Jeff Lebby Explains What Went Wrong Against Alabama

STARKVILLE, Miss.—After Mississippi State’s disappointing 56-23 loss to Alabama on Saturday, Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby pointed to turnovers, penalties and an ineffective rushing attack as the biggest reasons for his team’s struggles against the Crimson Tide.

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Mississippi State began the game with back-to-back turnovers on its first two drives. Alabama’s London Simmons strip-sacked Bulldogs quarterback Kamario Taylor, setting up Keelon Russell to connect with Ryan Coleman-Williams for a 15-yard touchdown that gave Alabama a 7-0 lead. On the next drive, Dijon Lee Jr. returned an interception for a touchdown, quickly putting Mississippi State in a 14-0 deficit.

Lebby emphasized that these early turnovers were the pivotal moment in the game, forcing the Bulldogs to play from behind almost immediately.

“The turnover piece of it to me is the biggest part of the game. I think I got asked right before we’re kicking it off, ‘what's the biggest key to victory?’ and it’s taking care of the ball, and so that it did put us in a really bad place,” Lebby said. “Really hard to overcome against a really good football team.”

Lebby also pointed to penalties as a key issue for the Bulldogs. Although Mississippi State committed only four penalties for 29 yards, the timing made them especially costly. One holding penalty, for example, came when the Bulldogs had second-and-goal at Alabama’s four-yard line, pushing them back to the 14. This forced Mississippi State to settle for a field goal to end the half, cutting the deficit to 28-17 instead of potentially narrowing it to 28-21 with a touchdown.

Another damaging penalty occurred during Alabama’s first drive of the second half. Mississippi State had pushed the Crimson Tide into a third-and-goal from the Bulldogs’ 18-yard line, but an offsides call erased a six-yard sack that would have forced a field goal. Instead, the penalty gave Alabama another third-down opportunity from the 13, and Russell found Rico Scott for a touchdown to extend the lead to 35-17 with 9:43 left in the third quarter.

“The penalty piece of it very, very frustrating; we’re able to get off the field, hold them to a field goal two different times, and allow them to go score touchdowns. Those are the things that cannot happen to us as a football team. Going to be really hard to overcome those things, especially against great teams,” Lebby told the media following the Bulldogs’ 33-point loss. 

Lebby also addressed the loss of star running back Fluff Bothwell, who exited after the first drive and did not return, disrupting Mississippi State’s game plan. The Bulldogs managed only 18 rushing yards, making their offense one-dimensional and putting additional pressure on Taylor, who left early in the fourth quarter and was later seen on the sideline in a boot.

“It was such a struggle to run the football; obviously, the score in the game dictates a little bit of that, us getting away from the game plan and feeling like we have to go create some chunks because we are behind the way we were,” Lebby added. “Frustrated that we didn’t run the football the way we needed to, but again, like the run game, the turnovers, and then the penalties—that really is that’s the story.”

Mississippi State’s head coach also provided an update on Taylor’s ankle injury.

“It will be day-to-day for him [Kamario Taylor]; we’ll let the injury report that Wednesday of LSU speak for that,” Lebby said.

Lebby and his team will look to bounce back next Saturday, Oct. 10, when Mississippi State travels to Baton Rouge to take on the Lane Kiffin-led LSU Tigers. 

Micah Nichols covers Alabama baseball, football, and basketball for Tide 100.9. Follow @MicahNichols0 on X for in-game updates, highlights, and more Crimson Tide coverage.