Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby said that his team “gave” 14 points to the Tennessee Vols on Saturday night in Starkville.

Lebby’s comment was in reference to the two defensive touchdowns that Tennessee scored in the Vols’ 41-34 overtime win over the Bulldogs.

The second-year Mississippi State head coach suggested that the game would’ve been “completely different” if not for the two defensive touchdowns.

“We gave them 14 points,” said Lebby immediately after the loss to Tennessee. “The game is completely different. We’re first-and-10, right at midfield after the fake punt, probably 13 and a half minutes left, something like that. And we have an issue up front — we’re going to be first-and-10 at the plus-38-yard line and we’re up 24-20 and (Lebby snapped his fingers) it’s 27-24. That’s the difference in the ball game.”

Jeff Lebby changes his tune about the loss to Tennessee after reviewing the film

Lebby met with reporters on Monday to put a bow on the Tennessee game (while previewing the Bulldogs’ upcoming matchup against Texas A&M), and he had a different take on the loss to the Vols after reviewing the game film.

“No, I’m not able to give myself any credit,” said Lebby when asked about the loss to the Volunteers. “We got our ass beat and it’s very frustrating. I got to do better. I got to coach better. I got to get done what we need to get done so at the end of the game we’re plus one. And that’s the bottom line.”

I actually think that’s a bit harsh from Lebby. His team played well against Tennessee. Sure, the Bulldogs made some mistakes, but so did the Vols. And both head coaches badly mismanaged drives at the end of regulation. (Lebby didn’t run any clock off and left the Vols with too much time at the end of the fourth quarter. Tennessee’s Josh Heupel then ran way too much time off the clock and didn’t even get a field goal attempt off.)

Mississippi State didn’t end up on the right side of the scoreboard on Saturday night, but they showed they’re an SEC team that no one will be excited to play — especially in Starkville.

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Zach Ragan