Mississippi

Arizona State eyes first win against an SEC opponent vs. Mississippi State

Published

1 year ago

September 5, 2024

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Arizona State eyes first win against an SEC opponent vs. Mississippi State

Mississippi State at Arizona State, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Arizona State by 6 1/2.

Series record: First meeting.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Arizona State and Mississippi State both had dominant wins in the season-opening weekend and now have a tougher challenge when they face each other on Saturday night. The Sun Devils are trying to build off an impressive 48-7 win over Wyoming and prove they might be a factor in the Big 12 race. Arizona State has never beaten an SEC opponent. Mississippi State plays its second game under new coach Jeff Lebby. The Bulldogs beat Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in their season opener..

KEY MATCHUP

Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen vs. the Arizona State defense. The Sun Devils scored a touchdown on the second play of their opener when Zyrus Fiaseu picked off a pass and returned it to the end zone. It was one of two interceptions on the day for Arizona State. Shapen had a great debut against Eastern Kentucky but will face a much tougher defense on Saturday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mississippi State: Shapen had a terrific first game with the Bulldogs, throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 44 yards and a TD against Eastern Kentucky. The 6-foot-1 senior played the previous three college seasons at Baylor with mixed success. Shapen has thrown a TD pass in 12 consecutive games dating to this time at Baylor in 2022.

Arizona State: RB Cam Skattebo led a balanced rushing attack against Wyoming, gaining 49 yards and scoring a touchdown. Skattebo was a do-it-all player for Arizona State last year, spending time at quarterback, running back and receiver. The Sun Devils might not need him to be as versatile this season, but he’s still a threat from just about anywhere on the field.

FACTS & FIGURES

Mississippi State had six different players score touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky. … The Bulldogs’ 93.7 passing grade in the opener was the second-best mark in all of the FBS, trailing only Purdue, according to Pro Football Focus. … Mississippi State’s Kevin Coleman Jr. returned five punts for 117 yards last week. … Arizona State was credited with just two missed tackles on defense in the opener, tied for the third-lowest tally among FBS schools. … Skattebo is 270 rushing yards away from reaching 3,000 in his career. He is 342 all-purpose yards away from reaching 4,000 and 202 receiving yards away from reaching 1,000.

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Mississippi

Bulldogs Defeat ULM On Sunday – Mississippi State

Published

5 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Press Room

Bulldogs Defeat ULM On Sunday – Mississippi State

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State women’s basketball earned their third consecutive victory in their return to Humphrey Coliseum, taking down the ULM Warhawks, 66-54.

The Bulldogs were in control for the majority of the contest, as they led for 38 minutes. State also forced 26 Warhawk turnovers, the most forced in a single game this season. State also shot 83.3 from the stripe, the highest percentage this year.

Favour Nwaedozi led the Bulldogs in scoring for the third time this season, as she collected 13 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes of action. Nwaedozi shot a team-best 60 percent from the floor in the contest.

Kharyssa Richardson finished in double-figures for the second consecutive game, earning a season-high 11 points. Richardson got to the line on four different occasions and knocked down all seven of her free throws.

Jaylah Lampley scored in double-figures for the third time this season, finishing the game with 10 points and five rebounds. Lampley knocked down a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions to extend the Bulldog lead in the fourth quarter.

Madison Francis collected a season-high 13 rebounds alongside eight points, three blocks and two steals. Destiney McPhaul and Trayanna Crisp each picked up nine points in the contest as well.

Mississippi State will be back in action when they take on Pitt inside Humphrey Coliseum for the ACC/SEC Challenge this Thursday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Visit HailState.com for the latest news and information on women’s basketball. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching ‘HailStateWBK’ on X, Facebook and Instagram.

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Why Jeff Lebby said Kamario Taylor is focus of Mississippi State 2026 roster rebuild

Published

22 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Press Room

Why Jeff Lebby said Kamario Taylor is focus of Mississippi State 2026 roster rebuild

STARKVILLE — Kamario Taylor stepped to his left in the pocket, then the Mississippi State football quarterback side-stepped to his right to make three Ole Miss defenders whiff on a sack.

He dashed up field with just one more defender to beat. Taylor juked him, scoring a 35-yard rushing touchdown.

That’s the player MSU coach Jeff Lebby said is the center of the 2026 roster rebuild on Nov. 28.

It was after Taylor made his first career start in the Egg Bowl. Although it didn’t lead to a win, the 38-19 loss for the Bulldogs (5-7, 1-7 SEC) to No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1, 10-1) showed a potential future star for MSU at quarterback.

“As we continue to build it the right way and build these pieces of the roster around (Taylor) that’s going to be really important,” Lebby said. “I think we got somebody that’s going to catch a snap every single down and is going to be an elite player in this conference and in America.

“So building it the right way around him, creating stability for him will be huge. We’ve got to go get the pieces up front, offensively, and that will be a huge point of emphasis as we ready for the portal piece of it.”

Evaluating Kamario Taylor’s first Mississippi State start

The Egg Bowl wasn’t the first extended playing time this season for Taylor, a four-star freshman from Noxubee County.

He replaced starter Blake Shapen twice in the final month of the season because of injuries. Taylor played in all but two games, mainly for his running ability.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Taylor led MSU to a 97-yard opening drive touchdown against Ole Miss. He scored on a 22-yard rushing touchdown. The offense struggled after that though, scoring six points until Taylor’s 35-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“I feel like I could’ve executed a lot better,” Taylor said. “We left some stuff on the field. I wish I could get some plays back. Going into this, Coach Lebby made sure I was confident and Blake was very supportive of me, helping me learn like where they are going and what they’re trying to do to try to mess with me. He was very supportive, so I went into the game very confident.”

Taylor completed 15 of 31 passes for 178 yards and one interception on a pass that was tipped twice, one play after Taylor ran for a 39-yard gain. He rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns, the first MSU quarterback since Garrett Schrader in 2019 to have over 100 rushing yards in a game.

It wasn’t perfect, as demonstrated by his completion percentage below 50%. Taylor will have to keep improving his accuracy. But the play-making ability was evident as he eluded tackles. The debut start was enough to give hope for Mississippi State in 2026.

“Moving forward, we are going to do some special things at Davis Wade,” Taylor said. “We trust Coach Lebby 100%. We know he’s going to put us in the right positions, so we just got to execute.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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The good, bad and ugly of Mississippi State football’s 2025 season

Published

2 days ago

November 29, 2025

Press Room

The good, bad and ugly of Mississippi State football’s 2025 season

Mississippi State’s 38-19 loss to No. 7 Ole Miss in Friday’s Egg Bowl didn’t completely end its season.

At 5-7, if there aren’t enough six-win teams to fill out the schedule of bowl games, the Bulldogs could be invited to a bowl game.

However, it’s not very likely to happen and Friday is most likely the end of Mississippi State’s 2025 season.

It was a disappointing season, but there were some good things that should give the Bulldogs, and their fans hope for an even better 2026 season.

Before we get too far into offseason storylines, let’s take a look back at the season and identify the good, bad and ugly things from Mississippi State’s season.

Big Passing Plays

Brenen Thompson and Anthony Evans III were two of the best transfer portal additions the Bulldogs made last offseason. A highlight reel play was always a possibility whenever they touched the ball.

Thompson was especially great. He had a team-high six touchdown receptions and 948 receiving yards. Most of this touchdown catches came on gains of at least 20 yards.

The explosive passing game was fun to see when it was working and showed some potential for what a Jeff Lebby offense can look like in Starkville.

Kamario Taylor

The true freshman quarterback is going to be main source of hope for Mississippi State fans. He was used sparingly until the Egg Bowl when he made his first start.

Against the Rebels, Taylor ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns, while also completing 15-of-31 passes for 178 yards and an interception (that wasn’t really his fault).

Taylor’s the highest-rated high school quarterback to ever sign with Mississippi State and he showed flashes of greatness.

Offensive line play

One of the biggest reasons the Bulldogs won only two games was the play of its offensive line. They had rushers averaging just 3.9 yards per carry and gave up 38 sacks.

Mississippi State’s 2025 offensive line gave up 40 sacks.

Injuries certainly played a role in the season. Blake Steen played just one game and Albert Reese IV missed multiple games.

But it’s concerning how the offensive line didn’t improve from last season despite bringing in a new offensive line coach.

It should’ve been a red flag when Mississippi State signed several offensive lineman after spring practices. Why wasn’t the need identified during the winter transfer portal window?

Run defense and pass rush

Opponents averaged nearly 190 rushing yards a game against Mississippi State’s defense. That’s a slight improvement on last season that had an average north of 200.

But anyone that saw the Bulldogs’ defense in the last few weeks saw teams run the ball at-will. Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy ran for 300 yards.

As for the pass rush, consider this: Will Whitson played a game and a half and finished second on the team in sacks, just a half sack behind the leader Nic Mitchell.

Mississippi State recorded 20 sacks this season, which doubled last season’s total.

But the improvements weren’t enough and serious, major changes need to be made on the defensive side.

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