“Play the next play”: Mississippi State HC Jeff Lebby details game-winning 4th quarter on offense

Everything was going wrong for Mississippi State as the third quarter gave way to the final frame on Saturday night. The No. 24 Bulldogs had seen their 14-0 lead dissolve over the middle quarters, and No. 19 Missouri had taken a 24-17 lead with the chance to add more. Head coach Jeff Lebby got a big stop from his defense to get the ball back, and took over with a massive drive to stay alive. His offense had ground to a halt with just three points from two drives deep into the red zone, but they managed to get the ball rolling again thanks to some big gains on the ground. It wasn’t quite the “score from far” that his offense was known for, but it was the kind of gritty football that teams need in order to win big games. “I thought Mizzou did a good job of changing up some pictures,” Lebby said of the defensive adjustment by the Tigers. “They played from a coverage standpoint some things against us a little differently, and did a really good job of trying to keep the ball in front of them. That’s why Fluff was able to get going the way he was. We’ve got to go take what the defense gives us. If we’ve got to grind and be able to go finish, we’ll grind and go finish drives. That’s why it’s important to not be too big-little.” The Bulldogs went on a 14-play, 73-yard drive to eat up five minutes of clock in the fourth quarter, and got the job done by grinding out first downs with the run. The Tigers had taken. away the deep ball and were able to dial up pressure on quarterback Kamario Taylor to good effect. Running back Fluff Bothwell gave them the answer. He finished the drive with 23 yards on the ground, including a four-yard dash around the edge and into the end zone to level up the game. Taylor, who had a career night passing the ball, also came up with a huge rushing conversion on 4th and 1. One more defensive stop put the Bulldogs in possession with a chacne for the go-ahead score, but they had to do it without Bothwell. The lead back took a heavy hit after moving the sticks early in the drive, and limped off to recover while his teammates went to work. By then, his efforts had not only leveled the score, he had also opened up the playbook for Taylor and the receivers to do what they do best. “We got matchups in one-on-one situations where we were able to go throw and catch and make the play,” Lebby said. “We were able to play with tempo on the last touchdown, which gives us a real chance for Frisco to have the matchup that we want, and we went and took advantage of it.” First, Taylor took a shot deep down the left to Anthony Evans III, who made a diving grab to move the chains and flip the field. The effort led to a hurry-up to the line, a short gain by Kolin Wilson on the ground, but the tempo stayed in play. Taylor got them to the line again before snapping and firing into the end zone to Sanfrisco Magee. The X-receiver opened the scoring with a catch in the same end zone, and this time put the Bulldogs ahead for the final time. The comeback win was a team effort. It took complementary adjustments on offense to reward four defensive stands in the fourth quarter. The effort also overcame plenty of mistakes that the team will regret and try to learn from, but their ability to adapt in the moment and keep composure is what go the win. “Without a doubt the thing I’m most proud of is our guys’ response,” Lebby said. “There’s gonna be so much to clean up, but if our guys continue just to play the next play regardless of what the scoreboard says, what the D and D is, whatever’s happening before, good or bad, then we got a chance to be as good as we can be. That’s what we’re fighting to do.” The head coach saw plenty of similar games go a different way in his first two years in Starkville. Four close contests in SEC play turned into losses last year when the Bulldogs could have otherwise found signature winning moments to build on. The veterans who stayed showed their growth from those losses on Saturday, and the program is learning to win again because of that mentality to reward a raucous home environment for its loyalty through some tough years. And next week, they’ll try to do it all over again. “Put your cleats in the ground and play the next play,” Lebby said. “Our guys’ response over and over… electric. Our fanbase, that stadium, the atmosphere, that’s what gave us the edge at the end of the game to be able to continue to get off the field. A huge thank you to our fanbase and how great that stadium was tonight.”