STARKVILLE — Last week after Mississippi State’s loss at Arizona State, head coach Jeff Lebby reiterated that he felt the energy in his program was still good and the players were focused the way they needed to be.
After an embarrassing 41-17 defeat at home against Toledo, Lebby still is not wavering.
“There were a bunch (of players) around (Sunday), having a meal, having a medical check-in, guys just being inside the building,” Lebby said. “There was great disappointment. I do believe that our guys have belief. They have excitement about what’s to come. They know there’s an incredible opportunity to play here at home at 11 a.m. (Saturday) against the University of Florida. That’s going to be a great challenge for us.”
As the Rockets ran up and down the field while the Bulldogs struggled to generate offense, fans voiced their displeasure and rained down boos. But as disastrous as Saturday night’s loss was, MSU still has three-fourths of its season to play, including all eight Southeastern Conference games. Turning the page quickly is necessary if the Bulldogs (1-2) want to get anywhere.
It’s not like they have much of a choice after their most lopsided non-conference home loss since 2006, and that game was against a West Virginia team ranked in the top five.
“We’re going to continue to make sure our building and the guys inside our room have great awareness,” Lebby said. “For us and our brand, what we do on Saturdays, it affects our entire state. It affects our fan base, our university and the energy that’s pumped into our community. We understand that. We want to find a way to get back on track, we want to find a way to focus incredibly small and go put a really good product on the field.”
Scouting Florida
The Gators (1-2, 0-1 SEC) are also in a difficult position three games into their season, and head coach Billy Napier’s seat has never been hotter. Florida opened with a 41-17 home loss to Miami, and after blowing out Samford 45-7 in Week 2, the Gators dropped their SEC opener 33-20 in Gainesville against Texas A&M in a game they trailed by as many as 26.
Former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz began the season as Florida’s starter behind center, but after a poor performance against the Hurricanes, true freshman DJ Lagway started against Samford and threw for 456 yards on just 18 completions, three of which went for touchdowns.
Against the Aggies, the two quarterbacks alternated series, and Mertz was the better of the two, completing 12 of 15 passes for 195 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Lagway was just 6-of-13 for 54 yards with a touchdown and two picks.
“When you’re getting two different guys, you’re getting two different presentations,” Lebby said. “You’re getting two different guys who have different strengths. Having to prepare for both of them, there’s some challenge in that. We have to do a great job of making it really hard on them and not creating layups for them.”
Treyaun Webb and Ja’Kobi Jackson had some success running the ball against Texas A&M with limited carries, but Florida’s running back to start the season, Montrell Johnson Jr., had minus-7 yards on seven attempts. Johnson had started the season with a 106-yard performance on just 11 carries against Miami.
The Gators do have a strong wide receiver trio made up of sophomore Eugene Wilson III, who did not play against the Aggies, and transfer portal additions Elijhah Badger (Arizona State) and Chimere Dike (Wisconsin). They also have a solid offensive line anchored by left tackle Austin Barber, center Jake Slaughter and San Diego State transfer Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson.
Florida’s defense has not exactly set the world on fire so far, but edge rusher Tyreak Sapp already has two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, Grayson Howard, Jaden Robinson and Sbemar James make up a very good linebacking corps, and Jordan Castell is the anchor in the secondary.
“They’re a group defensively that is incredibly big and long and can run, and then offensively they have some playmakers who can do some special things with (the ball) in their hands,” Lebby said. “They have struggled. We have, too. But it’s a football team that has a bunch of ability, they’ve recruited incredibly well, so it will be a great test for us Saturday morning.”
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