STARKVILLE — Perhaps Mississippi State was just a victim of unfortunate timing, sitting at home during a week when the stars were aligned perfectly for college football chaos.
While the Bulldogs were on a much-needed bye week Saturday, Vanderbilt knocked off No. 1 Alabama for its first win over the Crimson Tide in 40 years, and Arkansas upset No. 4 Tennessee later that night. MSU, in the middle of back-to-back road games against top-5 teams, might have just missed its shot.
“It’s still about what we do with our time, how we practice, how we meet, how we walk through,” Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby said Monday. “We got very specific with some things that we had to get cleaned up, both sides of the ball and special teams. It was important for our guys to be able to get away a little bit, reset, refocus, regroup and get ready for this back half of the season.”
The open date did come at a good time for MSU (1-4, 0-2 Southeastern Conference), which was licking its wounds even after making some improvements in its 35-13 loss at Texas. With veteran Blake Shapen out for the year with a shoulder injury, true freshman Michael Van Buren made his first start against the Longhorns and now has an extra week to review his first significant game footage and prepare for his next opponent, No. 5 Georgia.
Quarterbacks aside, the Bulldogs needed to use the bye to get healthy. Safety Isaac Smith still leads the SEC in tackles despite missing the Texas game, and he was listed on MSU’s depth chart Monday. So were defensive linemen De’Monte Russell, who left with an injury in the third quarter against the Longhorns, and Kedrick Bingley-Jones, who did not play in Austin. Running back Keyvone Lee and defensive lineman Kalvin Dinkins remain out.
“They’ve had great energy, there’s really good intent,” Lebby said. “There’s no question about it from a health standpoint, just being able to recalibrate and get our guys a little bit of a break that they needed.”
The Bulldogs’ recruiting has been a mixed bag this fall, but there are signs that Lebby and his staff are building a sturdy foundation even as the present looks bleak. Four-star class of 2025 linebacker Tyler Lockhart, the No. 4 player in Mississippi according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, committed on Sept. 19.
MSU also has three of the top four junior college prospects committed, including four-star defensive lineman Zavion Hardy and four-star safety Tony Mitchell, both of East Mississippi Community College. But the Bulldogs lost one of the crown jewels of their 2025 class Monday when offensive lineman Mario Nash, another four-star, decommitted just after taking a visit to Florida State.
“Where we are today is completely different from where we’re planning on going,” Lebby said. “I’ve told guys nonstop (that) I’ve never been more convicted in who we are and where we’re going than I am today. The guys we’re recruiting understand that. They understand the vision, and they understand that there is (a) real connection inside our building.”
Scouting Georgia
The SEC’s other Bulldogs lost their first regular-season game since 2020 on Sept. 28 in a 41-34 thriller at Alabama, but Georgia is still very much a national title contender. The Crimson Tide, in fact, are the only team to beat UGA in the last four years, and they have now done it three times. Georgia bounced back last Saturday with a comfortable home win over Auburn.
UGA (4-1, 2-1) won national championships in 2021 and 2022 under head coach Kirby Smart, a Georgia alum and longtime Alabama defensive coordinator under Nick Saban who left to lead his alma mater in 2015.
“You look at what he’s done over his tenure, it’s second to none the amount of success he’s had,” Lebby said. “It really is the standard right now in college football. He’s done it in a way that’s been built to sustain, developing high school kids, signing great high school football players from the South and mixing in different pieces positionally. He’s got a blueprint that is proven and it’s worked.”
Veteran Carson Beck is in his second year as UGA’s starting quarterback, and he is completing nearly two-thirds of his passes through five games for 1,359 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Running back Trevor Etienne, brother of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Travis Etienne, averages nearly six yards per carry, and Arian Smith, Dominic Lovett and Dillon Bell headline the receiving corps.
Georgia’s defense hasn’t forced many turnovers, but they practically live in opponents’ backfields, with Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins totaling seven tackles for loss and three sacks. Raylen Wilson and Jalon Walker are two of the SEC’s best linebackers, and defensive back Dan Jackson leads UGA in solo tackles and pulled down an interception against Alabama.
“They’re really good in all three phases,” Lebby said. “Regardless of who is in the game, the expectation is for that guy to get done exactly what the starter was trying to get done. There’s incredible depth there. We’re going to have to do a great job taking care of the ball and being able to take advantage of some opportunities.”
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