Urgency ramping up for Lebby, Mississippi State

STARKVILLE – Saturday’s loss was disappointing for Jeff Lebby. The film did not help matters.Lebby cited third-down conversions, not being able to make key defensive stops, execution and turnovers during Monday’s press conference as big reasons why Mississippi State lost to Oklahoma 23-15 on Saturday.“It's all about the ball. I truly believe it,” Lebbu said. “If we take great care of the ball. If we didn't have that turnover, we had a real chance for the game to be different. They made those plays. We didn't, and that's the difference in the game.”In the second quarter, the Bulldogs were at the OU six yard line down 3-0 with a chance to take the lead. Quarterback Billy Puckett fumbled the ball away, and Oklahoma scored a touchdown on its next drive. Puckett also threw an interception in the fourth quarter.MSU went 1 for 11 on third downs and 2 for 5 on fourth.Since becoming State’s head coach, Lebby is 9-3 in the first four games of each season. In games 5-12 of those years, he is 2-16. One of those was a 2-10 UMass team in 2024 and the other was a 2-10 Arkansas team last season.If the maroon and white are going to compete at a higher level and win more games in the latter months of the season, Lebby feels that “it’s about Saturday”.“It ain't got anything to do with anything else,” he said. “Saturday is an opportunity for us to go in, be the best that we've been all year. That's what it's going to take. As we continue to move forward, we need to continue to get better. We need to be better this Saturday than we were this past Saturday, and that's what's going to give us a chance to go win.”Injury updatesLebby also announced that Jalen Smith, who left the Alabama game on Oct. 3 with an injury, is done for the year. Smith was MSU’s leading tackler heading into that game and had knee surgery.No news was given on QB1 Kamario Taylor. The first availability report for the Texas game will be released on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. by the SEC.Vandy start timeMSU’s 25th showdown with the Vanderbilt Commodores will kick off on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 3:15 p.m. on the SEC Network.The teams have not faced off since 2021 but are now annual opponents as part of the SEC’s new scheduling system.