STARKVILLE — Two days after Mississippi State football’s blown 17-point lead against Texas, coach Jeff Lebby has one decision he’d like to redo.
The Bulldogs had a third-and-6 at the Texas 42-yard line with 50 seconds remaining and the game tied. Lebby, MSU’s second-year coach, wishes he would’ve called one of his two timeouts before the third down after quarterback Blake Shapen rushed up the middle for a 4-yard gain.
The Bulldogs (4-4, 0-4 SEC) lost 45-38 in overtime to the Longhorns (6-2, 3-1) on Oct. 25 after leading by 17 points in the fourth quarter.
“It was incredibly conservative not wanting to give the football back to them,” Lebby said at his Oct. 27 news conference. “It’s not who I am, and that’s the one I’m going to hang on to and learn from more than anything. I probably should’ve taken a timeout, bring them over and talk about it.”
The third-down play ended in a loss of 8 yards after Shapen fumbled. Mississippi State was forced to punt, before ultimately losing.
It resulted in MSU’s fourth straight loss and 16th consecutive SEC loss before its Week 10 game at Arkansas (2-6, 0-4) on Nov. 1 (3 p.m., SEC Network).
“I loved our third-down call,” Lebby said. “You go back and you watch the tape, it’s frustrating. Blake’s going to throw a check down in the flat to Davon (Booth) and the tip of the ball hits his thigh pad and the ball comes out. He’s going to complete a ball from me to you, and we were going to gain 20-25 yards, call a timeout and go kick a field goal. That’s this game. Those moments are crushing, but I want that back in a big way.”
How Jeff Lebby assessed his timeout strategies
Despite the regret from the Texas game, Lebby said he thinks he’s overall done a good job with decision-making regarding timeouts.
It’s a fair question for the first-time head coach who was an offensive coordinator for five seasons before being hired by MSU. The Texas loss was the second straight game where Mississippi State failed to take the lead while possessing the ball in opponent territory with under two minutes to play.
MORE: This ugly stat shows why improved Mississippi State hasn’t ended SEC losing streak in 2025
“I think where people see things a little differently is guys who have been coordinators and calling plays, you’ve always had to deal with the situations because you have the ball and you’re in control,” Lebby said.
“Whether you’re calling a timeout, trying to gain 6-8 yards from a field-position standpoint going back now two weeks ago, whatever it is, you’ve been in control of the football. You’ve had to deal with the situation.
“So from a situational standpoint, I think we’ve been really clean. I hate that I didn’t take the timeout after second down because it was way too conservative.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
