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

Following the first of two bye weeks, Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2 in SEC) returns to action this Saturday with a trip to No. 5 Georgia (4-1, 1-1).

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

Q: With a lot of upsets across the SEC this past weekend, do you think that motivated your guys any?
Lebby: I think for us, it’s still about what we do with our time. How we practice, how we meet, how we walk-through, to me that is what it’s all about. That is what will give us the best chance to go play the best ball that we’ve played and focusing on us and making sure we do everything we can to be the best version of us on Saturday. That is without a doubt the goal.

Q: Against Texas, how difficult was it for you to slow down the tempo?
Lebby: For me, it’s about what maybe creates an advantage and that’s going to be week-by-week as we move forward, understanding what we’re getting on both sides of the ball and special teams. To me and our staff, it’s about what puts us in the best situation to have a chance to go win the game. We will continue to look at that. I’ve said it forever. The ego part of it, you got to set it aside and know exactly who we want to be and what gives our football team the best chance at success.

Q: What is the main goal during the bye week?
Lebby: We talked about it last week but for us, we got very specific with some things we had to get cleaned up, both sides of the ball and special teams, and we’re talking about in between the white lines. I thought it was important for our guys to get away a little bit, reset, refocus, regroup and get ready for this back half of the season. As we got in the building this morning, our guys had great energy and they’ve had good energy with really good intent. We need to have a good week to be able to go play the way we need to go play.

Q: After the open week, how optimistic are you when it comes to getting some injured guys back?
Lebby: There will be a couple of guys that we are hopeful to get back. As we release the injury report on Wednesday night some of those things will come to light.

Q: How much did starting against Texas and that experience help Michael Van Buren going into this week?
Lebby: It is a huge opportunity for him last week to have this great amount of growth after getting his first start. The expectation for him was to go play clean, take care of the football, be accurate and have great command. There’s so many things to be able to build on but proud of who he was in the moment. You have an 18-year-old kid walk into that setting and another setting this Saturday at 3:15 that’s going to be an incredible challenge for a true freshman quarterback to go play the way we need him to play to give us a chance to win the game. But he’s a young man that is focused on just that. We will continue to promote that and everybody inside the walls and everybody inside that locker room has confidence in Mike to give us a chance to get done what we want to get done.

Q: How big was that open week for your team?
Lebby: We needed it. There’s no question about it from a health standpoint. Again, just being able to refocus and get our guys a little bit of a break that they needed and get us back in this building with great energy and being incredible thankful for opportunity and grateful for what we have ahead of us. We’ve got an incredible challenge on Saturday but our guys are excited about it.

Q: With the slowed-down tempo against Texas, are you look to evolve the offense throughout the season?
Lebby: It really is more of a week-to-week thing. We talked about it in the first couple weeks of the season. Establishing the run is going to be something that is going to be critical for us, as an identity, as a program. The best units I’ve ever had, had balance and had it really well. That is something that is important for us this Saturday and moving forward.

Q: What stands out to you the most about Georgia?
Lebby: Well, they’re really good in all three phases of the game and they’v a prog done an unbelievable job of building a program that they’ve sustained. Regardless of who is in the game for them, the expectation is for that guy to get it done no matter what the starter was trying to get done. There’s incredible depth there. We’re going to have to do a great job of taking care of the football and taking advantage of some opportunities. If we can move the football we have to score touchdowns and not kick field goals. We will have to also get off the field on third down.

Q: Compared to their other previous quarterbacks, what do you see different from Georgia’s Carson Beck?
Lebby: Carson is playing really well. He can do more with his feet than most people give him credit for, and is able to extend plays and make plays. You might not think that initially because he’s a big guy. He’s completing 67% of his passes and I think is third in the SEC in passing. He is what makes them go. They’ve got great playmakers on the perimeter and (Trevor) Etienne is playing really good when he has the ball in his hands. They’re balanced and they’re exactly who you think they are, a football team that is playing really well.

Q: With the rough start to the season, what’s been the message to recruits right now?
Lebby: It’s about laying a foundation. It’s about understanding that where we are today is completely different from where we plan on going. There’s a great vision of where we are going to end up. I’ve told guys non-stop that I’ve never been more convicted on who we are and where we are going than I am today. I think the guys we are recruiting understand that and they understand the vision and they understand there’s a real connection inside our building. When you’ve got great relationships, I think it’s hard for young people at the end of the day to say ‘no’ when there’s true trust of what’s going to happen when they step on campus. There’s going to be great opportunity and they understand they are going to be able to come here and not settle for anything.

Q: Your thoughts on Kirby Smart and what he’s been able to build at Georgia?
Lebby: It’s as good there as it’s ever been. When he’s gotten to Georgia and you look at what he’s done over his tenure, it really is second to none. The amount of success he’s had back-to-back-to-back, it really is the standard right now in college football. He’s had a ton of success. To me, he’s done it in a way that has been built to sustain, developing high school kids, signing great football players from the South and mixing in different pieces, positionally. He’s got a blueprint that has been proven to work.