Cowbell Corner

Jeff Lebby preaches urgency as Bulldogs prepare for Alcorn State

Mississippi State enters trap game territory vs Alcorn State. Can Jeff Lebby keep the Bulldogs focused after an emotional Arizona State win?
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby reacts with defensive back Jahron Manning (13) during warm ups prior to the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.
Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby reacts with defensive back Jahron Manning (13) during warm ups prior to the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State has entered the “trap” portion of its schedule.

The Bulldogs just won an emotional game against Arizona State and now face two opponents they’ll be heavily favored to beat before hosting Tennessee, who is at No. 15 in the latest AP Top 25.

It’s not an easy thing to do. Coach Jeff Lebby has to get a team to play as hard against Alcorn State, an FCS school that’s 0-2, as it did against the No. 12-team in the country last weekend.

A common phrase Lebby has used multiple times in media appearances this week was about creating a sense of urgency with the team.

“As a staff, we have to go create urgency for our players every single day,” Lebby said in Monday press conference. “It's not just another Monday. It's the biggest Monday we've ever had in our life and that that's the mindset and we got to get better. We got a ton of work to do. Our guys I think understand that but we're going to continue to create that urgency as a staff.”

Lebby does have some ammunition for getting his players to play Alcorn State like Arizona State.

For one, the Bulldogs have been far from perfect in both of its games this season.

“We're going to see a lot of things on the tape that weren't very good,” Lebby said roughly 25 minutes after Brenen Thompson’s 58-yard game-winning touchdown catch last Saturday. “We'll be able to coach really, really hard on Monday as soon as the guys get in.”

The other piece of ammunition is what happened last year against Toledo, when the Rockets flew into Davis Wade Stadium and dominated the Bulldogs.

That might make Lebby’s job just a little bit easier and he gets the easiest opponent on Mississippi State’s schedule to test it out.

Alcorn State has lost both of tis game this season to Northwestern state (20-10) and Alabama A&M (41-31) and is the middle of a four-game road trip to start the season.

Here’s a breakdown of the Braves' team stats, as well as individual leaders on offense and defense.

Alcorn State Offense

Team Stats

  • Points per game: 20.5
  • Net rushing yards: 264 (3.9 ypc)
  • Passing yards: 350 (4.55 ypa)
  • Att-Comp-Int: 77-42-2
  • Total yards: 614 (4.3 ypp)
  • Penalties: 24, 193 yards
  • 3rd down conversions: 9-29 (31 percent)
  • 4th down conversions: 2-8 (25 percent)
  • Red zone att-scores: 5-8 (3 TD, 2 FG)

Individual Leaders

Passing
Jaylon Tolbert – 24-77 (54.5 percent), 350 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT

Rushing
Jacorian Sewell – 25 carries, 176 yards, 1 TD, 7 ypc
Reggie Davis – 27 carries, 116 yards, 2 TD, 4.3 ypc

Receiving
Tyran Warren – 6 catches, 76 yards, 12.67 ypc
Jarvis Rush – 7 catches, 53 yards, 7.57 ypc
Elijah Griffin – 3 catches, 60 yards, 20.0 ypc

Alcorn State Defense

Team Stats

  • Points allowed per game: 30.5
  • Net rushing yards allowed: 374 (4.9 ypc)|
  • Passing yards allowed: 345 (6.63 ypa)
  • Att-Comp-Int allowed: 53-34-1
  • Total yards allowed: 719
  • Opp. Penalties: 18, 174 yards
  • 3rd down conversions allowed: 11-27 (40.74 percent)
  • 4th down conversions allowed: 1-1 (100 percent)
  • Red zone att-scores allowed: 8-8 (8 TDs)

Individual Leaders

  • Stemarion Edwards – 20 tackles (9 solo, 11 assist), 1.5 TFL
  • TJ Jasper – 18 tackles (13 solo, 5 assist)
  • TB Hinton – 13 tackles (5 solo, 8 assist), 1 TFL, 1 QBH, 1FF, 1 FR
  • Jaquez Dews – 12 tackles (7 solo, 5 assist), 1 TFL, 1 FF, 1 block
  • Cedric Roberts – 10 tackles (7 solo, 5 assist), 1 TFL

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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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