Wade Pettus · Mississippi State Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Ring it if you mean it. (ding.) Howdy, Bulldog people. I'm Wade Pettus, poultry-science graduate, and I chart Air Raid concepts on the back of feed-store receipts. I have a drawer full of them. I travel with this team and I live with this team, and I will tell you plainly that my cowbell has better football sense than most of the analysts on television. It has never once been wrong about a third down. Every week I'll bring you the players, the matchup, the history and a little gentle Starkville deadpan. When we win, I ring the cowbell exactly once for every point we scored, no matter how long it takes. When we lose, the cowbell goes in a sock, out of respect. I believe football is best explained slowly, the way you'd explain a good hen house. I'm glad you're here.
The School in 60 Seconds
Mississippi State plays in the SEC and won the league championship in 1941, plus a division title in 1998. The Bulldogs have made 27 bowl appearances and produced 38 All-Americans, 171 All-SEC selections and 124 NFL players, 11 of them first-round draft choices. Our home, Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, is the second-oldest stadium in FBS; CFBD dates it to 1914 and lists capacity at 61,337. The last few years have been lean, 2-10 in 2024 and 5-8 in 2025, and that makes this 4-2 start feel like the first warm morning in March. I wrote that on a receipt, too. The Bulldogs have never played Oklahoma before this week, so every snap Saturday is a first for the record books.
The Coach and the Scheme
Jeff Lebby was hired Nov. 26, 2023. He came from Oklahoma, where he was offensive coordinator for Brent Venables's first two seasons, 2022 and 2023. His first two years in Starkville went 7-18. This offseason he brought back Zach Arnett as defensive coordinator, Arnett's second stint in that job here. The 2026 numbers show an offense that can move: 454.3 yards a game (22nd), 277.8 passing (22nd) and 176.5 rushing (50th), for 32.5 points a game. The run game averages 4.6 yards a carry, 1,059 yards on 229 tries. The defense is better against the run (114.7 a game, 36th) than the pass (264.8, 127th). Penalties need cleaning up: 70.7 yards a game ranks 118th.
Players to Know
QB Kamario Taylor: 102 of 154, 1,450 yards, 17 TD, 4 INT. A foot injury slowed him against Missouri and Alabama, and he did not play at LSU. No official status for Saturday as of Oct. 18.
RB Da'Marion "Fluff" Bothwell: 403 yards on 74 carries, 3 TD. He was also unavailable at LSU.
WR Anthony Evans III: 47 catches, 614 yards, 5 TD.
LB Tyler Lockhart: a team-high 38 tackles. DL Will Whitson: 2 sacks. LB Jalen Smith: an interception.
QB Puckett: made his first career start at LSU, 16 of 26 for 121 yards. AP lists him as Parker Puckett and SI as Billy Puckett, so I'm showing you both until the school confirms.
The Conference Picture
Mississippi State is 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. Wins: UL Monroe 62-13, at Minnesota 38-13, at South Carolina 41-34 and Missouri 31-24. Losses: Alabama 56-23 and at LSU 31-0. That's two SEC wins through four league games, already the most of Lebby's tenure in conference play. We are unranked. Next up after this is a trip to Texas on Oct. 31.
This Week: Oklahoma (3-3) at Mississippi State (4-2)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 3:30 p.m. ET · Davis Wade Stadium · SEC Network. First meeting ever.
Last week: we lost 31-0 at LSU, with turnovers and failed fourth-down tries hurting the offense. Oklahoma lost 21-13 at home to Kentucky; Mateer threw three interceptions.
Our offense vs. their defense: this is the hard part. Oklahoma allows 260.7 yards a game (5th), 151.3 passing yards (6th) and just 25.6% on third down (2nd). Its red zone defense is 6th.
Their offense vs. our defense: Oklahoma's offense ranks 126th in yards and 136th in rushing, and the Sooners are minus-8 in turnover margin. Our run defense, 36th, gets a chance to make them one-dimensional.
The storyline: Coach Lebby against the program where he called plays two seasons ago. My cowbell has thoughts. It's keeping them to itself.
Availability: Taylor (foot) and Bothwell both missed LSU; neither has an official status for Saturday. For Oklahoma, Venables said left tackle Michael Fasusi was close to returning. No SEC availability report as of Oct. 18.
What decides it: (1) Whether Taylor plays, and how well he moves. (2) Turnovers: Oklahoma has 14 giveaways this season. (3) Whether our pass offense, 22nd in FBS, can find room against the nation's 6th-best pass defense.
And to Savannah Redbird-Lowe, Oklahoma's very gracious insider: welcome to Starkville. I'll ring once for you. Politely.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
In Starkville for the game? Thai Siam on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive East makes a good, quiet supper after all that ringing.
My call: Oklahoma Sooners 25, Mississippi State Bulldogs 24.