Jeff Lebby shares Mississippi State needed bye week for health: 'No question about it'

Things have not gotten off to the kind of start that first-year Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby would have wanted, and the outlook is dim with back-to-back games against ranked opponents coming up.

The Bulldogs are just 1-4 now, having lost the last four in a row.

Luckily, the team had a bye week prior to a showdown with No. 5 Georgia, affording it some much-needed time to regroup. Lebby was blunt about just how necessary the bye week was.

“Yeah, we needed it. There’s no question about it, from a health standpoint,” Lebby said. “Again, just being able to refocus, recalibrate and get our guys a little bit of a break that they needed and get us back in this building with just great energy and being incredibly thankful for our opportunity and grateful for what we’ve got ahead of us.”

The task will be Herculean this weekend, going on the road to face Georgia at Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs in red and black are 34.5-point favorites.

Lebby knows it won’t be easy for Mississippi State.

“We do, we’ve got an incredible challenge on Saturday, but our guys are excited about it,” he said.

Mississippi State avoids receiver Colbie Young

There’s at least some minor good news from a matchup standpoint for Mississippi State. Georgia receiver Colbie Young has been suspended indefinitely following an arrest, so there’s one less weapon to worry about.

On Wednesday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart announced the talented wide receiver transfer has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest. The two finally got to meet and have a conversation but Smart will have Young away from the program until the legal matter is finished.

“I got to speak to him this morning,” Smart said during the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “He’s been suspended indefinitely until this legal matter has resolved. We can’t really comment any further on the specifics of it but had a good meeting with him this morning.”

Young was arrested on Tuesday morning on two charges, both of which are misdemeanors — battery and then assault on an unborn child. He was arrested by the Athens Clarke County Police at 4:18 a.m. ET and did not get to speak to his head coach until Wednesday morning.