Mississippi State has already survived a pair of road tests, and now the real pressure point of the schedule arrives in Starkville.
No. 24 Mississippi State hosts No.
19 Missouri on Saturday night in a ranked SEC matchup that doubles as the Tigers’ conference opener and the Bulldogs’ first home league game of the season. Both teams are 3-0, but the paths here have looked different.
Mississippi State has stacked up wins over Louisiana-Monroe, Minnesota and South Carolina, while Missouri has knocked off Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kansas and Troy.
For Jeff Lebby’s team, the rankings are just background noise.
"The ranking piece of it has absolutely zero bearing -- none at all," Lebby said. "We've got a huge road ahead. We've got an unbelievable test Saturday."
That caution comes with good reason. Mississippi State opened 4-0 in nonconference play last season before dropping its first four SEC games, and the Bulldogs finished that year by losing their final three conference contests. Lebby’s group has already shown progress, but he made clear there’s plenty left to clean up.
"We're not even close to being where we've got a chance to be," Lebby said.
Still, the Bulldogs have flashed enough to earn their place in the AP Top 25 this week. Their 3-0 start included a 62-13 blowout of Louisiana-Monroe, a 25-point road win at Minnesota and then Saturday’s comeback at South Carolina. In that game, Mississippi State’s offense responded to early trouble with explosive plays, and Lebby said that was a sign of growth.
"That's where you see real growth," Lebby said.
The Bulldogs also got a defensive standout performance from Amaree Williams, who was named the SEC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week after piling up 10 tackles and a sack. Mississippi State’s defense clamped down hard in the second half, holding South Carolina to negative-15 yards on 10 plays across the first four drives after halftime.
Lebby liked the way his team answered adversity, but he also knows big plays can only carry a team so far.
"The explosives got us out of a lot of really bad situations. You have to play cleaner," Lebby said.
Missouri arrives with its own momentum. The Tigers beat Troy 27-17 last week, after a 17-point road win at Kansas and a season-opening rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Their offense has been sharp behind quarterback Austin Simmons, who has completed 69.1% of his passes and thrown eight touchdowns without an interception through three games. He was held to 10 completions on 19 attempts for 91 yards against Troy, but he had already thrown for 544 yards and seven touchdowns in the first two games.
The Tigers have also gotten production on the ground from Jamal Roberts, who has 300 rushing yards and three touchdowns through three games.
Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz has taken notice of what Mississippi State is building. He pointed to the Bulldogs’ offense, led by mobile quarterback Kamario Taylor, who threw four touchdown passes against South Carolina, and to a defense that has played with force under coordinator Zach Arnett.
"You can tell," Drinkwitz said of Lebby's impact. "The foundations of his culture, and the foundation of his schemes, are in place."
Even Missouri’s players sound ready for the jump in competition. Left tackle Cayden Green said the Bulldogs look bigger and more physical than what the Tigers have seen recently.
"They're a lot bigger and more physical than what we've dealt with the past couple weeks," left tackle Cayden Green said of MSU's defense. "So obviously, that's SEC play in a nutshell. The competition is just going to get ramped up this week."
In Other News...
Mizzou Womens Golf Just Delivered A Home Statement Tigers Fans Will Love
Missouris womens golf team made a loud early-season statement on its home course, rolling to a runaway win at the Johnie Imes Invitational. The Tigers finished 22-under par and beat the field by 32 strokes, the kind of margin that turns a tournament into a showcase. Senior Addie Dobson led the way with a tournament-record-tying 15-under par effort to claim the individual title, while four Mizzou players finished among the top five.
For a program that has made this event feel almost like a yearly homecoming, this one carried extra weight. It was Mizzous 11th title at the Johnie Imes Invitational since 2007, and it came with the sort of depth that can travel well once the schedule gets tougher. The bigger question now is how far this group can carry a performance that dominant once it leaves familiar ground. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Brings A Problem Mississippi State May Not Be Built To Handle
Mississippi State is spending the week getting ready for one of the more revealing early tests of the SEC season, a home matchup with Missouri that features two undefeated teams and a clear sense that the Tigers arrive with the kind of offense that can expose weak points. Coach Jeff Lebby and his players have already spent time on Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons and the Tigers offensive strengths, while also trying to sort through their own injury concerns and defensive plan before the game kicks off in Starkville.
For Lebby, the stakes go beyond just another conference game. He is still looking for his first SEC home win, and the Bulldogs are trying to string together back-to-back SEC victories for the first time under his watch. Missouri, meanwhile, brings in a front that has made life difficult for opposing defenses, which is exactly the sort of problem Mississippi State will have to solve if it wants to keep this strong start rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Enters SEC Play With One Warning Sign Fans Can't Ignore
Missouri heads into SEC play unbeaten through three games, and the early returns have been encouraging enough to justify real optimism around Columbia. The Tigers have outscored opponents 119-52 while blending in a wave of transfers and freshmen, a transition that has gone about as smoothly as the staff could have hoped on the surface.
Still, Eli Drinkwitz has reason to keep pushing the details before Mississippi State arrives. Missouri has shown some of the same warning signs from game to game, with slow openings, penalties and occasional defensive lapses threatening to undercut the overall progress. For a team trying to hold onto momentum once league play starts, the margin for error is about to get a lot smaller. [Read more 🡒]