Chris Jans admits game vs. Ole Miss was a must-win for Mississippi State

It’s been a tough start to SEC play for No. 15 Mississippi State, which has found out what just about everyone else has by this point: The league is absolutely loaded.

Games against No. 6 Kentucky and No. 1 Auburn resulted in losses, sending the two on a two-game skid heading into a key rivalry game with in-state foe Ole Miss.

Coach Chris Jans didn’t sugarcoat things at all when he discussed what that game meant.

“I told a couple people already, I didn’t tell the team that this was a must-win for this team but it certainly was for me internally,” Jans said. “Just for a lot of factors.”

The good news? His team responded.

Mississippi State managed to pull off an 84-81 win, getting back into the win column and generating some momentum ahead of another key mini-stretch. Jans broke down why it was so important.

“I don’t know if we had a bigger must-win than today going into the game, in my opinion,” he said. “Just first year, second year, now third year. If you’re trying to make steps to where we’re trying to put this program at, lost two in a row, got to go on the road for two more. Obviously it’s a rivalry game. Just everything added up to this was going to be a big, big turning point for us, in my opinion, in one way or another.”

The win gives Mississippi State some real momentum going into a road contest against No. 6 Tennessee. Another road game against South Carolina is up next after that.

For Jans, replicating the sense of urgency will be important. But it has to happen the right way. Players can’t afford to get tight.

“Our guys didn’t play like that. I thought our guys obviously came out the gates really loose and confident and comfortable, and certainly the crowd had a lot to do with that,” Jans said. “They were unbelievable, especially the first 15 minutes of the game. I was happy that our guys had that kind of mentality coming out of the gates.”

Mississippi State will be back in action on Tuesday against Tennessee in a game that kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.