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. 

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.”

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. 

“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.”

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