The Mississippi State Bulldogs are heading into year two under head coach Jeff Lebby. After having a different head coach in each of the previous three seasons, the hope is that this is going to provide some stability for the Bulldogs as they look to rebuild from what was a difficult season.
Ahead of the season, college football analyst Phil Steele released his annual preview magazine. There, he took the time to dive deep into what Mississippi State looks like ahead of the season. That included looking at their offense, defense, and overall forecast for the season.
Steele breaks down everything there is to know about Mississippi State within his magazine. That includes diving deep into the offense and defense. So, with that in mind, here’s how Steele broke things down for the Bulldogs:
Offense
The Mississippi State Bulldogs quickly lost starting quarterback Blake Shapen last season to a season-ending injury. He’s back from that. Now, with offense being the side of the ball that Jeff Lebby hangs his hat on, the hope is to take strides forward. For his part, Lebby is projecting the Bulldogs to average 422 yards and 34.5 points per game.
“Last year HC Lebby said they would score a lot of points but did have to replace all five starting OL’s,” Steel wrote. “My computer called for a jump to 25.3 ppg and they hit that on the head with 25.8! Lebby’s offenses tend to make a big jump in year two. The offense has QB Shapen back from injury, they have a deep RB room and a much bigger and more experienced OLine.”
Defense
Defense was a major issue for Mississippi State last season. Their numbers as a unit took a notable jump in the wrong direction from previous seasons. Now, in year two under Coleman Hutzler as defensive coordinator, there’s no reason to think that there won’t be some improvement on this side of the ball too.
“This year they are bigger up front so [they] should not allow 5.0 ypc like last year and are improved at DE to better the 10 sacks of last year. Improved, but far from elite,” Steele wrote.
Forecast
On paper, and in Steele’s forecast, Mississippi State should be an improved team next season. The problem for the Bulldogs is that they bottomed out in 2024. So, it’s a long way to go to get them back to bowl eligibility. For now, that’s a projection that Steele isn’t quite willing to make.
“When they were outsized by Toledo at the line of scrimmage the goal was to get bigger on both lines and that has been accomplished,” Steel wrote. “There is plenty of experience on this team with plenty of it brought in thru the portal. Normally when a team makes 13 straight bowls then misses one year, I call for them to bounce back and usually put them on the most improved list. This team is improved but not enough to make that list as each of those teams I project to a bowl.”
