Mississippi State had Vanderbilt right where it wanted it late, and still walked off the field with a loss that will linger.
The Commodores escaped Starkville with a 25-23 win on Saturday night, surviving a final-minute two-point try that fell incomplete. It was Vanderbilt’s first football win in Starkville since Richard Nixon’s first term, back when Davis Wade Stadium was still known as Scott Field.
For Mississippi State, the defeat pushed the Bulldogs to 4-5 overall and 2-5 in SEC play. It also extended the skid to five straight losses, a sharp turn after a September that had the fan base buzzing.
Vanderbilt came in with its own baggage, too. The Commodores had not beaten Mississippi State anywhere since October 2004, had lost five in a row, and still hadn’t picked up an SEC win this season. But they hung around, and that was enough to flip the night.
“This team, to the last second, every blade of grass,” Clark Lea said. “We played the way that we want to play at Vanderbilt.”
The game turned into a showcase for Vanderbilt kicker Brock Taylor, who was nearly perfect. He hit all six of his field goals - from 38, 36, 22, 54, 34 and 55 yards - to set a Vanderbilt school record. The Commodores’ only touchdown came on Sedrick Alexander’s 2-yard run in the second quarter, and Taylor supplied every second-half point.
Mississippi State’s defense did enough to force several of those drives into field goal attempts, but Taylor kept cashing them in. His 55-yarder with less than two minutes left stretched the lead to eight, which meant the Bulldogs could only get back to a two-point conversion try after their late touchdown.
That final sequence came down to a decision Jeff Lebby felt good about. He nearly called timeout before the attempt, then let the play stand. AJ Swann’s pass went over Marquis Johnson in the back of the end zone.
“I was about to use the timeout, and then I saw the picture and I loved the picture for the play,” Lebby said. “I thought we had exactly what we wanted.
Obviously, I haven’t seen the replay of it yet, but it’s exactly what we wanted. Didn’t end up making the play.”
Now Mississippi State has to find two wins in its last three games to become bowl eligible. Auburn visits on Nov. 14 at 11 a.m., FCS opponent Tennessee Tech comes to town on Nov. 21, and Ole Miss is waiting on Black Friday.
The Vanderbilt loss stings even more because it came against what looked like the most manageable SEC game left on the schedule. For Lebby, who is 3-20 in conference play across three seasons, it was a missed chance the Bulldogs could not afford.
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Mississippi State Showed Fight Vs. Vanderbilt But One Stretch Changed Everything
Mississippi State had enough fight to make the afternoon feel more competitive than the scoreboard first suggested, but the damage was done early. Vanderbilt built a 16-0 halftime lead, then had to weather a much better second-half effort from the Bulldogs, who found some life on both sides of the ball after the break. AJ Swann finished 23 of 36 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense even supplied a spark with a forced fumble returned for a score.
Still, the game turned on a stretch Mississippi State could never fully erase, and the issues that surfaced in the first half were hard to ignore. The run defense had trouble holding up, and an interception helped put Vanderbilt in control before the Bulldogs settled in. Jeff Lebby came away acknowledging the need for better coaching, a reminder that for Mississippi State, the frustration was not just about one bad quarter but about getting more consistent results from a team that keeps showing flashes without enough payoff. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Is Giving Fans A Reason To Believe Early
Two wins to open the season have given Vanderbilt mens basketball an early lift, and the first week has looked the part of a team trying to back up its preseason buzz. The Commodores handled Bellarmine and Wake Forest to start 2-0, and the early results have already shown the kind of defense and depth that can travel well once the schedule tightens.
Freshman guard Ant Brown Jr. and transfer Berke Buyuktuncel have both given the lineup a useful spark, which matters for a team trying to build something sturdier than a hot start. The bigger question now is whether Vanderbilt can keep stacking those kinds of performances while carrying the expectations that come with being one of the SECs highest-regarded teams. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Just Found A Late-Season Formula Fans Can Believe In
A road win in the SEC can change the mood around a program in a hurry, and Vanderbilt got exactly that kind of lift with a 25-23 victory at Mississippi State. The Commodores snapped a five-game losing streak and picked up their first conference win of the season behind a defense that came up with key stops late, a steady run game that produced 160 rushing yards, and a perfect day from kicker Brock Taylor, who kept the offense on schedule whenever drives stalled.
Sedrick Alexander and MK Young helped Vanderbilt lean into the ground game, while freshman safety Mason Lewis led the defense with 10 tackles in a performance that gave the Commodores something to build around. For a team that had been searching for a formula, this was the kind of win that can matter beyond one Saturday, especially if the defense and special teams continue to travel well while the offense finds enough balance to stay in games late. [Read more 🡒]