi State found ways to lose. They missed their shot at ending a three-year long SEC losing streak and Saturday looked like it was heading in the same direction.

After falling behind by two scores in the fourth quarter, Jeff Lebby’s Bulldogs wouldn’t give up. They closed the lead to 35-31 and got a defensive stop. That’s when Blake Shapen would march the ball down the field converting two huge fourth down plays on the way to an 18-yard touchdown to Anthony Evans to give the Bulldogs a 38-35 win.

In many ways, a demon was exorcised against Arizona State earlier this year as it gave Lebby his first marquee win as head coach. But four-straight losses happening the way that they did would give State another monkey to knock off of its back.

State finally did it. No matter the fact that Arkansas has found itself towards the bottom of the conference with similar self-inflicted losses, State finally did it. No matter what any of us think about how the game played out for three and a half quarters, State finally did it.

It’s one of those wins that had to happen in the fashion it happened. The Bulldogs have been on the opposite end of it already this season. Against both Tennessee and Texas, the Bulldogs had fourth quarter leads vanish before going to overtime and losing in devastating fashion. Against Florida, Shapen was driving to set up a game-winning field goal and threw an interception.

For the first time in years, State finally won an SEC ball game and did it by going and making the plays late. No matter what happens the rest of the way, it’s evident that Lebby’s trust in his players and their trust in him has kept them on the road.

It was Lebby’s feel on his quarterbacks that drew the ire of the State fans in the middle of the second half. When Shapen left the game in the third quarter after taking a hit, freshman QB Kamario Taylor came in and commanded a scoring drive to get the Bulldogs a 14-13 lead.

While Shapen continued to warm on the sidelines, Lebby stuck with Taylor for three possessions and it led to two touchdown drives to keep the Bulldogs in it. On the fourth drive since the injury, Shapen entered the game and immediately had a ball go off the hands of his receivers and intercepted.

It would be no shock to anyone if Lebby felt the electronic vibrations reverberating from social media and message boards. Fans weren’t happy and I even questioned the decision to cool the hot hand. No matter what we choose to believe, the move worked.

After that interception, Shapen was 8-of-14 for 132 yards and a touchdown and the Bulldogs scored 17 points in the last three possessions. In the final drive, Shapen converted a 4^th and 7 for a 32-yard play from Brenen Thompson and a 4^th and 5 for the 18-yard touchdown to Anthony Evans.

Bulldogs look to use win as springboard

With the great close to the game finally bringing an end to three seasons of purgatory for the Bulldog football program in the SEC, State coaches, players and fans can finally breathe again. Now, it’s Lebby’s chance to breakthrough.

Getting any kind of SEC win and doing it in that fashion can now open things up for this State team. The Bulldogs have found a way to win a ball game and have put down the bad juju that has followed them since 2023.

This is Lebby’s chance to grow and move the program forward. Can they do it? That’s the big question coming the Bulldogs’ way over the next three weeks. State is depearately looking to take bowl eligibility and will have to find a win against No. 5 Georgia, at No. 19 Missouri and in the Battle for the Golden Egg with No. 7 Ole Miss.

The players continue to fight for their coach and now they’ve got some more life to them. Let’s see what they can do.