Mississippi State's Strengths, Weaknesses, & 1 Thing That Could Upset Texas

What the Mississippi State Bulldogs do well and where they need to grow.

Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Fluff Bothwell celebrates with teammates after a touchdown during the first quarter against the Alcorn State Braves | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

The Mississippi State Bulldogs had a sneakily good 5-8 season last year and are primed to make the leap out of the SEC's doldrums in 2026. The Texas Longhorns are one of many obstacles on their road to doing so.

Texas nearly lost to the Bulldogs last season, so Steve Sarkisian and his staff will need to make sure they are over-prepared for them this year.

With that in mind, here are Mississippi State's strengths, weaknesses and one thing that could upset the Longhorns.

Establishing the Run

Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Kamario Taylor runs for yardage against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the first quarter | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bulldogs' head coach Jeff Lebby loves to run the ball.

The Bulldogs ran the ball 55.28% of the time in 2026, which was the 37th-highest mark in FBS. While they were not terribly effective doing so, gaining just 3.4 yards per carry, that will change now that electric running-threat Kamario Taylor is taking over at quarterback.

Lebby is able to parlay that rushing into an effective play-action passing attack, particularly with Taylor, whose throwing numbers improved all-around when he could draw defenders upfield with a run-fake.

Stats (according to PFF)	Non-Play Action	Play Action
Dropbacks	68	40
Yards per Attempt	4.9	14.5
Completion Percentage	53.8	57.7
Big Time Throw Percentage	1.9%	10.3%
Passing Touchdowns	1	4

Unfortunately, Taylor and Lebby will have to overcome the rest of the offensive cast to achieve their goals.

The Bulldogs Lack Firepower

Running back Fluff Bothwell and center Canon Boone are both coming off of strong 2025 campaigns but are the lone stars on the offense outside of Taylor.

Maybe Lebby can help returning wide receivers Ayden Williams, Anthony Evans and Sanfrisco Magee take a step up, or Taylor's legs can open up plays down the field for them, but at the moment Mississippi State's pass-catchers are liabilities.

True-freshman tight end Zayion Cotton has an outside shot at being an impact player in year one, but that is unlikely. The current starter at that spot, Sam West, is no game-changer either.

Even still, the Longhorns will need to be aware of this trick up Mississippi State's sleeve.

Zach Arnett is an X-Factor

The Bulldogs are bringing back Zach Arnett as defensive coordinator, a role he served from 2020-2022.

He captained top-five SEC defenses in each of those years before a poor one-season stint as head coach saw him leave Starkville.

Now, he is back to a role he excelled in, and while the players are not top-flight talents, Arnett has always made the most with what he has had.

If the Longhorns are not well prepared for Arnett's defense and he adjustments he can make, it could give the Bulldogs the crack in the door to pull off the upset.

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