2025 Mississippi State
5–8 (1–7 Southeastern Conference), coached by Jeff Lebby. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 12 Arizona State 24–20Sep 6
Arizona State was ranked No. 12 and favored to win.
- Most excitingLost to No. 22 Texas 38–45Oct 25
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | at Southern Miss | W 34–17 | 53% |
| Sep 6 | vs 12Arizona State | W 24–20 | 33% |
| Sep 13 | vs Alcorn State | W 63–0 | 83% |
| Sep 20 | vs Northern Illinois | W 38–10 | 54% |
| Sep 27 | vs 15Tennessee | L 34–41 | 36% |
| Oct 4 | at 6Texas A&M | L 9–31 | 25% |
| Oct 18 | at Florida | L 21–23 | 31% |
| Oct 25 | vs 22Texas | L 38–45 | 26% |
| Nov 1 | at Arkansas | W 38–35 | 38% |
| Nov 8 | vs 5Georgia | L 21–41 | 21% |
| Nov 15 | at Missouri | L 27–49 | 23% |
| Nov 28 | vs 6Ole Miss | L 19–38 | 19% |
| Jan 2Bowls & playoff | vs Wake ForestDuke’s Mayo Bowl | L 29–43 | 39% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Wake Forest 43–29 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 13th in the Southeastern Conference.
In program history: The 98th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).
- Record
- 5–8
- Conference
- 1–7 tied for 13th in Southeastern Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 395–393
- Coach
- Jeff Lebby
- Elo
- 1421 +10 this season
- SP+ rating
- 4.1 No. 58 of 136; offense No. 39, defense No. 84, special teams No. 16
- SRS
- 2.2 No. 63 of 136 in FBS
- Returning
- 42% of last season’s EPA, No. 55 of 134
- Recruiting class
- No. 28 roster talent No. 24 in FBS
- Defensive coordinators
- Coleman Hutzler and Matt Barnes
- Offense
- Veer and shoot
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.06 | 41% | 1.27 | 81st of 136 |
| Defense | 0.17 | 44% | 1.31 | 108th of 136 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.09 off 0.11 def | 43% off 41% def | — | 67th off 74th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 43% | 9.3 yds | 14% | 3.10 | 16% |
| Defense | 42% | 9.4 yds | 17% | 3.50 | 12% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.4 | own 29 | 18% allowed |
| Defense | 3.7 | own 28 | 14% caused |
CORE rating -3.1, 77th of 136 (offense -2.3, defense 0.8).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Blake Shapen QB | 2,436 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Blake Shapen QB | 15 TD |
| Rushing yards | Fluff Bothwell RB | 677 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Kamario Taylor QB | 8 TD |
| Receiving yards | Brenen Thompson WR | 1,054 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Brenen Thompson WR | 6 TD |
| Tackles | Jahron Manning S | 91 tkl |
| Sacks | Nic Mitchell LB | 2.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Brylan Lanier S | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2025 class
| Kamario Taylor QB | ★★★★ | No. 119 |
| Tyler Lockhart LB | ★★★★ | No. 148 |
| Tyshun Willis DE | ★★★★ | No. 234 |
| Kyle Johnson CB | ★★★★ | No. 372 |
| Ferzell Shepard WR | ★★★ | No. 534 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2025 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.944 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.871 |
| Receivers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.877 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.861 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 4.0 | 0.917 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.5 | 0.903 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.3 | 0.876 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.870 |
| Whole class | 17 | 3.2 | 0.883 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2026
The 2026 draft| Rd 4 | Brenen Thompson WR | Los Angeles Chargers |
| Rd 5 | Seydou Traore TE | Miami Dolphins |
Roster 119
The 2025 roster119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 72 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 32
The 2025 portal Luke Kromenhoek QB | ★★★★ | from  Florida State |
 Fluff Bothwell RB | ★★★★ | from  South Alabama |
| Dwight Lewis III CB | ★★★★ | from Marian (IN) |
| Malick Sylla DE | ★★★ | from  Texas A&M |
| Derion Gullette LB | ★★★ | from  Texas |
 Jahron Manning S | ★★★ | from  Old Dominion |
| Jalen Smith LB | ★★★ | from  Tennessee |
 Red Hibbler DE | ★★★ | from  NC State |
| Ayden Williams WR | ★★★ | from  Ole Miss |
 Blake Steen OL | ★★★ | from  Virginia |
 Brenen Thompson WR | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma |
 Jayvin James OT | ★★★ | from  Maryland |
And 20 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 35
 Kevin Coleman Jr. WR | ★★★★ | to  Missouri |
| Mario Craver WR | ★★★★ | to Texas A&M |
| Brice Pollock CB | ★★★★ | to  Texas Tech |
| Michael Van Buren Jr. QB | ★★★ | to  LSU |
| Carson Lee OL | ★★★ | to  West Virginia |
| Creed Whittemore WR | ★★★ | to  Utah |
| Leon Bell OT | ★★★ | to  California |
| Malik Ellis TE | ★★★ | to  Troy |
| Trent Hudson WR | ★★★ | to  Vanderbilt |
| Donterry Russell DE | ★★★ | to  Texas State |
| J.J. Harrell WR | ★★★ | to  Arkansas State |
| Javae Gilmore LB | ★★★ | to  Marshall |
And 23 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-SEC
1 second teamSecond team
- Brenen ThompsonWRAP-2; Coaches-3
From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2025 Southeastern Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ole Miss | 7–1 | 13–2 | 3 |
| Georgia | 7–1 | 12–2 | 6 |
| Texas A&M | 7–1 | 11–2 | 8 |
 Alabama | 7–1 | 11–4 | 9 |
| Texas | 6–2 | 10–3 | 12 |
| Oklahoma | 6–2 | 10–3 | 13 |
 Vanderbilt | 6–2 | 10–3 | 15 |
| Missouri | 4–4 | 8–5 | |
| Tennessee | 4–4 | 8–5 | |
 LSU | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
 Kentucky | 2–6 | 5–7 | |
| Florida | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
 Auburn | 1–7 | 5–7 | |
| Mississippi State | 1–7 | 5–8 | |
 South Carolina | 1–7 | 4–8 | |
| Arkansas | 0–8 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.