As we will do throughout this football season, HawgBeat went behind enemy lines to gain insight on the Mississippi State Bulldogs with BulldogBlitz Managing Editor Jason Stamm.
Led by first-year head coach Jeff Lebby — the brother-in-law of former Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles — Mississippi State is off to a 1-6 (0-4 SEC) start in 2024.
Mississippi State opened its season with a 56-7 blowout over Eastern Kentucky before dropping two straight non conference games to Arizona State and Toledo. The Bulldogs’ struggles have continued in SEC play, but their offense does rank 4th in the SEC in passing yards per game during the month of October (274.0).
Starting for Lebby's squad at quarterback is freshman Michael Van Buren Jr., who has completed 61-of-114 throws (53.5%) with six touchdowns and two interceptions in four games.
On the defensive side of the ball, Mississippi State boasts the nation's No. 122 total defense (449.7 yards allowed per game) and it ranks No. 116th in scoring defense (33.3 points allowed per game) and No. 130th in defensive third down conversion percentage (49.5%).
Here is what Stamm had to say about Saturday's matchup, which is set to kick off at 11:45 a.m. CT at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississppi...
