STARKVILLE — The mood was far from grim when Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby took the podium on Monday. He gave one of his more insightful press conferences, going into detail on what has gone wrong for him and his team in SEC play this season. 

Firstly came the primary issue of the loss at Florida, which, in his eyes, has plagued his team throughout conference play: the offense can’t get out of its own way when it has a chance to take control. 

The Bulldogs now face a daunting task of taking on one of the best defenses in the country. No. 22 Texas is still ranked almost entirely because of its defense and special teams. Things have been slow-going on offense, but a unit full of veterans from past playoff runs has kept hope of reigniting the season alive in Austin.

Texas-sized defense

The Longhorns have one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 279.1 yards per game and 4.29 yards per play while only surrendering eight total touchdowns through seven games. 

The strength of the team is the front seven, boasting an impressive collection of size and speed to get after opposing quarterbacks. Top pass rusher Colin Simmons has seven total sacks, and the team as a whole has 21. The team also has an impressive linebacker unit with Anthony Hill Jr. and Liona Lefau helping to police the run game. 

“Right now, they’re a team that is really playing to their identity. They play great defense, I think they’re top-3 in the country in scoring and top-5 in total defense. They’ve been great situationally, created turnovers, but then they have been really good on teams.”

In front of the linebackers sits a defensive line unit with eight players weighing in at more than 300 pounds. They make up the fifth-best rushing defense in FBS, allowing just five touchdowns this season and 83.3 yards per game on the ground.

“I think their front is the best part,” Shapen said of the Texas defense. “The secondary is good, too, but got some big dudes up front. (Simmons) is a really good player, probably one of the best we’ll face all year, and the secondary is good, too. I don’t think they’ll be doing a ton that’ll be confusing on the back side, so for us it’s going to be all about execution. Knowing where they’re going to be presnap and trusting all the things that we go through throughout the week.”

Senior Michael Taaffe, the team’s leading tackler, offers an extra layer of protection at safety, leading a defensive back unit with lots of experience. 

Taaffe is one of several returners from the 2024 team that reached the College Football Playoff Semifinals, losing to eventual national champions Ohio State. 

The unit has been the basis for a difficult, but navigable season in Austin. The team has two losses, the first in Week 1 at the now-No. 1 Buckeyes, and the other in Week 6 at Florida. The common thread through both losses, and the team’s main struggles this season, was an inability to protect Manning and kickstart the offense. Because of that, they’ve leaned on the defense, and for the most part it has supported the weight. 

“They’re playing to who they are,” Lebby said. “They’re trying to protect the ball, they’re trying to be incredibly high percentage, very timely when pushing the ball downfield and giving him a ton of freedom to run the offense. I think Sark understands who they are defensively, and they’ve been really good. So for them I think it’s about running the football at a high level, being able to have some play (action) pass in it, and taking care of the ball.”

Bulldogs to match

Like Texas, MSU has been leaning on its defense. Though not quite as effective at stopping the run, and pretty ineffective at pressuring the quarterback, the Bulldog defense has found a reliable identity in defending the red zone and creating takeaways and stops with its deep defensive back room. 

“We’re playing really good red-zone defense, we’re creating turnovers, we’ve been really good against the throw,” Lebby said. “We’ve got so much to build on, but I’m proud of how we’re playing with that unit.”

The Bulldogs lead the SEC in interceptions, with 10 on the season. Eight different players have snagged a pick through seven games. 

The star on Saturday was safety Brylan Lanier, a converted safety who has also played nickel and corner in his collegiate career. 

“I feel like it made me one of the better coverage safeties in the nation,” Lanier said of his time defending the outside. “Coming from corner in a tough division, you get a lot of man coverage. Fortunate to be in a lot of man coverage, one-on-one situations, and I feel like doing that last year is making me a better safety, and my ball skills are great.”

Both picks against Florida came from play recognition. The first was recognizing a play that the Gators scored on MSU with last season, throwing to the tight end down the seam. He jumped it instinctively and saved a touchdown.

That recognition comes from experience, and the Bulldogs have bags of it in the second level. Kelley Jones continually shuts down his man-to-man match-ups, and the team has the luxury of swapping Jahron Manning, Isaac Smith and Hunter Washington into different situations at safety alongside Lanier. It has allowed the unit to make a stand in their own half of the field and stay alive on long drives. 

The Bulldogs still have to find a way to dial up the pressure, and doing so against a struggling Texas offensive line could go a long way in creating turnovers and plus-positioning for the offense. If they can hold against the run and force long downs, it may be an avenue to upsetting the Longhorns at home. 

“It’s huge. The way we’re defending the game right now is really good,” Lebby said. “We’ve got our hands on the ball, made plays, created turnovers. That’s a huge thing. The stress for us is continuing to find ways to tackle better, play cleaner and more detailed in the core to not bleed as much as we bled in the run game.”