'Life in the SEC': Mizzou football falls to Mississippi State, loses eighth straight ranked SEC matchup

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Same team, same mistakes, new opponent. This time, though, No. 19 Missouri’s (3-1, 0-1 in Southeastern Conference) opponent, No. 24 Mississippi State (4-0, 2-0), made the Tigers pay, handing them their first loss of the season, winning 31-24.

Overcoming mistakes of such nature is achievable against opponents from the FCS, Group of Six and even Big 12, like Missouri did in its first three games. But in the SEC, where “it just means more,” that task becomes much more difficult. And in the case of the Tigers’ duel with Mississippi State on Saturday, it was too difficult.

Missouri has now lost eight consecutive games against ranked SEC opponents, some of which were valiant efforts but all of which ended with the Tigers in the loss column. Balancing pride in efforts with the consistent struggles isn't easy.

“It's life in the SEC,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

Troy fired the warning shot in Week 3, pushing the Tigers to a worrisome 27-17 win. Mississippi State delivered the knockout blow; a 48-yard deep ball to Anthony Evans III to set up a touchdown seconds later, putting the Bulldogs up a touchdown with 3:57 remaining.

Sep 26, 2026; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Anthony Evans III (3) reacts after a diving catch during the fourth quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Missouri got the ball back, drove 55 yards downfield and turned it over on downs after Austin Simmons misfired to Cayden Lee. The defense forced a three-and-out from the Bulldogs to give the offense another possession with 0:55 on the clock, but alas, the offense failed to score.

“They made plays in the fourth quarter to win the game,” Drinkwitz said. “We didn’t.”

The Tigers allowed explosives and struggled with penalties, just as they had against Kansas and Troy. The 43-yard touchdown to Sanfrisco Magee in the first quarter, the 48-yarder to Evans in the fourth and eight penalties called against the Tigers exemplified that.

Mizzou held the Bulldogs to a scoreless, five-play drive to open the game, but after failing to convert on fourth down on its first possession with the pigskin, let Taylor connect with Magee for the deep ball to jump out to a 7-0 lead. The play was nearly identical to Troy’s 56-yard touchdown at the end of the first half in Week 3, the only difference being Santana Banner in coverage against MSU opposed to Sione Laulea against Troy.

"You can hold them all game, but if you give up two big ones, it's the difference," Drinkwitz said. "And obviously those are great throws by the quarterback. He played really well tonight."

Taylor finished 27-of-38 passing for 360 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Despite the Bulldogs’ general offensive success, their offensive line couldn’t handle the pressure from breakout MU sophomore Daeden Hopkins. He finished with two sacks, pushing his season total to a team-high six. Hopkins’ 3.5 sacks were just 0.5 off of tying Mizzou’s single-game record of four, held by a three-way tie between Justin Smith, Antwaun Bynum and Bobby Bell.

“At the end of the day, there's always more work to be done,” Hopkins said of his performance, later citing his run defense as an area of improvement.

Missouri’s scoring drives were on short fields: a field goal that began at Mizzou’s 49-yard line, a touchdown that began at MSU’s 27 thanks to Trajen Greco’s interception and a touchdown that began at MSU’s 43 thanks to DaMarion Fowlkes’ 54-yard kick return. The that didn’t was courtesy of Austin Simmons captaining a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a touchdown to Cayden Lee.

Sep 26, 2026; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Cayden Lee (19) reacts after a touchdown during the third quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Simmons finished 23-of-39 passing on the night, throwing for 295 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked two times and threw another near-interception in the second quarter but ended the night with a clean sheet.

His connection with fellow Ole Miss transfer Lee, while apparent through the first three games of the season, was at its best against MSU. Lee hauled in 11 receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns — the first score earned via a nifty spin move and the second gifted from a beautifully placed ball by Simmons to the corner of the end zone. Lee picked up three third-down conversions.

"I'm not really focusd on that — we lost at the end of the day," Simmons said. ... "I'm just here to win at all costs. I don't care if I throw over 10 yards or if I throw for 500 yards. Doesn't matter."

Simmons also found Donovan Olugbode for the wideout's fifth touchdown of the season — Olugbode finished with four receptions for 54 yards. The run game, on the contrary, struggled, tallying 119 yards on 3.4 yards per carry.

Missouri will next host No. 21 Florida, who'll surely rise in the rankings after thumping No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 in the swamp. It won't be an easy game to regain stride in, but is any game in the SEC?

"Go out there, get back to work, just get better," Simmons said. "Go out there next week, just improve as a whole unit and as a whole entire team. Make sure our culture stays intact and just keep on going."

Missouri and Florida will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

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