Cowbell Corner

How to watch No. 12 Mississippi State bounce back from first SEC loss

The Bulldogs are headed to the Sunshine State for a Friday night match almost a week after their first loss in conference play in two years.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State soccer players celebrate a goal scored in Saturday's exhibition match against Mercer.
Mississippi State soccer players celebrate a goal scored in Saturday's exhibition match against Mercer. | Mississippi State Athletics

Last weekend was a rough one for Mississippi State teams against top 10-ranked foes.

But now we get to see how the Bulldogs respond after tough losses, starting with the Mississippi State soccer team Friday night against Florida.

“Obviously last week was an emotional week for a lot of different reasons,” Bulldogs’ coach Nick Zimmerman said. “You have the Magnolia Cup on Thursday night and then you go on the road to a place that they haven’t lost in the SEC in five years and putting this young group in that environment was awesome.”

That road trip was to Fayetteville, Ark. where then-No. 7 Arkansas gave No. 12 Mississippi State its first SEC loss in two years, 4-2.

“We said it after the game. We got so much better because of this opportunity,” Zimmerman said. “We learned so much about our group, both really positive things and then things that we've got to continue to work on.”

The Bulldogs have just four games left in the regular season and Florida is one of two games against unranked opponents.

But the Gators are no pushover. They’re most recent match was a 2-1 win against Texas and they posted three-straight ties before that, including two against ranked teams (South Carolina and Georgia)

“They’re coming in with a ton of confidence and I'm sure that it'll be a good crowd,” Zimmerman said about the Gators. “We know that we're going to have to put together a complete 90 minutes and go there with the mentality that we're going to have to fight and compete.”

As a team, Florida is averaging 1.77 goals scored per game and 1.62 goals allowed per game. They average 12.6 shots per game with a .421 shots on goal percentage.

Florida is similar to Mississippi State in number of goal scorers. The Gators have had 12 different players score a goal, led by Kai Tsakiris with four goals.

Here’s how to watch the Bulldogs fight and compete with the Gators:

How to Watch: No. 12 Mississippi State at Florida

Who: No. 12 Mississippi State Bulldogs (9-2-1, 4-1-1 SEC) at Florida Gators (5-5-3, 1-2-3 SEC)

When: 6 p.m., Friday

Where: Donald R. Dizney Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.

TV: SECN+

Radio: Live Radio

Stats: Live Stats

Series History: Florida leads the all-time series 16-3-2

Last Meeting: Mississippi State 1, Florida 0 (October 5, 2023)

Last time out, Bulldogs: lost to No. 7 Arkansas, 4-2

Last time out, Gators: def. Texas, 2-1

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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