It’s official. The Mississippi State football team is officially set to start new era under Jeff Lebby. At 1 p.m. in Davis Wade Stadium, at Saturday’s Maroon and White Game, the Mississippi State Bulldogs will give MSU fans a chance to get a first glimpse of what the Bulldogs’ future might look like.
Here’s what you need to know about the game and how to keep up with the Bulldogs on Saturday during the annual MSU football spring game.
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Why it matters to Mississippi State football:
After a few tumultuous years, the Mississippi State football program is seeking something that resembles a little bit of stability. And so, when Zac Selmon hired Jeff Lebby, there were many Mississippi State football fans who were thrilled to usher in a new era after the disastrous and brief Zach Arnett era.
And so, here we go. This game will help usher in a new era of MSU football under new head coach Jeff Lebby. Whether you wanted Lebby to be the coach in Starkville or not (I wanted GJ Kinne, for what that’s worth), that doesn’t matter too much at this point, his time leading the Bulldogs is under way.
And Saturday’s spring game will provide Miss. State football fans with their first opportunity to see the team’s progress and potential for the upcoming season in year one of the Lebby era in Starkville.
The big picture for the MSU Bulldogs:
Lebby, a former offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners (and the Ole Miss Rebels, UCF Knights, Southeastern Fire, and former staffer learning how to coach with the Baylor Bears), brings a fresh perspective to Starkville.
While many Miss. State football fans are dead set on a theoretically similar (but more successful) version of the way Zach Arnett wanted to run his program (Kevin Barbay really deserved a chance to actually run his offense without external interference, by the way), Lebby comes in having a more thorough understanding of how to build a program (he was involved in the building from scratch process at Baylor with Art Briles, igniting the offense at Southeastern, providing continuity at UCF and Josh Heupel, a quick rebuild with Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, and then another quick rebuild with Brent Venables at Oklahoma).
On top of that, Lebby has recruiting connections all over the Southeast (and into Texas and Florida, both of which are valuable) and his high-powered offensive scheme is one that should help MSU win on the field sooner rather than later.
Miss. State football fans didn’t always appreciate the Air Raid, even when it was designed properly but not executed fully, so it’ll be interesting to see how they adapt to what Lebby designs.
It’ll also be interesting to see just what the offense looks like right now. The Spring Game will be an interesting showcase of just how well this offense has been adopted up to this point.
What to watch in the 2024 Maroon and White Game:
- Quarterback competition: Who will emerge as the frontrunner to lead Lebby’s offense?
- New faces: Keep an eye on incoming transfers and freshmen who could make an immediate impact.
- Defensive adjustments: Observe how the defense aligns itself to counter Lebby’s fast-paced offensive style.
The bottom line for the MSU Bulldogs:
While the spring game is just a preview, it will set the tone for the upcoming season and give fans a reason to be optimistic about the future of Mississippi State football under Jeff Lebby’s leadership. The Bulldogs are poised to make noise in the SEC, and Saturday’s game is the first step in that direction.
How to watch 2024 Mississippi State football Maroon and White spring game
- TV Channel: SEC Network+
- Live Stream: ESPN+
- Radio broadcast: HailState On-Demand
The Underdog Tribune 
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