STARKVILLE — Mississippi State can once again find some solace in staying within an arm’s length of a top-15 team. But as head coach Jeff Lebby said the first time it happened, there is no such thing as a moral victory at the end of the day.

Back home for the first time in nearly a month, the Bulldogs got another solid game from freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren, who was under duress throughout the afternoon. The defense looked helpless early, though, and the MSU offensive line wore down late against near-constant pressure from Texas A&M in a 34-24 loss to the No. 14 Aggies.

“That’s where the frustration lies,” Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby said. “The fine line inside this league of being on the right side of it and on the wrong side of it. All the different plays in the game, in the first quarter, the second quarter and then in the second half that have the ability to change the outcome of the game, it’s disappointing. It’s frustrating. Our guys had incredible belief that we had the ability to go out and win. Being close is not why we do what we do.”

MSU (1-6, 0-4 Southeastern Conference) put together a 92-yard drive after the opening kickoff to take the early lead, with the key play a 40-yard run up the middle by Davon Booth. On fourth-and-3, Van Buren hit a wide-open Booth on a quick pass in the flat, and Booth ran untouched into the end zone for his third receiving touchdown of the year.

Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0) responded quickly, converting four third downs on its first possession of the game and paying it off on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Conner Weigman to Noah Thomas. The Aggies’ third-down success would continue for the rest of the first half and into the second — Texas A&M converted on nine of its first 10 third down plays, and converted on fourth down thanks to a pass interference penalty on the lone instance where the Bulldogs got a stop.

“We played hard and physical, stopped them good on first and second down, but third down was just killing us. We have to find a way to get off the field on third down,” said safety Isaac Smith, who led all players on both teams with 13 tackles. “They just outplayed us on third downs. We have to do a much better job on third down.”

After not allowing a sack last week at Georgia, MSU surrendered back-to-back sacks to kill its second drive of the game. The Aggies converted two more third downs en route to a Le’Veon Moss 9-yard touchdown run to put them in the lead for good.

A Kyle Ferrie field goal cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to 14-10, and then the MSU defense caught a huge break when Weigman overthrew Tre Watson, with safety Hunter Washington positioned perfectly to make the interception. But the Bulldogs failed to take advantage of the rare stop and the resulting good field position. Texas A&M pressured Van Buren on fourth-and-6, forcing him into a difficult throw that was intercepted by linebacker Scooby Williams.

Down two scores inside of two minutes left in the half, Van Buren shook off the pick and led his best drive of the day, tossing a four-yard touchdown pass to fellow freshman Mario Craver to cap a near-perfect two-minute drill. The fans serenaded the Bulldogs with a rousing ring of their cowbells as MSU headed to the locker room trailing by just four.

“I’ve made great progress throughout these games I’ve been playing,” Van Buren said. “(Craver) is a great player. He always finds a way to get open, so when he’s open, I get him the ball.”

Despite allowing the Aggies to convert a third-and-23 on the opening drive of the second half, the Bulldogs managed to hold the visitors to a field goal to keep it a one-score game. Then, on fourth-and-8 from MSU’s own 30, the Bulldogs faked a punt, snapping the ball to freshman running back Xavier Gayten. Texas A&M was right on top of it, quickly snuffing out the play and again creating excellent field position.

The Bulldogs mostly contained Moss, who entered averaging more than 100 rushing yards per game on 6.9 yards per carry. Moss carried 17 times for just 65 yards, but he did find the end zone twice, scoring his second touchdown to extend the Aggies’ lead to 31-17.

“The biggest thing is doing your job, making the plays you’re supposed to make,” defensive lineman Sulaiman Kpaka said. “He’s a great back, but we have to go out there and execute.”

After that, Texas A&M’s pass rush began to overwhelm Van Buren and the offensive line, forcing a punt just shy of midfield. MSU created one more jolt of excitement when linebacker Zakari Tillman intercepted Weigman on the first play of the fourth quarter, leading to a Van Buren touchdown pass to Kevin Coleman. But that 12-yard drive represented the Bulldogs’ only points of the second half.

For all the progress MSU has made during this daunting three-game stretch, the Bulldogs have not played enough complementary football to close out a ranked opponent.

“We’ve gotten better. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. We’re starting to find a little bit of an identity at times,” Lebby said. “The thing that I hate is these old guys in the room, this is their last year. The frustration is that they are helping set a foundation for something. I couldn’t be more convicted on where we’re going, (but) they’re not getting to feel good right now.”