Everything head coach Jeff Lebby said after Saturday’s 34-24 loss to No. 14 Texas A&M

For the third straight game, Mississippi State kept it close with a Top 15 opponent. But the end result was the same on Saturday as the Bulldogs dropped a 34-24 decision to No. 14 Texas A&M at Davis Wade Stadium.

Following the game, Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby met with the media to discuss the team’s sixth straight loss:

Q: Your thoughts on the crowd today and your run defense?
Lebby: Starting off, our fanbase showed up. I couldn’t be more appreciative and our guys couldn’t be more appreciative. We’re gonna need them back in the house next Saturday morning. But I can’t say enough. Incredibly thankful, grateful for how our people showed up today.

Our run defense, I thought we did a great job of fitting. I thought we did a good job 90% of the time of getting the guy on the ground. I thought we had 11 hats to the ball a ton today. Guys playing with great effort and that gave us a chance to be better against the run game.

Q: Texas A&M was really good on third down today. What were you seeing there?
Lebby: I thought they did a really good job of throwing and catching. They had opportunities to make some plays. They made it. We had some opportunities to get off the field and weren’t able to. Again, we’ve got to continue to be better on third down. We’ve got to be better on both sides of the football. Not nearly good enough, offensively, on third down and then have the issues with short yardage there late in the game to where we got a chance to stay on the field. So it’s both sides of the ball, having the ability to clean up and be better on third down.

Q: Your thoughts on the dropped interceptions and can you take us through the fake punt?
Lebby: The fake punt was huge. It was really a huge turning point in the game. I felt great about the fake all week long. We loved the looks we had gotten and we thought 10 (yards) or less as long as we weren’t inside our own 20-yard line, we were going to give it a chance to go. Felt good about it. Looking back, obviously, I will Monday morning quarterback myself for a long time and I won’t get over it for a long time because of the way it worked out.

We had some chances to make some plays and again, we had chances to get off the field at times, too, right after that. A ton of frustration in those moments, frustrated in me being aggressive. Liking the call and then not having the ability to go get the first down.

Q: How close do you feel this team is to doing what you want to do?
Lebby: That’s where the frustration lies. A fine line inside this league of being on the right side of it and being on the wrong side of it. All the different plays in the game, in the first quarter, in the second quarter and in the second half that had the ability to change the outcome of the game. It is disappointing, it’s frustrating. Our guys had incredible belief that we had the ability to out and win. Being close is not why we do what we do. Getting better every single week is incredibly important as we continue to build the foundation of the program. There’s no doubt about that. But finding a way to make the play to win the game is something we need to do.

Q: How do you feel your guys handled their pass rush and how did Michael Van Buren handle it?
Lebby: I think it was hard on Mike because we were in some third and long situations. We were not able to run the ball on some early downs like we had in the first half. That created some of the issues and then they did a great job of their third-down package and creating some matchups. Then us not being able to get the ball out of our hands. We will go back and continue to look at that. Those were huge plays, huge momentum plays in the game where we have the ability to stay on the field and we didn’t.

Q: How has Van Buren improved since he got his first start?
Lebby: I think he is getting better and better. Again, this is a young man that has a bunch of ability that is getting thrown into the fire here as an 18-year-old. He’s had the ability to get better every single week. Incredibly proud of his process and he’s got to continue to play better and better. There were some things in the first half where we had a chance to have some positive plays. They changed the picture on us, did a nice job, defensively. Those will be the things where we have to create great growth for Mike and have positive plays. But his toughness, his process every single day, how he’s fighting and straining for every single inch as a young guy has been impressive.

Q: What did Texas A&M do differently to slow you down in the second half?
Lebby: They find ways to load the box, have the extra hat in the box. We weren’t able to do some of the things we need to do in the throw game from a protection standpoint for Mike to see a cleaner picture to get the ball up and down, beat the rush with the ball. So it’s all 11 of us, myself included. That was the frustration in the second half, just not being able to get in a rhythm, not being able to run the football like we did in the first half, which created real balance for us. For us to be the team we want to be, we’re gonna have to have balance.

Q: What have you seen from Davon Booth lately?
Lebby: I think both of those guys, Von and Johnnie (Daniels) have continued to get better. Those two guys will be our 1-2 punch as we continue to move forward. Von, again, I thought he had the ability to be a good player for us. He’s done that and will continue to do that. We got to find a way to run the ball in the second half to give us a chance to win.

Q: What was it like bringing those guys back in today from the 2014 team?
Lebby: It was special. For me, frustrating for me to not get it done while they’re back in town and are here. The message for recruits that were in the building today is that there truly is no ceiling here at State. Those guys understand it and what a great visual to be able to go point at and to see what they were able to accomplish while they were here. As we continue to build it the right way, that is something that is very real for our recruits and our people. It was awesome to have them back.

Q: Is there anything differently you can do defensively?
Lebby: We didn’t play near good enough, defensively. We didn’t play near well enough, offensively, to go win the game. There’s some layups we have to make. We have to make them on both sides of the ball. We had the ability on defense a couple of times to get off the field and they get no points. We have the ability to make the play and this is part of the game. We’ve got to continue to put them in position for success, find ways to get the most out of them every single day. I was incredibly proud and encouraged of how we defended the run tonight. These guys have been running the ball incredibly well. To me, that’s what gave us a chance. We will continue to stress that. We will find ways to get better and better. The toughness, the belief, the attitude that’s going on on that side of the ball, I’m proud of. We’ve got to play better. I have to coach better.

Q: Any injury updates?
Lebby: Do not.

Q: Based on your opinion, how would you assess your team’s improvements these last two weeks?
Lebby: We’ve gotten better. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I think we’re starting to find a little bit of an identity at times. We’ve got to create more consistency. We have to sustain. We got to go make the play that has the ability to change the outcome of the game. That is the stress, that’s the strain. I want to continue to get better and win. That’s why we do what we do. That will be important for us moving forward.

Like I said to the team afterwards, the thing that I hate is these old guys that are in the room, this is their last year. The frustration is they are helping set a foundation for something I couldn’t be more convicted of where we’re going. They’re not getting to feel good right now. That’s where my frustration is. These guys are fighting every single day for State, for us, for me, and they are not getting to feel good. I want to give them the opportunity to do that. That will hopefully happen next Saturday.

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