Lebby accomplished 3 of 4 goals that most had for this season:

[Tater]

- Upset a ranked opponent
- Win an SEC game
- Make a bowl game
- Beat Ole Miss

No need to look at the formula under the hood. He did accomplish 3 of the 4 things we asked.

Next year:

- Beat Ole Miss
- Win all non-con
- Winning record in SEC play
- Upset a ranked opponent

Can we get 3 of those 4 next year?

[ArrowDawg]

- Upset a ranked opponent
- Win an SEC game
- Make a bowl game
- Beat Ole Miss

No need to look at the formula under the hood. He did accomplish 3 of the 4 things we asked.

Next year:

- Beat Ole Miss
- Win all non-con
- Winning record in SEC play
- Upset a ranked opponent

Can we get 3 of those 4 next year?

Lebby did not make a bowl game. He backed into one with a losing record because they needed somebody to fill a spot after every other team ahead of us chose to decline it. Giving Lebby credit for that is laughable, and the mentality of a loser. He did beat a ranked opponent though, and technically beat an SEC team. I'll give you those.

[Turfdawg67]

Oh hell Tater... I'm all for content, but all this is going to do is rehash the same sh*t we've been reading for the last two months.

[DEDawg]

Lebby did not make a bowl game. He backed into one with a losing record because they needed somebody to fill a spot after every other team ahead of us chose to decline it. Giving Lebby credit for that is laughable, and the mentality of a loser. He did beat a ranked opponent though, and technically beat an SEC team. I'll give you those.
He, in the most literal sense, made a bowl game.

[Maroon Glasses]

I'm gonna do the Mississippi State fan thing where I get my hopes up really high and convince myself next year is the year!

Lol, all bs aside.. I feel like we get 3/4. I do not think we will have a winning record is SEC play. I think our schedule is gonna be harder next year. I'll predict we beat Auburn and Ole Miss. MAYBE SC.. depending on which team decides to show up.

[HancockCountyDog]

He, in the most literal sense, made a bowl game.

It?s embarrassing.

I?m glad KT gets extra reps, but accepting this bowl bid makes us looks small time. Maybe some of us look at MSU that way, I don?t.

It?s a joke.

[EdwardDrayton]

Lebby did not make a bowl game. He backed into one with a losing record because they needed somebody to fill a spot after every other team ahead of us chose to decline it. Giving Lebby credit for that is laughable, and the mentality of a loser. He did beat a ranked opponent though, and technically beat an SEC team. I'll give you those.

All about giving credit when it's earned but .......

[EdwardDrayton]

He, in the most literal sense, made a bowl game.

No. We were gifted a bowl game by other teams who earned it and chose not to go. And we'll thank them for the benefit we'll derive from it.

[basedog]

I could care less how we were “gifted or awarded” the bowl game. I look at as a chance to win another game.

[Tater]

Oh hell Tater... I'm all for content, but all this is going to do is rehash the same sh*t we've been reading for the last two months.

Oh yeah I was hoping those people would come fight in this thread and not shit on us getting in a bowl. You know this was a good bait post for them.

[1eyedog]

I could care less how we were “gifted or awarded” the bowl game. I look at as a chance to win another game.

And more importantly win it in an impressive fashion for the tv audience.......”image is everything....” ole miss

[EdwardDrayton]

I could care less how we were “gifted or awarded” the bowl game. I look at as a chance to win another game.

Absolutely. But we don't add it to someone's resume as an accomplishment.

[Cowbeller]

It?s embarrassing.

I?m glad KT gets extra reps, but accepting this bowl bid makes us looks small time. Maybe some of us look at MSU that way, I don?t.

It?s a joke.

Think it makes us look like a program not backing down. I think everyone who forgoes a bowl game is soft

[Brobi-wan]

Lebby did not make a bowl game. He backed into one with a losing record because they needed somebody to fill a spot after every other team ahead of us chose to decline it. Giving Lebby credit for that is laughable, and the mentality of a loser. He did beat a ranked opponent though, and technically beat an SEC team. I'll give you those.

Since we are playing in one, Lebby did make a bowl game.

[Brobi-wan]

Think it makes us look like a program not backing down. I think everyone who forgoes a bowl game is soft
I agree. We get money and a chance to win. What’s there to complain about?

[EdwardDrayton]

Since we are playing in one, Lebby did make a bowl game.

You an engineering dude?!!?

[msstate7]

We didn't earn the bowl, but it's a great gift. KT gets more reps and to face a team we should beat to end this season with a good taste in our mouth instead of losing out. We're favored by 3 BTW

[EdwardDrayton]

We didn't earn the bowl, but it's a great gift. KT gets more reps and to face a team we should beat to end this season with a good taste in our mouth instead of losing out. We're favored by 3 BTW

How great would it be to end with a step change in performance and a win.

[Cowbeller]

I agree. We get money and a chance to win. What’s there to complain about?

Oh no now I have to plan on drinking beer and watching my favorite team play a Friday night in January. Like damn just be happy

[Brobi-wan]

You an engineering dude?!!?

Fintech

[Tater]

Oh no now I have to plan on drinking beer and watching my favorite team play a Friday night in January. Like damn just be happy

This ruins dry january****

[EdwardDrayton]

Fintech

Please don't take the question the wrong way because I don't mean it derogatorily. My brother is a State engineering/computer science grad. He sees most things black and white. I on the other hand am a State MBA corporate career dude who sees shades of gray. We don't see things the same way usually as a result. Neither wrong just different.

[Brobi-wan]

Please don't take the question the wrong way because I don't mean it derogatorily. My brother is a State engineering/computer science grad. He sees most things black and white. I on the other hand am a State MBA corporate career dude who sees shades of gray. We don't see things the same way usually as a result. Neither wrong just different.

No worries, man! I agree with you that there are better ways to make a bowl. I just don?t see the point in trying to take it away from Lebby. I want MSU to claw back to relevance. If a 5-7 bowl appearance is what puts us on the right path, I?m here for it. This is a bit of a bait post, but this is positive. Let Ole Miss tell us we only made a bowl because somebody else quit. Our own fans shouldn?t be the people posting that.

[DEDawg]

Also nobody argues that we had a 12 year bowl streak 2010-2022. Be consistent if you are going to complain about it just because you don?t like the coach

[EdwardDrayton]

No worries, man! I agree with you there are better ways to make a bowl. I just don?t see the point in trying to take it away from Lebby that we are playing in it. I want MSU to claw back to relevance. If a 5-7 bowl appearance is what puts us on the right path, I?m here for it. This is a bit of a bait post, but this is positive. Let Ole Miss tell us we only made a bowl because somebody else quit. Our own fans shouldn?t be the people posting that.

We talk discuss/debate things here as all State fans. Line it up outside of here us versus anything Ole Miss and you'll find us uniting under the banner of William Wallace.

[Maroon Glasses]

We talk discuss/debate things here as all State fans. Line it up outside of here us versus anything Ole Miss and you'll find us uniting under the banner of William Wallace.

Very true. As you mentioned.. you see things black and white. Someone else may see shades of Grey. In the end.. the picture is still the same but with everyones "touch" or "view" on it. We all want the same thing and when it comes to the nut cutting, we unite. Hail State my friends.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Think it makes us look like a program not backing down. I think everyone who forgoes a bowl game is soft

Agreed. Skipping the bowl game, whether it be a player or an entire team, is weak. IF it were me, Auburn skipping should trigger a money forfeiture to the other members in the conference. Even if MSU was willing to pick up the slack.

[FISHDAWG]

No. We were gifted a bowl game by other teams who earned it and chose not to go. And we'll thank them for the benefit we'll derive from it.

That's one perspective.... another perspective is that he got us to 5 wins which put us in the position of accepting this bowl game. # progress

[StarkVegasSteve]

This ruins dry january****

And I was DEFINITELY going to do it this year. Oh well. always next year

[EdwardDrayton]

And I was DEFINITELY going to do it this year. Oh well. always next year

Hey, our good intentions are admirable!!!

[Dawgology]

This is the difference between State fans and Ole Miss fans. If the roles were reversed all that would be on social media and forums form their fans would be how the program succeeded and the Mayo Bowl is one of the most prestigious non-playoff bowls. Over here at State, though, our favorite thing is to humble and belittle ourselves and then complain about non-relevance

[StarkVegasSteve]

Hey, our good intentions are admirable!!!

And out of that solidarity, and my really good intentions, I will only drink clear liquor during the game instead of my usual mix of clear liquor, seltzers, beer, and canned vodka drinks.

[FISHDAWG]

And out of that solidarity, and my really good intentions, I will only drink clear liquor during the game instead of my usual mix of clear liquor, seltzers, beer, and canned vodka drinks.

There really should be a Makers Mark bowl 🥃

[StarkVegasSteve]

There really should be a Makers Mark bowl ��

There is. Every Saturday in the fall. It's called Mississippi State Football.

[FISHDAWG]

There is. Every Saturday in the fall. It's called Mississippi State Football.

No wonder my liver enzymes are on the rise

[TaleofTwoDogs]

I agree. We get money and a chance to win. What?s there to complain about?

It's also possible that we could lose money on the deal. Many of the smaller bowls don't pay enough to cover all of the invited teams travel expenses and a SEC team doesn't travel cheaply

[StarkVegasSteve]

It's also possible that we could lose money on the deal. Many of the smaller bowls don't pay enough to cover all of the invited teams travel expenses and a SEC team doesn't travel cheaply

That's why none of the SEC teams get the individual payout from the bowls. The SEC puts all the money in the pot from bowls and playoffs and evenly distributes it out with schools that made a bowl getting a larger cut.

[EdwardDrayton]

And out of that solidarity, and my really good intentions, I will only drink clear liquor during the game instead of my usual mix of clear liquor, seltzers, beer, and canned vodka drinks.

LOL!!!

[EdwardDrayton]

There is. Every Saturday in the fall. It's called Mississippi State Football.

^^^^^

[Bubb Rubb]

- Upset a ranked opponent
- Win an SEC game
- Make a bowl game
- Beat Ole Miss

No need to look at the formula under the hood. He did accomplish 3 of the 4 things we asked.

Next year:

- Beat Ole Miss
- Win all non-con
- Winning record in SEC play
- Upset a ranked opponent

Can we get 3 of those 4 next year?

He doesn't get credit for making a bowl game.

If "win an SEC game" is a goal for anyone in this administration, we deserve everything we get.

The goals are winning records and competence - two things that this coaching staff failed to achieve for the second year in a row.

[Goldendawg]

He doesn't get credit for making a bowl game.

If "win an SEC game" is a goal for anyone in this administration, we deserve everything we get.

The goals are winning records and competence - two things that this coaching staff failed to achieve for the second year in a row.

This. Winning only one SEC game is not much of a goal. Only winning two a year (with nine opportunities next year is pretty sad). Our 5 wins in '25 were over three OOC cupcakes, a miracle last minute TD pass against AZ State and a "signature" SEC win over Arkansas (aided by their 200 penalty yards), perhaps one of the worse teams in the country, on a 4th down TD pass with less than a minute to go. Not much to crow about in my opinion. This list of 4 goals should also increased to address a winning record or at least 6-6.

Add a victory over 8-4 Wake Forest with KT getting all the snaps and look good doing it on both "O" and "D" and I will feel much better about '26! Hail State!

[HancockCountyDog]

He doesn't get credit for making a bowl game.

If "win an SEC game" is a goal for anyone in this administration, we deserve everything we get.

The goals are winning records and competence - two things that this coaching staff failed to achieve for the second year in a row.

Thank you. I thought I was taking crazy pills.

Has the bar been lowered so much that we actually argue that getting to a bowl at 5-7 with 1 sec win and a home egg bowl blowout loss to a mississippi team who's coach was clearly leaving, yet because a bunch of teams said nah we don't want to play in the weedwacker bowl at 6-6 or 5-7, we are somehow going to claim victory?

Look - if you want to say "I'm glad we are getting another game". I'm here for that. If you say anything about this, achieving some goal, or Lebby did something, then you are the enemy. You are someone who likes to brag about a bowl streak.

We poured a ton of money into this year's roster. You would be offended if you knew how much we paid Stonka and the 3rd string QB from FSU. What is so frustrating is that we should have won two more games. Florida and Texas were not just winnable, they were as won as won can be in a damn game.

[Coach34]

Has the bar been lowered? Yes- with the portal and NIL- the bar has certainly been lowered. Lebby is no way, shape, or form was expected to have a winning season in 2024. It was a complete rebuild and we barely spent anything on that roster.

We poured a ton of money into this year's roster- compared to who? Not the SEC. We were near the bottom. Compared to Southern Miss or La. Tech? Yes we did.

You would be offended if you knew how much we paid the 3rd string QB from FSU- we paid him less than most SEC teams pay their back-up QB. We paid our starting QB less than half the SEC back-up QB's.

Florida and Texas were not just winnable, they were as won as won can be in a damn game- Texas? Sure. Bleed the clock and dont get stupid penalties and we win. Florida???? We trailed that game from the 2nd Q on. Never led after the 1st Q.The FG was in no way guaranteed as we had already missed earlier from 41 yards. We were looking at a 46 yarder

replies in bold

[Bubb Rubb]

Thank you. I thought I was taking crazy pills.

Has the bar been lowered so much that we actually argue that getting to a bowl at 5-7 with 1 sec win and a home egg bowl blowout loss to a mississippi team who's coach was clearly leaving, yet because a bunch of teams said nah we don't want to play in the weedwacker bowl at 6-6 or 5-7, we are somehow going to claim victory?

Look - if you want to say "I'm glad we are getting another game". I'm here for that. If you say anything about this, achieving some goal, or Lebby did something, then you are the enemy. You are someone who likes to brag about a bowl streak.

We poured a ton of money into this year's roster. You would be offended if you knew how much we paid Stonka and the 3rd string QB from FSU. What is so frustrating is that we should have won two more games. Florida and Texas were not just winnable, they were as won as won can be in a damn game.

100% correct. Be wary of anyone who moves goalposts or makes excuses for the product on the football field this year, or gaslights you about how improved we were. We need to put on our big boy pants and be an SEC program.

[Tater]

A lot of people looked at the formula under the hood when asked not to. No way you split it - Lebby did 3 of the 4 things we asked of him this year.

Can he do the same next year? I think 3 of 4 is actually more probably depending on how gutted OM gets in portal. 4 of 4 is technically possible but not probable without spending on some big uglies and some DBs.

[HancockCountyDog]

replies in bold

First point - I give Lebby a complete pass in 2024. I'm just talking about 2025. The bar this year was to get to 6 wins. He had 3 cupcakes so it was get 3 more. He got ASU and Arkansas, deserves credit for both of those. The team was better this year, but to be fair he had no where to go but up.

Second point - As far as money, for 2025 we paid handsomely for several players. Fluff, Whitson, Thompson, Evans, and several others. We paid handsomely to keep KT. Shapen didn't get paid much because he had no leverage. We did overpay for the FSU kid since we got literally zero production. You cant pay the FSU kid what we did to be third string. That is roster mismanagement by Lebby or whoever we consider our GM. We also paid Booth and Fluff a bunch combined. Booth had roughly 12.5 touches a game. That is silly. That is on Lebby. That has nothing to do with NIL and comes down to Xs and Os.

Kro Hawk payment - We may have paid him less than half the SEC backup, but I guarantee you he was one of the highest paid third string QB's in the SEC if not the country. We can't do that.

You are right about the FG against FL, nothing is ever certain. Based on pure stats - we would have had a 70% chance to win based on Ferrie being 7 for 10 on kicks over 40 yards. That was just a blown call, I'm not going to argue. We could have easily run the ball and picked up 3-4 more yards - spiked it and then kicked the FG and have a 70% to win the game.

I like Lebby, I want him to be successful. I think he can be. I think he made big jumps this year. If Whitson doesn't get hurt, i think we win 2 more games. To blame NIL for winning 5 games when we did spend is a bit silly.

[Coach34]

I like Lebby, I want him to be successful. I think he can be. I think he made big jumps this year. If Whitson doesn't get hurt, i think we win 2 more games. To blame NIL for winning 5 games when we did spend is a bit silly.

You are allllllllllmost there. Why did Whitson getting hurt damage our defense so badly? (lack of depth on the team due to lack of NIL)

[HancockCountyDog]

You are allllllllllmost there. Why did Whitson getting hurt damage our defense so badly? (lack of depth on the team due to lack of NIL)

You act as if every team has big time NIL guys as backups.

Depth is a problem everywhere.

Depth isn?t the reason we lost UT and Florida.

[Tater]

You act as if every team has big time NIL guys as backups.

Depth is a problem everywhere.

Depth isn?t the reason we lost UT and Florida.

Depth on the DLine is a reason we lost though. When you lose close games there's tons of reasons why. Just some are more obvious and apparently fixable (dumbass coaching decisions) than others (losing a top 3 defensive player 1.5 games into the season)