Mississippi State’s bye week landed at exactly the right moment, according to coach Jeff Lebby.
Speaking on the SEC Football Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday, Lebby said the Bulldogs are using the open date to reset after a demanding stretch. Mississippi State is 4-1 overall, 2-0 in the SEC and ranked 17th in the AP Poll.
The next challenge comes against No. 10 LSU on Saturday, Oct.
“We understand we’ve got a great challenge ahead of us next Saturday at , Lebby said. “For us, it’s about taking advantage of this time that we have to be able to get fresh, to get fast, to get healthy, and to get a little extra head start on LSU for next weekend.”
One of the biggest lessons from the loss to Alabama, Lebby said, was how important the physical side of SEC play is. He pointed to the four Mississippi State starters who left that game with injuries and said the week off gives the Bulldogs a chance to recover and refocus.
“Different for everybody, depending on the type of depth that you have,” he said. “You have to have the physicality every single Tuesday, in my mind, to practice the way you need to to be able to play the way you need to play on Saturdays, and at the same time, you’ve got to make make it make sense while making sure you’re getting your best players to the game.”
Quarterback updates also came out of the Alabama game. Kamario Taylor exited with roughly 13 minutes left and returned in a walking boot. His status will be “,” which comes out next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Despite Mississippi State suffering its first loss of the year, the mood around Monday looked no different from previous Mondays.
“Monday’s about telling the truth. It’s about getting in the team meeting and understanding where our biggest issues have shown up, what we have to address and clean up, along with some of the positives and some of the bright spots,” Lebby said.
“So Monday is about telling the truth and being able to reset and get ready to roll the following Saturday. For us, we’ve got a couple extra days, which is huge to be able to again get fresh, get fast, and get a head start.”
No matter what happens on Saturdays, Lebby said the team’s Monday routine won’t change.
“It’s going to continue to be about us,” Lebby said. “Us maximizing every minute, every day, every meeting, every walk”
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That leaves a familiar question hanging over the buildup to LSU: can Mississippi State find enough stability on the ground to keep defenses honest, or will the offense keep asking the passing game to carry the load? There was at least one earlier outing when the rushing attack looked more functional, but the latest performance only underscored how thin the margin has become for a unit trying to solve a bigger problem before the next SEC test. [Read more 🡒]