Mississippi
How a Mississippi State football win or loss vs Florida could impact rest of Bulldogs’ season
STARKVILLE — Expectations were low for coach Jeff Lebby’s first season with Mississippi State football, and after a 1-2 start they feel even lower.
It’s fair to wonder how Mississippi State will do in the SEC after last week’s brutal 41-17 home loss to Toledo. The Bulldogs’ SEC schedule begins this week with Florida coming to Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN).
The Gators (1-2, 0-1 SEC) are in the midst of their own disarray, but a Mississippi State win could still ease some of fans’ concerns from the start of the season.
“We’re not going to dwell on the past,” Lebby said. “Our guys understand that we have good football players inside these walls. Having some self-belief and some confidence when things aren’t going right is something that needs to start showing up.”
What a win vs Florida could mean for Mississippi State
It hasn’t been just one glaring weakness for Mississippi State.
Mississippi State hasn’t scored a first-half touchdown in two straight games and there’s also been little resemblance of an effective running game. Defensively, MSU hasn’t been winning up front with new coordinator Coleman Hutzler. Arizona State rushed for 346 yards, and Mississippi State has only one sack in the last two games.
Florida has been bad too though, as coach Billy Napier’s job security appears to be in great danger. He’s just 2-10 away from home since becoming the coach in 2022.
The timing for Mississippi State to play the Gators immediately after Toledo could be a beneficial runway before the true SEC gauntlet begins. After Florida, Mississippi State plays five of the top eight teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll. It has road games at No. 2 Texas, No. 1 Georgia, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 5 Ole Miss. No. 8 Missouri comes to Starkville the week before the Egg Bowl.
That means there’s few realistic opportunities for wins after the Florida game. They all come in a three-game home stretch from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2: Texas A&M, Arkansas and UMass.
What a loss to Florida could mean for Mississippi State
Mississippi State has announced three players have left the team since the start of the season. All of them were expected to be contributors this season.
Running back Jeffery Pittman left in Week 1, defensive lineman Eric Taylor left early last week and offensive lineman Leon Bell was announced as a departure after he didn’t play Saturday. Bell started at right tackle in Week 2 against Arizona State.
No reasons were given for their departures.
MORE: What upset Jeff Lebby the most after watching Mississippi State football’s loss to Toledo
Would a loss deepen the departures from the Mississippi State’s roster?
“It’s hard,” Lebby said of the players’ exits. “You don’t want that. You want guys to have every opportunity imaginable to be able to be a part of something that’s so much bigger than ourselves, bigger than myself, bigger than anybody that sits in this team room every single day.
“I think early on inside a program, people understanding that you’re not going to give on certain things is incredibly important. Our guys that love Mississippi State, that want to play for each other and have great connection and want to be great teammates. We’re going to find ways to reward those guys nonstop inside the program.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Ole Miss didn’t have to search very long, or very far, for the replacement to former head coach Lane Kiffin.
Defensive coordinator/inside linebacker coach Pete Golding is taking over. And not on an interim basis. He’s the new, permanent head coach.
The move ensures a certain amount of continuity for the Rebels’ run in the upcoming College Football Playoff.
Golding, 41, arrived in 2023. He previously served as the defensive coordinator and inside linebacker coach at Alabama, from 2018 through 2022.
The Mississippi job is Golding’s first head-coaching stint. And his first big challenge will be to persuade some of the Ole Miss players to not follow Kiffin to LSU.
Which is one of the main reasons why Mississippi wanted Kiffin out, once he decided to go. And while the outcome is a symptom and not the disease when it comes to one specific form of college football chaos, Kiffin could have just accepted it and left — without whining about not being able to stick around.
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.
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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