Mississippi State football overreacts after Week 7 loss to Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. – Mississippi State suffered another loss on Saturday, but the Bulldogs made it interesting for the second straight game against one of the top teams in the country.

MSU (1-5, 0-3 SEC) fell behind No. 4 Georgia by 24 points, but rallied early in the fourth quarter to pull within 10 points. The Bulldogs had a chance to cut the lead to one point, but the shootout proved costly and ended in a 41-31 victory for Georgia (5-1, 3-1) at Sanford Stadium.

It's Mississippi State and first-year coach Jeff Lebby's fifth straight loss.

Here are our three overreactions after the loss.

Mississippi State football will win an SEC game

It certainly seemed like a long shot as to whether Mississippi State could win a conference game this season, especially right after Blake Shapen's season-ending injury. These are two games in a row where MSU appears to be an improving team with freshman Michael Van Buren Jr. at quarterback.

Yes, both Texas and Georgia losses were double digits. But Mississippi State remained competitive in both road environments into the fourth quarter.

Now part of the SEC trading is completed. The schedule becomes easier with three straight home games against Texas A&M, Arkansas and UMass. Winning two out of three of these games seems entirely possible.

Michael Van Buren Jr. still essentially has a way to go

Van Buren wasn't spectacular in his first career start against Texas. He was competent and promising for the future. There wasn't much of that to be felt against Georgia – especially in the first half.

Van Buren didn't seem to make his strides often and also missed too many short and medium throws. One of his worst misses came in the first quarter when Mario Craver broke open on a post route up the middle, but Van Buren threw it behind him. Craver would have had a first down and maybe a touchdown to give MSU a 7-0 lead.

Van Buren completed five of 15 passes in the first half, but he calmed down in the second half. He was particularly sharp on MSU's two touchdown drives in the third quarter. One of his best throws came on that drive when he threw a 42-yard pass down the sideline to Kevin Coleman Jr. Later in that drive, Van Buren threw a short touchdown to running back Davon Booth.

Van Buren finished the game 20 of 37 for 306 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

MORE: Glen Powell as “Chad Powers” leads the football team to Dooley Field and films for the Hulu series

Mississippi State's defensive playmakers are represented exclusively in the secondary

Mississippi State once again had a tough defensive performance. The reason for this was largely due to a poor pass rush that allowed Georgia quarterback Carson Beck to pick MSU apart.

It certainly wasn’t because the secondary wasn’t playing.

Cornerback Brice Pollock was an outstanding player. In the first quarter, he managed to intercept a pass that set up a field goal. He also recovered a fumble, but the ball rolled out of bounds before MSU could recover. When Georgia challenged him deep, Pollock knocked the ball away in the end zone.

DeAgo Brumfield, another cornerback playing in his first game of the season, was responsible for MSU's second interception when he jumped a route in the end zone. That felt like the game-changing moment after Mississippi State made the comeback.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

Mississippi State football will win an SEC game

Michael Van Buren Jr. still essentially has a way to go

Mississippi State's defensive playmakers are represented exclusively in the secondary

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