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2026 Mississippi State

4–⁠2 (2–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Jeff Lebby. The season’s Wikipedia article records 4–⁠1, over five games to the six on file here.

Schedule and results

Mississippi State in 2026, game by game: won vs. UL Monroe 62–13; won at Minnesota 38–13; won at South Carolina 41–34; won vs. No. 19 Missouri 31–24; lost vs. No. 7 Alabama 23–56; lost at No. 22 LSU 0–31+49−33Won 62–13 vs. UL Monroe+49UL MonroeWon 38–13 at Minnesota+25MinnesotaWon 41–34 at South Carolina+7South CarolinaWon 31–24 vs. No. 19 Missouri+7No. 19 MissouriLost 23–56 vs. No. 7 Alabama-33No. 7 AlabamaLost 0–31 at No. 22 LSU-31No. 22 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsUL MonroeW 62–⁠1369%
Sep 12atMinnesotaW 38–⁠1330%
Sep 19atSouth CarolinaW 41–⁠3439%
Sep 26vs19MissouriW 31–⁠2447%
Oct 3vs7AlabamaL 23–⁠5638%
Oct 17at22LSUL 0–⁠3131%
Oct 24vsOklahomaPreview48%
Oct 31atTexasPreview23%
Nov 7vsVanderbiltPreview56%
Nov 14vsAuburnPreview53%
Nov 21vsTennessee TechPreview69%
Nov 27atOle MissPreview18%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 24
  2. Wk 5: 16
  3. Wk 6: 17
  4. Wk 7: 16
Record
4–⁠2
Conference
2–⁠2 tied for 7th in Southeastern Conference
AP now
No. 16 in the week 7 poll; peak No. 16
Points
195–⁠171
Coach
Jeff Lebby
Elo
1522 +75 this season
SP+ rating
12.6 No. 28 of 138; offense No. 12, defense No. 65, special teams No. 9
SRS
15.5 No. 19 of 138 in FBS
Returning
34% of last season’s EPA, No. 84 of 136
Recruiting class
No. 23 roster talent No. 20 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Zach Arnett
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense34th of 138
  • Defense75th of 138
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted9th of 138
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted59th of 138
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2048%1.2434th of 138
Defense0.1245%1.1075th of 138
Opponent-adjusted0.22 off
0.08 def		48% off
41% def		—9th off
59th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense51%8.8 yds13%3.2019%
Defense49%7.8 yds12%3.1013%
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 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.9own 2916% allowed
Defense4.2own 2916% caused

CORE rating 19.4, 12th of 138 (offense 16.6, defense -2.7).

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 yardsKamario Taylor QB1,450 yds
Passing touchdownsKamario Taylor QB17 TD
Rushing yardsFluff Bothwell RB403 yds
Rushing touchdownsFluff Bothwell RB3 TD
Receiving yardsAnthony Evans III WR614 yds
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Evans III WR5 TD
TacklesTyler Lockhart LB38 tkl
SacksMarcus Williams S2 sacks
InterceptionsDre Riley S1 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Bralan Womack S★★★★No. 46
Micah Nickerson DE★★★★No. 159
Zayion Cotton TE★★★★No. 329
Jayden Cration WR★★★★No. 458
Zion Crumpton WR★★★No. 508

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.870
Running backs23.00.877
Receivers73.30.879
Offensive line43.00.868
Defensive line53.20.883
Defensive backs63.20.884
Athletes and specialists33.00.837
Whole class283.10.874

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.

Roster 117

The 2026 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 28

The 2026 portal
Marquis Johnson WR★★★★from Missouri
Dealyn Evans DL★★★★from Texas A&M
Amaree Williams DE★★★from Florida State
Jayson Jenkins DE★★★from Florida State
Tyler Miller OT★★★from LSU
A.J. Swann QB★★★from App State
D.J. Chester OT★★★from LSU
Gav Holman LB★★★from Florida State
Isaiah Dent OT★★★from Oklahoma
Ja’Elyne Matthews OT★★★from Florida State
Jameer Grimsley CB★★★from Florida
Jardin Gilbert S★★★from LSU

And 16 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 40

Luke Work OT★★★to Missouri
Jayvin James OT★★★to Alabama
Luke Kromenhoek QB★★★to South Florida
Davian Jackson WR★★★to Texas State
Jimothy Lewis Jr. OT★★★to California
Kai McClendon DL★★★to Washington
Kedrick Bingley-Jones DL★★★to Alabama
Zack Owens OL★★★to Missouri
Ashun Shepphard DL★★★to California
Brennan Smith OL★★★to Middle Tennessee
Cameron Ball TE★★★to West Virginia
Cyrus Reyes S★★★to Kentucky

And 28 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Kentucky4–⁠16–⁠1
Georgia4–⁠16–⁠1
Tennessee3–⁠16–⁠1
Ole Miss3–⁠15–⁠1
Florida3–⁠25–⁠2
Alabama3–⁠25–⁠2
LSU2–⁠25–⁠2
Missouri2–⁠25–⁠2
Mississippi State2–⁠24–⁠2
Auburn2–⁠24–⁠2
Texas1–⁠24–⁠2
Oklahoma1–⁠23–⁠3
Texas A&M1–⁠34–⁠3
South Carolina1–⁠33–⁠3
Arkansas1–⁠33–⁠4
Vanderbilt0–⁠43–⁠4

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.