WATCH: Everything head coach Jeff Lebby said after Bulldogs drop 41-17 decision to Toledo

Mississippi State struggled once again Saturday night as the Bulldogs fell behind early and dropped a 41-17 decision to Toledo at Davis Wade Stadium. Following the loss, head coach Jeff Lebby met with the media to discuss the disappointing setback:

Q: With the slow starts on offense, what are you seeing to attribute that to?
Lebby: Tonight it was the negative plays, being behind the chains. Having issues on first and second down, putting us in really bad situations on third down situations. For us, we have to start faster. That’s going to be a huge point of emphasis as we get into it this week. Again, we did not come out and play the way we needed to play, dug ourselves a huge hole. At the end of the day that dictated the rest of the game.

Q: You made some changes on the offensive line in the second half. What is that group lacking to give Blake Shapen more time to throw?
Lebby: We’re needing to find the right five guys. As we get into practice this week, we’re trying to keep Albert (Reese) at tackle. Luke Work played for us in the second half and did some really good things. He’s a guy that has continued to come on for us and a guy I think can create some consistency for us. But we’ve got to find the right five and then we’ve got to find the sixth and the seventh to give us a chance to play seven guys inside a game to go win.

Q: What are you seeing from the defense and not setting the edge?
Lebby: I’m going to have to watch the tape to the specific of that part of it, the edge of the defense. I do know we’ve got to find ways to get off the field. It’s the exact same thing on offense. We got to find ways to stay on the field and put ourselves in better situations. We have three 3-and-outs to start the game and they don’t go 3-and-out until the eighth drive. That dictates the rest of the game. Us being better situationally, being able to get off the field on third down will be a point of emphasis.

Q: When you are trying to create momentum for the team, how frustrating is a night like this?
Lebby: It’s incredibly frustrating. But it’s just like I told the guys, we’re going to get it fixed. That’s going to happen. Our guys staying together, believing in each other, believing in the plan and understanding what we have today is an opportunity to fix it tomorrow and then go have a great week before we go start SEC play next Saturday.

Q: With SEC play starting next week, what do you think is fixable?
Lebby: We’re going to fight like heck to fix every single bit of it. That’s my job, that’s what we’re supposed to do. I think our guys are going to be ready to get back in the building and go to work. Everybody’s incredibly disappointed. We’re incredibly disappointed we played the way tonight in front of our home crowd and our students showing up the way they did. But we got to get it fixed. Regardless, we’re going to kick off at 11 a.m. here next Saturday morning. Our guys will take pride in that and get ready.

Q: What are the top priorities to get fixed?
Lebby: To me it’s about starting fast. It’s about finding ways to stay on the field, offensively, not shooting ourselves in the foot, not having negative plays, be able to stay on the field and create some momentum for our football team. It’s not putting the defense back out there after three 3-and-outs. We haven’t eaten up any of the game clock and no game control in the first half. That, to me, it just not being able to stay on the field.

Q: Is there anything positive you can take from tonight’s game?
Lebby: I think, without a doubt, the biggest positive is our guys continue to fight. Our guys continued to play incredibly hard. When I look at a football team that was just in the situation we were in, the thing I always watch is what’s happening on p.a.t. and field goal. On the defensive side of the ball, are we rushing? Are we trying like heck to block a kick at the end of the game? Are we doing the things we need to do from an effort standpoint that has to show up just to give us a chance? Those things were happening. Our attitude, our energy, it was. On the defensive side of the ball, I thought guys trying to lead and trying to fight.

Q: Did you think you found a better option tonight at running back with Johnnie Daniels?
Lebby: I’ve been excited about Johnnie. He’s got to continue to build trust throughout the week. That is something for him that will be incredibly important. We couldn’t get (Davon Booth) going early, which was frustrating. Some of those things were dictated because we were in such bad situations on third downs. But Johnnie did some really good things tonight. I expect him to be incredibly involved for us to get the run game going.

Q: I didn’t see Leon Bell tonight. Do you have any update on his status?
Lebby: Leon is not to be with us the rest of the year.

Q: And Stonka Burnside?
Lebby: Stonka will be available next week.

Q: Tyler Woodard and Deonte Anderson played tonight after coming off injuries. Anybody else close to returning?
Lebby: Not at this moment. Hopeful for DeAgo (Brumfield), hopeful for Tre Wright. But again as we sit here today, we’re going to have to plan to not have those guys next week. As we get closer we will know a little bit more. But they were not available to play tonight.

Q: Your thoughts on the penalty issue tonight with 10 penalties?
Lebby: Frustrating to see the penalty at the end. Something we don’t want, I don’t want, can’t have. For us, the first two weeks the penalty part of it had not been an issue. Today it was. That can not creep into our game. We’ve got to be a disciplined football team and we will need to clean that part of it, as well.

Q: With the slow starts on both sides of the ball, how much does that test you as a coach?
Lebby: It’s an incredible test because we haven’t played the way we need to play. Didn’t coach them to get us to that point. For us, again, it’s about the detail and how we’re going to execute to be able to stay on the field. When we got our 1st first down tonight, we moved the ball and had great success. That’s the reality of it. That is the stress for our guys. Get the 1st first down. That’s it. What are we doing inside of normal downs to put us in good third-down situation to be able to stay on the field. Because when we get our 1st first down, we got a chance.

Q: In that last quarter, was there any thought of pulling Blake Shapen or any of the offensive starters?
Lebby: There wasn’t. The thought was we’re going to fight our butt off to the last second and I think that’s incredibly important. As we’re sitting here three games into the tenure, our guys understand, regardless of the score, you can’t play to the scoreboard. We have to find a way to go play and go execute for as long as it takes.

Q: Offensive-line wise, you gave up five sacks tonight. What breakdowns did you see there?
Lebby: We did. We got beat a couple of times on the man side of the protection where you want to be better. There’s times we want to get to the checkdown and not squeeze the ball. We did. We had some guys that had the opportunity to go make some plays down the field. But it’s like I said on the headset, it does not matter what we can throw and catch. It’s all about what we can protect. That is the bottom line in the throw game. For us, cleaning up some things from a protection standpoint, being better in our six-man protections and then finding ways to not take sacks on early downs, getting the ball out of our hands where we can get back to third and six or seven.