Mississippi State football showed vs Florida it won’t win an SEC game

This story was updated to add new information.

STARKVILLE — Concerns from last week’s loss to Toledo didn’t go away for Mississippi State football Saturday afternoon. 

The Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1 SEC) were again beaten at home, this time a 45-28 decision handed by Florida in the SEC opener at Davis Wade Stadium. 

MSU got behind early and for the third week in a row had to claw its way back. It had a chance to cut the score to 35-28 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t convert a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line. That play wound up being the last of quarterback Blake Shapen’s season, who was ruled out by the team Saturday night due to a shoulder injury.

Florida (2-2, 1-1) answered with a 93-yard touchdown drive to put the game out of reach.

Here are our instant overreactions from the loss.

Mississippi State football won’t win an SEC game this season

It seemed like Mississippi State was catching Florida at the right time, with the Gators reeling from a 33-20 loss to Texas A&M, but that didn’t matter on the field Saturday.

The Bulldogs still aren’t playing complementary football. The run game was better, but the defensive performance was abysmal. They won’t be able to win a conference game with a defense allowing 45 points to Florida.

The grueling part of the SEC schedule begins next week at No. 2 Texas, followed by an open week and another road game at No. 1 Georgia.

Tennessee, Missouri and Ole Miss come later, all of them also ranked in the top eight of the US LBM Coaches Poll. Arkansas at home in late October is probably Mississippi State’s best opportunity for an SEC win, though it’s difficult to predict the Bulldogs to win that game at this moment.

Mississippi State’s run game is offensive X-factor

The equation for Mississippi State’s offense has become obvious. Run the ball well, and the offense flows well. But that still isn’t happening enough. 

Florida, which was torched for 310 rushing yards by Texas A&M last week, was daring Mississippi State to run the ball. The Bulldogs did, to some success. On their first scoring drive, they had rushes of 6, 10 and 9 yards — nothing explosive, but certainly a down-to-down win. That, mixed with MSU’s tempo, kept the Gators on their heels before Davon Booth scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown late in the first quarter. 

The Bulldogs had a season-high 240 rushing yards against Florida, with Booth, Johnnie Daniels and Keyvone Lee all eclipsing 50 yards. That’s something positive to build on.

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Mississippi State’s pass defense is now a problem

Typically, playing two quarterbacks is not a recipe for success. Florida played Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway, as expected. But it didn’t matter who was the quarterback for the Gators. 

Mertz and Lagway completed 19-of-20 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. By the game’s end, they completed 26-of-28 passes. The Gators scored touchdowns on six of eight possessions, not including a short one-play drive before halftime.

The Bulldogs went into the game with a pair of cornerbacks out and lost starting safety Isaac Smith — who leads MSU in tackles — in the third quarter to injury.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.