Everything head coach Jeff Lebby said in Monday's press conference

After a last-second victory at Arkansas, Mississippi State (5-4) now finds itself just one win shy of bowl eligibility. But getting that coveted sixth win won’t be an easy task. First up is No. 5 Georgia visiting Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff.

On Monday, head coach Jeff Lebby held his weekly press conference and discussed Georgia among other topics:

Q: What’s been the secret to keeping this team and culture together?
Lebby: I think it is just the consistency in how we go about doing what we do every single day. Not letting a result dictate how we interact, how we coach, what the expectation is and understanding we have the ability to control how we prepare and how we play. For us, the consistency inside our walls. I stress and strain that with our entire staff and everybody that is inside this building every day. Young people need to know what they’re getting before they walk into the double doors. I think that’s one of the most important things about leadership. We’re fighting like heck to do that every day as we got ready to have another great Monday for us after finding a way to go win.

Q: With Georgia coming here Saturday, how important is it to have a home-field advantage?
Lebby: We need it in a huge way. We need 60,000 shaking cowbells and having as rowdy an atmosphere as there is in the country. Ironically enough, headed to the house last night, I made a quick phone call and I realized we got more tickets out than maybe we would all like. So we are doing something. I went ahead and got 500 tickets. We’ve got a couple of players on this football team that are doing the exact same thing for youth organizations that are inside our community to be able to get youth groups out. For us, it’s making sure we’re protecting Davis Wade. We’re trying to fill it with maroon and white, and we need it. We need 60,000 strong. We got a top five team coming into our place, and it needs to be as electric an atmosphere as there is in college football. We have the ability to do that. We know that but we need that.

Q: How big was it for this team to finally win a close game?
Lebby: It was huge. I think just us having the ability to point to how we played in the fourth quarter, defensively, getting two three and outs, having a fourth-down stop and, offensively, being able to finish drives. We had the one field goal that was frustrating in the moment because we’re down there first and 10 at the 20-yard line after a big play. Then have the negative play, we end up in a really bad situation, which was really frustrating in the moment. But our guys seeing how it looks when we go close it out and leave no doubt. There are so many other situations inside the game that maybe you’re not in that situation at the end of the game. That is something we are constantly stressing that, as well. To be able to point at the tape and say these plays are what allows us to have a happy locker room is huge.

Q: Playing for the first time a few weeks, how did you think Fluff Bothwell looked against Arkansas?
Lebby: Fluff did some good things. Really frustrated in how we ran the football against a defense that had given up a lot in the run game. That was without a doubt to me the most disappointing thing coming out of the game. There’s great frustration in that. The negative runs, the zero to negative runs, it was troubling. We made some huge plays, we had a ton of explosive plays. We ended up with 22, maybe 10-plus (yardage) plays, which is a huge deal, but we’re so big little creates great inconsistency. Georgia has been really good against the run. We’ve got to run the football so that we can have balance and take some pressure off the QB and receivers.

Q: With building depth in the future with the offensive line, how are juco transfers Jakheem Shumpert, Saquon Miles and Matthew Lefeau developing?
Lebby: Shump has really done a good job. Big Matt, he’s playing center-guard on the scout team, developing nicely. (Lefeau) got here so late in the summer, love where he is at and where he’s going. Then with Saquon, he is a really talented guy that we’re expecting big things from. Those guys needed the year to develop in the weight room and having the ability to get inside of the scheme in the system to give themselves a chance. Shump practices with us every day at tackle, playing a little bit of guard. Got a great future with him.

Q: How does it affect the program’s mindset of being one win away from bowl eligibility?
Lebby: We’ve talked about it a ton and being bowl eligible as soon as possible. Now it takes one more. Our guys understand that and it’s right out there in front of us on Saturday. Having the ability to have an incredible day and an incredible atmosphere with a great matchup, a great football program that has done nothing but win. For our guys, it’s going to be an incredible opportunity to find a way to go get our sixth win and get past the bowl-eligibility piece of it, and continue to take the next step for the program as we are in Year 2.

Q: What would that sixth win mean for this team?
Lebby: It’s huge for a lot of different reasons. As we stand here today and I don’t talk about it with our football team. But thinking about where we were a year ago today and what the product looked like in comparison to what the product looks like today is opposite ends of the spectrum. We haven’t gotten the results we wanted non-stop. But our football team and our belief and the way we’re playing the game is a Mississippi State football team. I’m proud of that. We’ve got a lot left out in front of us. Our guys can see that and feel that. We got to find a way to go be plus one Saturday.

Q: KaMario Taylor was SEC Co-Freshman of the Week. How big was his performance on Saturday?
Lebby: Who was the other freshman? That makes sense. I just wondered because I hadn’t seen it yet. I’m incredibly proud of what Kamario did. He plays three drives, two of them end in a touchdown, we end up not converting on a fourth down. We had so many plays inside that series where we have the chance to continue that drive and we don’t. But love the way he played. If he doesn’t play the way he played, it’s going to be really hard for us to find a way to be plus one at the end of the day. So much for him to clean up. That’s what I love about him, how hard he is on himself as he watches the tape, and knows he made some incredible plays. But there was a lot left out there in just the three series he played. That’s what you love about him. So happy for him, happy for Blake (Shapen), both of those guys, their relationship, the trust in each other, their support for each other. That’s what team is all about. Dang proud of 1 (Taylor) and what he did.

Q: What were your thoughts on how Anthony Evans played?
Lebby: He’s just played really tough with the ball in his hands, proud of him for that. He had a couple of other opportunities in some other situations to make some huge plays that he hates that he left out there. But Ant has gotten better and better. He is more and more comfortable inside the scheme. When he has had the ball in his hands good things have happened. I’m proud of how he has continued to develop and taken advantage of making plays. Love the way he finished on that fourth down to go get us in the end zone and score. We talk about that non-stop, not having to snap the ball again. His mentality when he’s got the ball in his hands is just that.

Q: Last year you had some success on offense against Georgia. Do you see some of the same tendencies this year?
Lebby: It’s gonna be about having balance. These guys have been great against the run. We cannot be one dimensional or it’s going to be really hard for us up front. Running the football and finding ways to create some balance is going to be critical for us. We have shown the ability to sit in there and throw and catch. We’ve done a decent job of it. So finding a way to run the football to create some balance. That way we can get some matchups that we want.

Q: Georgia has been a great second-half team for awhile now. What’s your comfort level now with your team in those situations?
Lebby: I do know that we are going to respond. I know we are going to fight. I know we are going to play incredibly hard. It was great to have the ability to feel good and go make the plays at the end of the game to win the game. When you think about what Georgia has done over the long history of time since he’s (Kirby Smart) been there, they don’t blink because it’s program. That’s what the program is. He has had incredibly sustained success and there is great belief inside those walls that regardless of what’s gone on, they are going to find a way. That’s built over time and you see that on tape. He talks about not flinching and not being uncomfortable in those situations. I like playing from ahead. That’s the reality of it. I want our guys to be able to go play fast, go attack, make the plays in the first quarter just like making the plays in the fourth quarter. That to me is going to be important.

Q: With so many SEC coaches getting fired this year, how can Mississippi State benefit the most from having some stability?
Lebby: There is so much uncertainty at a lot of other places right now and there hasn’t been stability here as we’ve talked about a lot in this first year and a half. With the ability to have stability, you see us taking the right steps. We have to continue to find ways to win. That’s the most important thing. But there’s going to be a lot of high school kids that are committed other places that there is great uncertainty if they end up staying committed to where they are going because the way signing day hits, how the end of the season hits, and the way the cycle is going to work with championship games and playoffs. We got to take great advantage of that. We have to upgrade the roster. We got to be incredibly aggressive to go get the guys that we need. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to go get some big-time marquee players. We all understand what that takes and what that means, but we have to strike when we can.

Q: We saw Blake Shapen give his game ball to KaMario after the game. Have you discussed that situation with him?
Lebby: I have. Unbelievably proud of the group, and both of those guys and the entire group. I said it after the game and talked about it in the locker room. The toughness that this guy plays with, he will die for the people inside these walls. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a guy play as tough as he plays. The way he’s gotten hit this year, to continue to get up, and battle and fight and put us in position to go win games is special. I love coaching him. I think it’s great for the room. I think it’s great for 1 (Taylor) and I think it’s great for our football team. I’ve said it to the entire team, toughness wins and that’s in life. We can all learn something from that. Proud of who that guy has continued to be.

Q: What was it during portal recruiting that you thought Anthony Evans and Brenen Thompson could be great?
Lebby: They’re both fast. I like guys that are fast. That will be a trend for us for a long time. We got to have great foot speed. It makes it really hard on the other side of the ball. You can’t win with a ton of little guys, but if you have little guys that are electric and got incredible top end, and play tough, you’ll be just fine. Both of those guys can really run. They’re about the right things. They’ve played really tough when they’ve had the football. You can win with that.

Q: You talk a lot about play the next play. Where did that phrase come from?
Lebby: Yeah I’ve always talked about it. You don’t necessarily have 75 plays inside a game or 70 plays inside a game. You got one play 70 times. If you can truly focus on that and play each play independent of itself, you have the ability to control exactly what you can control. The most important play is the next play, it’s the only one you’ve got. You’ve got to be able to reset, regardless of what has happened. Good, bad or indifferent, you got to go reset and play. Really good football players do that, great teams do that. We have got to build on that. These games are close as you get in the fourth quarter with situational football. So that is going to be huge in this game.

Q: Did you personally buy 500 tickets for this game?
Lebby: I want to make sure our fan base and our people understand how committed everybody in this building is. It’s for military appreciation to get tickets in the hands of people who might not be able to go otherwise, and make sure we got maroon and white in there. We need 60,000 strong Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Our football team needs it. Our fan base will show up in an incredible way but we need to.

Q: Any updates on injured guys like Jahron Manning and Albert Reese?
Lebby: I don’t. Those guys didn’t do much today. We’ll let the Wednesday report speak to that.