For Mississippi State, the bowl game isn’t the only game this week

College football’s busiest week collides with bowls, the CFP and the transfer portal, creating chaos for teams like Mississippi State.

Mississippi State wide receiver Brenen Thompson smiles as he boards a plane bound for the Duke's Mayo Bowl. | Mississippi State Athletics

The next three days promise to be chaotic, uncomfortable and occasionally strange, but wildly entertaining for everyone watching from the outside.

The College Football Playoff quarterfinals begin Wednesday, followed by three more games Thursday. Alongside the CFP, eight additional bowl games will unfold over the next 72 hours.

Then, at 12:01 a.m. Friday, college football’s version of free agency officially opens with the NCAA transfer portal window.

And if that isn’t enough, SEC play tips off in college basketball, with women’s games starting Thursday and men’s games Saturday.

For teams still preparing for bowl or playoff games, it can feel a lot like trying to change a tire on a moving vehicle.

Mississippi State is one of those teams.

The Bulldogs are set to face Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at 7 p.m. Friday in Charlotte, N.C. roughly 19 hours after the transfer portal opens. Nothing can be done to change it, so coaches just have to embrace the craziness.

Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby seems to have embraced it, or at least have a solid plan in place.

“I'm expecting to get off the bus here on (January) 3rd and walk straight into my office and be ready for (official visits),” Lebby said before leaving for Charlotte. “The expectation is we're going to have five or six guys here on campus on the 3rd when the buses roll back in. So we'll hit the ground running and get ready to roll.”

Part of the Bulldogs’ plan will rely on the recruiting and personnel departments staying in Starkville.

“They won't be there for the game,” Lebby said. “They'll be here in-house and getting visits set and being ready to roll. That's going to be a huge piece of it. I think those first 5-7 days in the portal with allowing guys to be able to be on campus for visits will be a huge momentum builder for us if we can land the right guys.”

The bowl game is important, but the transfer portal may be even more important for Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs used the transfer portal last season to varying degrees of success and led to them winning three more games in 2025 than in 2024. In order to take a similar step next season, Mississippi State will need to find more impactful players in the portal.

Luckily, there’s already more than 1,000 players who have declared their intentions to enter the transfer portal when it opens Friday. That’ll be a fun welcome back to work day for the NCAA.

Mississippi State should be able to fill positions of need, most of which were already identified before the Bulldogs began bowl game practices.

“We knew really where we were and what we wanted to get done as we got into really Egg Bowl week and then that week following with some conversations,” Lebby said about identifying needs.

Mississippi State will get a chance to showcase itself to potential transfers when all eyes will be on the transfer portal Friday against Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.