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Why Mississippi State football faces a test of culture as much as talent ahead of Florida game

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Why Mississippi State football faces a test of culture as much as talent ahead of Florida game


STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State football rebuild wasn’t always going to be seamless. 

Expectations for coach Jeff Lebby’s first season were modest. Bumps were to be expected. Perhaps there’d be a game MSU let slip away, a bowl-less first season or an obvious in-game coaching blunder. 

Remember, this isn’t just Lebby’s first time as the Bulldogs’ coach. It’s the 40-year-old’s first head coaching job at any level. 

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But Saturday’s 41-17 loss to Toledo (3-0) at Davis Wade Stadium isn’t an ordinary loss for Mississippi State (1-2). It’s an epic one. It’s MSU’s worst home nonconference loss by scoring margin since it was beaten 42-14 by West Virginia in 2006. West Virginia was ranked No. 4 in the country at the time. Toledo is Toledo. 

Recovering from the loss will start with letting what happened Saturday turn from the edge of a slippery slope to a rallying point. 

“We’re going to fight like heck to fix every single bit of it,” Lebby said after the game. “That’s my job. That’s what we’re supposed to do. I think our guys will be ready to get back in the building and go to work. Everybody is incredibly frustrated right now. I’m incredibly disappointed that we played and coached the way we did tonight in front of our home crowd with our students showing up the way they did. 

“But we do. We got to get it fixed. Regardless, we’re going to kick off at 11 a.m. next Saturday morning right here at home.”

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Why Jeff Lebby left Blake Shapen and other starters in the game

There weren’t many positives to draw from the loss. Asked directly about it, Lebby said he took notice of MSU’s effort particularly on extra point and field goal attempts. 

“When I look at a football team that’s in the situation we were just in, the thing I always want to watch is what’s happening on PAT/field goals,” he said. “On the defensive side of the ball, are we rushing? Are we trying like heck to go block a dang kick at the end of the game? Are we doing the things that we need to do from an effort standpoint that has to show up just to give us a chance? Those things were happening.”

Lebby never pulled the starters, including quarterback Blake Shapen, when the game was already well decided in the fourth quarter.

Both of Mississippi State’s touchdowns came in the second half after it had fallen behind by 32 points. 

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“The thought was we were going to fight our butt off until the last second,” Lebby said. “I think that’s incredibly important as we’re sitting here three games into the tenure. Our guys understand regardless of the score, we can’t play to a scoreboard. We have to find a way to go play and go execute for as long as it takes.”

MORE: Unpacking Mississippi State football, Jeff Lebby’s biggest problems after Toledo loss

The talent is the talent at this point, so only so much can be improved midseason. The offensive line won’t magically go from the dominated to the dominant, nor will the defense that’s forced only five punts and one sack in the past two games. 

Being competitive Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN) at Davis Wade Stadium against the vulnerable Florida Gators (1-2) will be just as much a testament to MSU’s buy-in as much as its talent. 

“There’s a lot of lessons to be learned in these last couple of weeks,” Shapen said. “Just being able to move forward, and obviously we’re starting SEC play, so we got to scratch everything that’s happened before.”

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



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Tornadoes in Texas, Mississippi leave 2 dead, 6 injured and ‘widespread damage’

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Tornadoes in Texas, Mississippi leave 2 dead, 6 injured and ‘widespread damage’


At least two people were killed and six more injured as several tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi on Saturday, damaging homes and flipping vehicles.

Several tornadoes struck Texas and Mississippi on Saturday, causing damage to homes and flipping cars, leaving at least two dead and six wounded.(AP)

One person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, and four people suffered injuries that weren’t considered critical, said Madison Polston, spokesperson for the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.

Polston said there were “multiple touchdown points” in the county between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village and Alvin. She said that so far officials knew of around 10 damaged homes but were still working to determine the extent of the damage.

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In Mississippi, one person died in Adams County and two people were injured in Franklin County, according to a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. The National Weather Service said two tornadoes hit around Bude and the city of Brandon, ripping the roofs from several buildings.

“These storms are probably going to get a lot worse this evening and overnight the further east you go,” said Josh Lichter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

It appeared that at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, though they may discover there were more when crews go out to survey the damage, Litcher said. He said there was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight-line winds.

North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.

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The storms also caused departure delays of over an hour Saturday afternoon at Houston’s two main airports — Bush Intercontinental and Hobby — according to the website FlightAware.

About 71,000 utility customers were without power in Mississippi, and that number was expected to rise, said Malary White, chief communications officer for the state’s Emergency Management Agency.

Also read: Over 7,000 flights delayed as tornadoes and snow impact US holiday travel

The agency did not have any official damage reports but expected them to come in later. First responders were focused on ensuring people’s safety and making sure everyone was accounted for, according to White.

“We do anticipate more thorough damage assessments starting in the early morning hours,” she said.

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Rare ‘particularly dangerous situation’ alert warns of tornado danger Saturday

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Rare ‘particularly dangerous situation’ alert warns of tornado danger Saturday


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A tornado outbreak threatened parts of the South on Saturday, prompting forecasters to issue a rare “particularly dangerous situation” alert amid severe storms that damaged homes and a fire station, according to preliminary reports.

Millions of people were under tornado watches on Saturday in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. Multiple more dangerous tornado warnings were also issued throughout Saturday. (The National Weather Service maintains a list of current tornado alerts, which change frequently as tornado threats develop and pass.)

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The “particularly dangerous situation” wording is used in “rare situations when long-lived, strong and violent tornadoes are possible,” the weather service said. “Numerous” tornadoes are expected, forecasters said.

Multiple homes were destroyed between Alvin and Liverpool, Texas, when a possible tornado went through the area Saturday afternoon, according to a preliminary report cited by the Storm Prediction Center. In Montgomery County, mobile homes were damaged and a roof was ripped off a home.

The East Montgomery County Fire Department said in a post on Facebook that Station 154 had sustained “extensive damage” from a tornado, but said there were no injuries reported.

One tornado is suspected to have touched down in Katy, Texas, in the Houston metro area, according to videos posted to social media by AccuWeather and other meteorologists.

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In Dermott, Arkansas, which was under a severe thunderstorm warning Saturday morning, forecasters said: “This destructive storm will contain baseball sized hail!”

The storms come after a previous round of weather hit parts of Texas and Louisiana on Thursday with multiple tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, AccuWeather reported.

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Severe weather warnings and watches map

What’s a tornado watch, warning?

A tornado watch happens when weather conditions are prime to spawn tornadoes, and they alert people to be ready to act quickly in and around the area of a watch.

A tornado warning means a tornado has been spotted or is indicated by weather radar, and there is imminent danger to life or property. During a tornado warning, people should seek shelter in interior rooms on the lowest floors of study buildings, and keep away from windows.

(This story has been updated to add new information and to correct a misspelling/typo.)



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Dense fog advisory issued for southwest Mississippi until Saturday morning

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Dense fog advisory issued for southwest Mississippi until Saturday morning


Dense fog advisory issued for southwest Mississippi until Saturday morning

Published 9:16 pm Friday, December 27, 2024

The National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory at 9:11 p.m. on Friday in effect until Saturday at 9 a.m. The advisory is for Ashley, Chicot, Morehouse, West Carroll, East Carroll, Richland, Madison, Franklin, Catahoula, Tensas, Concordia, Bolivar, Sunflower, Leflore, Grenada, Carroll, Montgomery, Webster, Clay, Lowndes, Choctaw, Oktibbeha, Washington, Humphreys, Holmes, Attala, Winston, Noxubee, Issaquena, Sharkey, Yazoo, Leake, Neshoba, Kemper, Warren, Hinds, Rankin, Scott, Newton, Lauderdale, Claiborne, Copiah, Simpson, Smith, Jasper, Clarke, Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Jones, Marion, Lamar and Forrest counties.

The NWS describes, “Visibility of one quarter mile or less in areas of dense fog.”

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“Low visibility could make driving conditions hazardous,” comments the NWS. “If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.”

Dense fog advisory issued for southwest Mississippi until Saturday morning

Guidance from the NWS for navigating foggy conditions

If a dense fog advisory is issued for your area, it means that widespread dense fog has developed and visibility often drops to just a quarter-mile or less. These conditions can make driving challenging, so exercise extreme caution on the road, and if possible, consider delaying your trip.

If you must drive in foggy conditions, keep the following safety tips in mind:

Moderate your speed:

Slow down and allow extra travel time to reach your destination safely.

Visibility matters:

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Ensure your vehicle is visible to others by using low-beam headlights, which automatically activate your taillights. Utilize fog lights if your vehicle is equipped with them.

Avoid high-beams:

Refrain from using high-beam headlights, as they create glare that impairs your visibility on the road.

Keep your distance:

Maintain a significant following distance to account for abrupt stops or shifts in traffic patterns.

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Stay in your lane:

Use the road’s lane markings as a guide to staying in the correct lane.

Zero visibility strategy:

In situations of near-zero visibility due to dense fog, activate your hazard lights and seek a secure location, such as a nearby business’s parking lot, to pull over and come to a stop.

Limited parking options:

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If no designated parking area is available, pull your vehicle as far off the road as possible. Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights are not illuminated, reducing the risk of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.

By adhering to these recommendations from the NWS, you can navigate foggy conditions with greater safety, mitigating the risk of accidents and prioritizing your well-being.

Source: The National Weather Service

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