Mississippi
Texas football: 5 things for Longhorn fans to know about the Mississippi State Bulldogs
Alex Okafor, Colt McCoy on Texas Athletics Hall of Honor induction
The two expressed gratitude for the honor.
Nearly 109 years ago, the Texas football team played Rice in its first Southwest Conference game. And 28 years ago, Texas met Missouri for its first Big 12 battle.
On Saturday, No. 2 Texas (4-0) will play its first conference contest in the Southeastern Conference. That debut will come against Mississippi State in an SEC Network-televised game that will kick off at 3:15 p.m. at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
Here are five things to know about Mississippi State (1-3, 0-1):
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1. Mississippi State will break in a new quarterback
Mississippi State has announced that starting quarterback Blake Shapen’s season is over after he suffered a shoulder injury in Saturday’s 45-28 loss to Florida. Shapen, who spent four years at Baylor before transferring to Mississippi State last offseason, had thrown for nearly 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns against just one interception in 2024.
True freshman Michael Van Buren Jr., a former four-star recruit out of Baltimore, relieved Shapen on Saturday. Junior Jake Weir and redshirt freshman Chris Parson are the other two quarterbacks on the roster. Weir has yet to appear in a game while Parson has attempted 28 passes in his career.
2. Newcomers leading the Mississippi State offense
There were 89 slots available on the SEC’s preseason honors team, but Mississippi State filled none of them. So who’s the Bulldogs’ top talent? Through four games, Johnnie Daniels leads the team with 158 rushing yards. With 22 receptions, 287 receiving yards and three touchdown catches, Kevin Coleman Jr. has emerged as the top receiving target.
Daniels and Coleman are both new to the Bulldogs. Coleman was a starter at Louisville last season and played at Jackson State in 2022. Daniels transferred in from Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
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3. Some Mississippi State coaches have a rivalry with Texas
Texas and Mississippi State haven’t played each other since the 1999 Cotton Bowl, but a few Bulldogs coaches know a thing or two about the Longhorns.
New MSU head coach Jeff Lebby worked the last two years as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator, and he was an assistant at Baylor from 2012 to 2016. Jon Cooper, who coaches the Bulldogs’ tight ends, was the Big 12 offensive lineman of the year while playing at Oklahoma in 2008. And defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler was Texas’ co-defensive coordinator in 2020.
4. Mississippi State hasn’t won big in the SEC
Unlike Texas, Mississippi State is hardly an SEC newcomer. The school was among the 13 charter members that founded the league in 1932. Still, despite being in the conference for more than 90 years, Mississippi State has won only one SEC championship — back in 1941. That team went 4-0-1 in conference play.
After a 1-7 SEC record last year, Mississippi State was picked to finish 15th among 16 teams in the conference’s preseason poll.
5. Why is Mississippi State nicknamed the Bulldogs?
Over the years, Mississippi State has answered to other nicknames, such as the Aggies and Maroons. According to the university, the Bulldog nickname was officially adopted in 1961, but that moniker had been interchangeable with the school’s other nicknames since 1905.
There are two Bulldogs in the SEC. And just like Georgia, Mississippi State has a live mascot. Mississippi State’s bulldog goes by “Dak” although its formal name is Bully XXII. And yes, Dak is named after Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback and former Mississippi State star.
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NORMAN — Oklahoma starter Kyson Witherspoon put his team in position to win the program’s SEC home opener on Friday night.
The OU ace held Mississippi State to two runs, and the Sooners needed just one run in the ninth to extend the game.
Right fielder Sam Christiansen drew a walk to bring the winning run to the plate, and a wild pitch allowed Christiansen to move into scoring position for pinch hitter Brandon Cain with two outs.
Cain took a pair of big hacks, but he ultimately chased a ball up in the zone to strike out and Mississippi State held on for a 2-1 win at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
With the series opener in their back pocket, the Bulldogs moved to 15-7 overall and 1-3 in SEC play, while OU while to 18-3 on the year and 2-2 in conference action.
Mississippi State got a single from Sawyer Reeves to start the game, but Witherspoon bounced back with consecutive strikeouts.
The first inning was extended by an error by OU shortstop Jaxon Willits, however, a mistake which would come back to bite the Sooners.
With new life, Bryce Chance singled to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead after one.
Oklahoma applied some chaos of their own in the top of the second when a walk drawn by Drew Dickerson and a single from Christiansen put runners on first and second with one out.
Dawson Willis drew a walk to load the bases, but Dasan Harris struck out and Jason Walk flew out to end the Sooner threat.
Witherspoon cruised until the seventh, but OU couldn’t level the game.
The Sooners struck out eight times across the third, fourth and fifth innings, stranding just one batter in the process.
Oklahoma got two aboard in the sixth thanks to a Willits single and an error, but the home team was unable to make the Bulldogs pay for their miscues.
Mississippi State starter Pico Kohn’s day would end there as he was flawless on the mound for the Bulldogs where he allowed only two hits and would strikeout 10 Sooners in six innings of work.
The Bulldogs finally got to Witherspoon again in the seventh.
The leadoff batter, Ross Highfill, reached after a scary moment as he squared up to bunt and ended up taking a pitch to the helmet.
Michael O’Brien was called in off the bench to pinch run for Highfill, and he promptly stole second.
A deep fly out moved the runner up one bag, then Dylan Cupp’s sacrifice fly doubled Mississippi State’s lead.
OU coach Skip Johnson then withdrew Witherspoon, who was excellent. He pitched 6 2/3 innings, gave up five hits, two runs had 11 strikeouts and only walked one Bulldog.
But the Sooners immediately got a run back.
Harris gave the offense going in the bottom of the seventh when he reached on an error with two outs. Jason Walk drove in the first Sooner run of the night with an RBI-double, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Mississippi State prevented OU from taking any momentum, however, by striking out Kyle Branch to end the frame.
A clutch double play by the Sooner defense in the top of the eighth held Mississippi State off the board, but OU stranded runners in the eighth and ninth.
Oklahoma and Mississippi State will return to action in Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 4 p.m.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Robert Wright scored 19 points, V.J. Edgecombe added 16 and No. 9 Baylor squeaked past No. 8 Mississippi State 75-72 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Langston Love added 15 points and Norchad Omier had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bears (20-14), who led by 11 points in the second half but had to hold off the Bulldogs in the final seconds — and even tenths of seconds.
Josh Hubbard had 26 points to lead the Bulldogs (21-13), who were seeking their first March Madness victory since 2008.
Wright’s driving, underhanded, left-handed layup gave Baylor a 37-32 lead at halftime, its biggest to that point. A free throw by Omier made it 60-49 with 8:10 remaining.
But the Bulldogs stormed back and cut the lead to one with 29 seconds left when KeShawn Murphy scored in the lane on a baby hook.
The Bulldogs fouled Edgecombe with 9.3 seconds left and the Big 12 freshman of the year made both.
Claudell Harris Jr airballed a 3-pointer with a chance to tie the game with 1.1 seconds left. Omier was fouled on the inbounds play and the game was seemingly over. But more time was put on the clock and Omier missed the front end of a 1-and-1. The Bulldogs grabbed the rebound with 0.2 seconds left and called timeout.
Baylor forward Norchad Omier (15) drives toward the basket past Mississippi State forward KeShawn Murphy (3) during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. Credit: AP/Stephanie Scarbrough
Hubbard’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was no good, although it may not have counted.
Takeaways
Baylor: Coach Scott Drew’s Bears entered the tournament having lost six of their last 10 games, but survived this time. It was Drew’s 21st NCAA Tournament victory.
Mississippi State: This is the third time in as many seasons that coach Chris Jans led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament. Before his arrival, the program had reached March Madness just once since 2010.
Up next
Baylor advanced to Sunday’s second round to face the Mount St. Mary’s-Duke winner.
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