Well, we all know how ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum is a tough nut to crack. However, Mississippi State Bulldogs’ head coach Jeff Lebby has passed Finebaum’s quality check. “Do they have a program that can support a winning football program? I think Jeff Lebby is a very good coach, but I don’t know if the apparatus around him is sustainable.” That’s how the analyst threw shade on the program in itself and not just the head coach. Sounds surprising, right?

After all, in Lebby’s first season, Mississippi State went 2-10, the school’s fewest wins since 2003. Maybe Finebaum wanted to give the head coach a moral boost. His seat is already hot. On The Next Round podcast, Ryan Brown shared, “Probably Vanderbilt still. But if you take Vanderbilt away, I think Mississippi State is the toughest job.” And here comes some more reality check for Lebby.  On the July 17th episode of George Wrighster’s College Football podcast, the host George Wrighster came up with his ‘SEC power rankings going into the season.’

He started with the lowest rank to the highest rank. That’s when Lebby’s Bulldogs’ name got called out at No.16.  “At number 16, we got Mississippi State Bulldogs. They lost their quarterback, Michael Van Buren, to LSU after his freshman season, where he flashed and showed a lot of promise,” said Wrighster. “And that means that they’re going to turn back to Blake Shapen at Q. And he started the season for Mississippi State last year before getting injured.” Lebby’s quarterback, Blake Shapen, suffered a fractured scapula injury in Week 4 of 2024 on his throwing arm. 

Definitely, Lebby’s quarterback is far away from reaching the limelight in the SEC when his rivals are LaNorris Sellers, Garrett Nussmeier. Yet, he has racked up some decent numbers. Over his four years in college, he has come up with 64.3% as a passer with 6,548 yards and 44 touchdowns. So, Lebby can let out a sigh of relief when it comes to his starter. However, here comes the daunting factor.

As Wrighster pinpointed, “Now, the reason that I have Mississippi State finishing last in the SEC for the second season in a row is because of a brutal schedule and a roster that is honestly probably a year away from making a big leap.” For a better understanding of the schedule, PFSN came up with a list, and the toughness meter of Lebby’s program’s schedule is 174.25 — fourth toughest behind Wisconsin (187.25), Syracuse (176) and Kentucky (175). But what makes Mississippi State’s schedule so tough?

Turns out, the Bulldogs will be opening against Southern Miss, followed by Arizona State, Alcorn State, and Northern Illinois. These first four games offer a mixed bag. Lebby’s boys will then be thrown to face the SEC gauntlet in September. A brutal stretch featuring Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, and Ole Miss. On one hand, Lebby will have to tackle the schedule, on the other hand, he has to meet the expectations. 

When Dan Mullen took over as head coach in 2009, he transformed the Bulldogs into a competitive team in the SEC. After Mullen, the Bulldogs have hired four different head coaches. Among them, while Mike Leach appeared to be steering the program in the right direction, leading an 9-4 record in 2022, tragedy struck when he passed away after heart-related ailments. But under Lebby, fans got to wait another year to taste a CFP berth. Now is Lebby scared about the SEC gauntlet?  

Jeff Lebby embraces the SEC gauntlet with a smile  

Lebby steps into his second year at Mississippi State. So, he knows how the expectations are already hitting the roof. David Pollack already sees the Bulldogs not making more than two wins. However, the relatively new football frontman is hopeful about the schedule, no matter how tough it is. Lebby took the stage in the SEC Media Days, and he carried with him a ‘bring what you got’ kind of attitude.

He shared, “For us, it’s all about opportunity. I think I had a great awareness of what the league was when I was able to get the job. That part of it wasn’t going to change. For me and our guys, we understand what the gauntlet looks like. That’s exciting. What a great challenge, what a great opportunity. Our guys will be excited to go chase it.” 

ESPN has Mississippi State’s schedule ranked as the sixth-toughest nationally. But what must be boosting Lebby’s confidence about turning the schedule in their favor? “You think about the transformation. 80% of our players on our roster right now, they’re guys that are in their first or second year of being inside the program. You think about 16 new players since January 1, 43 midyears, then having the ability to sign five O-linemen, a couple of tight ends, a couple others on the defensive side of the ball in the spring portal,” he shared. Plus, Lebby can now count on Shapen, who looks healthier after the injury. And Lebby couldn’t have received better news. 

At the SEC Media Days, he shared, “Yeah, I mean, for us having Blake back is a huge, huge step, um, being year two inside the, the offense, the system, the program, how he’s getting coached every day. Gonna really have the ability to go cut loose and uh put a lot on his plate to be able to go get us, uh, in a position to, to have great success on the offensive side of the b—.” Can Jeff Lebby and his boys sprinkle enough promise into the 2025 playbook to keep Mississippi State fans hungry yet hopeful for a 2026 Playoff breakthrough?