Thoughts on the game

[Coach34]

1. Shapen is a solid Qb. He is not a good QB nor great. But he is solid. Play #1 more but in no way do you change QB's. He aint ready- especially with a beat up OL

2. We kept getting hurt and that changed the playcalling. We did not run it near as well in the 2nd and especially the 4th Q because their DL was dominating us.

3. What a weird game. They dropped a punt and we got 2 picks on a tipped ball and then the ball bouncing off the TE's helmet. They scored 2 defensive TD's. Blame Shapen if you want- but their pass rush was the difference.

4. We didnt run the ball enough in the 1st half. We were gashing them with their 5 man box but somehow felt we needed to throw

5. Heup blew the game in regulation with his clock management. That was awful. We should have lost by 3 on a last second FG

6. Our DC is doing a great job. We played a lot of man coverage. We slowed them down. We got turnovers. We had them frustrated. Our D played good ball.

7. We have the right HC and are moving in the right direction as a program. We got to get #1 some more OL guys and another weapon or 2 for next season. But this program has taken a giant step forward this season.

[BrunswickDawg]

Spot on takes. And in spite of anything negative - we took a top tier SEC team to a draw in regulation. Plenty on here had this as an embarrassing loss.

Let hope we can heal up some. Texas 8&4 will always be beatable so lets focus on doing just that.

[Todd4State]

I agree with everything Coach.

[HoopsDawg]

First time all day I?ve been on a message or social media and I see tons of people blaming the loss on Shapen. That?s utter stupidity.

[dawggrad08]

Good takes. But I have something to add.

5. I think the exact opposite is true. Lebby blew this game when he didn't take advantage of the soft coverage/box with 1:50 and called 3 straight passes. We were still running the ball decently in the 4th. At the very least you force UT to use their TOs. We could have set our FG team up for a walk off...but we wanted Shapen to be the hero again. Shapen hasnt been sharp since ASU for some reason too. That deep pass early in the 4th should have been a TD to Williams but it was poorly thrown.

[Bothrops]

The A&M of old looks to be history. We'll be a broken team headed into Gainesville. Opportunity for Florida's interim. It sucks to be a State football fan.

[Westdawg]

My thoughts:

1. Our 1s were as good as their?s overall. They had us beat at DL, but overall our D unit as a whole was playing lights out tonight.

2. Both teams threw haymakers all game long. Some connected some didn?t. Loved how we really tried to put our foot on their throat tonight. The team never gave up. And we had our shot in OT - Shapen never saw our WR standing at the end zone uncovered for an easy TD

3. Lebby should have never abandoned the run game at the end of the 4th quarter - really the last two times we had possession. I?m left shaking my head on that one.

4. While it was an amazing game and both teams gave it their all - this game cost both teams some wins down the road ?I?d say 2-3 possibly each. We both lost some big time starters tonight and got severely banged up. Hey, that?s the price you pay in the SEC.

5. Hate that we lost - we had our chances?LEGIT chances to win. It?s been a LONG TIME we?ve been able to say that. This is a really good team with a really solid staff.

[MBDawg601]

Spot on.

I will add this though, regardless of how many vol fans invaded Starkville this weekend. That stadium was rocking. The town was buzzing and it has been a long time since I?ve felt that. Other State fans were saying the same.

A couple of vol fans near me said it was the loudest stadium they?ve ever been to and outside of the cowbells, had a blast. Game-day atmosphere has come a long way.

This one hurts, but I walked out of that place with my head held high because we are DRASTICALLY improved from last year. We were going blow for blow with a Playoff team and really we were 1-2 plays away from taking it. They have much more talent throughout their roster. We should have never been in the game and no-one other than a few folks thought it would be close.

Great game, glad I went. Morale victory? I wouldn?t word it that way, but we are a team people should fear and DWS is a place no-one wants to play.

[parabrave]

A bigger question going forward is how bad is the injury that tool out Reese??

[chef dixon]

If a play goes off script at all, Shapen cannot improvise whatsoever. Otherwise he does fine. It was a recipe for disaster today with their pass rush with a direct result of 2 defensive TDs.

It is what is it. Shapen is the best option we got at present. Excited about #1's potential.

Also our wideouts were physically out matched today as well. Bad combo. The run game saved us. Like others have said, hate we abandoned it last drive of regulation and the first play after the fake punt.

[DownwardDawg]

1. Shapen is a solid Qb. He is not a good QB nor great. But he is solid. Play #1 more but in no way do you change QB's. He aint ready- especially with a beat up OL

2. We kept getting hurt and that changed the playcalling. We did not run it near as well in the 2nd and especially the 4th Q because their DL was dominating us.

3. What a weird game. They dropped a punt and we got 2 picks on a tipped ball and then the ball bouncing off the TE's helmet. They scored 2 defensive TD's. Blame Shapen if you want- but their pass rush was the difference.

4. We didnt run the ball enough in the 1st half. We were gashing them with their 5 man box but somehow felt we needed to throw

5. Heup blew the game in regulation with his clock management. That was awful. We should have lost by 3 on a last second FG

6. Our DC is doing a great job. We played a lot of man coverage. We slowed them down. We got turnovers. We had them frustrated. Our D played good ball.

7. We have the right HC and are moving in the right direction as a program. We got to get #1 some more OL guys and another weapon or 2 for next season. But this program has taken a giant step forward this season.

Can't argue with any of that.

[Coursesuper]

We very simply need more players. Got to build the O line into an SEC line.

[Goldendawg]

We very simply need more players. Got to build the O line into an SEC line.

And the D line. Why do we stay in a 3 man front the majority of every game when we get virtually no pressure on the QB, (I know losing Whitson was a tremendous loss)? Our secondary got abused as they can't cover forever.

[Ranchdawg]

1. I noticed several times we used a spy on their QB. He seldom got to their QB because he was to slow. We have got to get speed and size into linebacker room.

2. Both our D-line and O-line did good only a few times in this game. The rest of the time they got abused. And seriously abused!

3. My god I didn’t think SEC officiating could get any worse well these clowns proved that wrong. Could not even spot the ball at the correct yardage. Wow just Wow! On one of their pass plays our lineman could not jump up and attempt to tip the ball because his jersey was being jerked down around his knees by one of their lineman. I could go on and on!

4. I will not blame Shapen for this loss. He is what he is. A nice QB that will never be an upper echelon QB. But will always make some bone headed plays that should never be done by a 5th year senior.

[basedog]

Regardless of what Shapen is, we need to get our freshman some snaps each half going forward. Our last 7 plays can only be described in one word, terrible. We are a work in progress, I enjoyed our effort and never quitting, saw lots of good things! We should and will win some more games this year and break the 12 or 13 Sec losing streak.
May be the most improved team in the country!

[HoopsDawg]

And the D line. Why do we stay in a 3 man front the majority of every game when we get virtually no pressure on the QB, (I know losing Whitson was a tremendous loss)? Our secondary got abused as they can't cover forever.

If Whitson is healthy and we don?t have the 6 other injuries, we win the game. And that?s crazy.

[99jc]

I totally disagree on Shapen . He is a 5th year QB who has limited skills his pick 6 was the difference in the Game a horrible throw. He can't move in the pocket which tells me in a Game like this we should have used KT more as his scrambling ability would have negated a lot of those heavy pass rushes. Shapen never had a chance on the fumble return so he gets a pass for that one. Our future is KT he needs a lot more reps.

[msstate7]

Regardless of what Shapen is, we need to get our freshman some snaps each half going forward. Our last 7 plays can only be described in one word, terrible. We are a work in progress, I enjoyed our effort and never quitting, saw lots of good things! We should and will win some more games this year and break the 12 or 13 Sec losing streak.
May be the most improved team in the country!

Exactly. I was certainly hard on Shapen in the game thread last night, but damn... every pass on the last 2 drives was horrible. A senior qb should be making winning plays there, not losing ones.

If I'm lebby, I'm getting the freshman a series or 2 every game.

[Dawgface]

7. We have the right HC and are moving in the right direction as a program. We got to get #1 some more OL guys and another weapon or 2 for next season. But this program has taken a giant step forward this season.

Agree with everything. I’m more than pleased with where Lebby has us at this point. I sure hope we get some of the injured back soon as we need them…..to state the obvious.

[Pinto]

My only two complaints are:
1) why didn?t we run the ball after the fake punt? Run it and put it in the end zone there and we break Tennessee.
2) our fans suck. We don?t deserve a championship program if we have fans selling season tickets like was done on the east side. The team gave us everything they had last night and our fans shit the bed on them. If you want a championship program, you have to be in the stands cheering or put other dogs in the stands to cheer. Do better fans and do your part.