Mississippi State suffered its third straight loss in SEC play on Saturday, extending the active conference losing streak to 15 games since 2023. 

The Bulldogs (4-3, 0-3 SEC) simply couldn’t finish on their chances, missing on an opportunity to build a lead in the first half as well as on the last-gasp opportunity to win the game in the final minute. 

Here’s a look at the standouts from the loss for MSU. 

Standout Stat: Explosive plays

236 passing yards from 8 plays of 15+ yds

81 rushing yards gained from 6 plays of 10+ yds

The Bulldog offense needed to find a spark again, and they found it in Gainesville on Saturday. 

Lebby’s group had no trouble moving the ball into Gator territory. Quarterback Blake Shapen had three hits on deep-ball attempts, finding Brenen Thompson twice and Anthony Evans once in big spots to set up red-zone possessions. 

The performance from the unit as a whole was a far cry from their last time out against Texas A&M two weeks prior, but the problem of finding the end zone remained. Four first half drives following the opening touchdown yielded no points for MSU, and Florida took a 13-7 lead into halftime. 

“There’s so many plays inside the game that create a different outcome,” head coach Jeff Lebby said. “I talked about it postgame, one of the biggest frustrations that I had after the game was that we didn’t take control in the first three drives… The zero and the negative plays when we had opportunities to score on first-and-10 in plus territory. We hand the ball off and and gain two yards when it’s blocked to score a touchdown, and then end up third-and-eight, sack, punt.”

Brylan Lanier: 8 tackles, 7 solo, 1 sack, 2 INTs, 1 PBU

The Bulldog defense continues to show its depth, especially in the secondary, with Brylan Lanier taking his turn from a standout group of run and pass defenders. 

Lanier snagged two interceptions in the first half, stopping two scoring opportunities with the game still in the balance. He also broke up a pass that would have been a touchdown on Florida’s opening drive, and led the team in total tackles and solo tackles. 

Now, it isn’t always a good thing when the safety leads the team in tackles. In MSU’s case, three safeties led the team in tackles with Isaac Smith and Jahron Manning just behind Lanier. Florida running back Jadan Baugh was constantly breaking through to the second level of the defense on a career day for the sophomore Gator, but Lanier’s contributions in that regard also indicates the versatility of his game. It was key in the final minutes as Lanier read and closed down on Gators quarterback DJ Lagway on a rollout, forcing a punt and giving the offense one last chance to go win. 

Among the other members of the secondary, DeAgo Brumfield and Hunter Washington also recorded pass breakups. Kelley Jones notably broke up two early on and was rarely targeted in the second half. 

Blake Shapen: 24-36 324 yards, 67% completion rate, 136.7 passer rating, 1 INT

MSU’s quarterback finally started firing again, and it yielded some really positive plays downfield. 

Shapen hit Anthony Evans and Brenen Thompson for big gains in the first half, and led three vital drives in the fourth quarter to keep MSU alive before the costly interception in the final minute. 

Shapen also made two huge conversions late in the game to keep the Bulldogs alive. On their last touchdown drive, a do-or-die situation, he made conversions with his arm on fourth-and-15 and third-and-four, and made a huge pickup on the ground of 18 yards to kickstart the final drive. 

The big mistake will be the first memory of the game for many, and though Shapen had his most productive game through the air, he looked at his decision making as a point to improve on. 

“I look at my game, I’ve got to improve there,” he said. “When we have a freebie we’ve got to hit it, and that’s a big thing moving forward this week.”

Brenen Thompson and Anthony Evans

Thompson: 7 catches, 155 yards, 22.1 yards per catch

Evans: 11 catches, 107 yards, 9.7 yards per catch

The big plays returned for MSU thanks in large part to the dynamic receiving duo of Thompson and Evans. The pair each produced a 100-yard outing, and did so together for the second time this season. MSU receiving duos have only done that nine times since 1995, making it that much more impressive that they’ve done it twice and have the chance to do it again this season. 

The pair have suffered in terms of targets in recent games as the passing game slowed down, but they helped to reignite the offense on Saturday.

Posted in College Sports

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