Everything head coach Jeff Lebby said after Saturday's 45-28 loss to Florida

Mississippi State (1-3) opened SEC play Saturday and the Bulldogs’ woes continued with a 45-28 loss to Florida (2-2) at Davis Wade Stadium. Afterwards, head coach Jeff Lebby met with the media to discuss the setback among other topics of his program:

Q: Blake Shapen looked to get his shoulder hurt. What is his status?
Lebby: We will know a lot more tonight and obviously, into tomorrow. But we thought that was the right thing (to do), for sure. Appreciate Blake’s toughness. He kept wanting to go and it speaks volumes of who he is and the kind of competitor he is. I thought it was the right thing, for sure.

Q: Florida was 5 of 5 in the red zone. What can Mississippi State do to be better defensively?
Lebby: I thought we had some opportunities to have them in some long-distance situations and we weren’t able to capitalize. That’s what we have to do. We have to do better on first and second down to give us a chance to put them in third and long and make them throw the ball situationally. But that’s something we’ve got to find a way to get better at and make people kick field goals down there.

Q: Your thoughts on the running game today?
Lebby: I thought backs really played well. We had some huge missed opportunities in the first half in the run game early on some drives where we had some things that had a chance to be really good. Once we started and going and playing the game and not pressing, those guys did a really good job of letting it come to them. The big boys, I thought strained. I think what we’ve done from a lineup standpoint is going to continue to help us and that will be important moving forward.

Q: You talked about the red-zone defense earlier. What was Florida doing to frustrate the defense?
Lebby: When you look at it, they did an incredible job of throwing and catching it, being able to make plays in the throw game. I think at one point they were like 20 of 25 and that was one of the biggest issues. Those guys being both in a great rhythm and not ever having to make a play off schedule. That was part of it. Love the fact we come out, got a three and out and got a big stop. Defensively, that part was huge. Offensively, we can’t start the way we started. The penalties and some of the negative plays in the first couple of series were absolutely killers.

Q: Was it a shoulder injury on Blake Shapen? Any update on Isaac Smith?
Lebby: Still evaluating. Isaac was really good in the locker room and said he feels good. So he was dinged but when we looked at him, felt good about where he was in the locker room after the game.

Q: You’ve opened 1-3 with a difficult slate coming up. What’s the message to the team to make sure this doesn’t really get out of control?
Lebby: It’s just like what I told the guys, we got a choice to make. The choice is up to each and every one of us. When we wake up in the morning, the sun is going to come up. We’re going to have breath in our body and we’re going to be thankful for opportunity and understand are we going to do everything we can to fix it. Everybody in that room and that is the message. There’s a decision to be made. There will be great belief and great energy and great confidence in how the guys are getting coached every single day. We’re four games into this thing and that is a guarantee.

I think our guys will respond. You look at them this week and the way we fought and the way practiced. Some of the things we did throughout the week was incredibly encouraging. Being on the wrong side of things is not where we want to be. But that’s what we’re living right now.

Q: Keyvone Lee had a good first half but didn’t play in the second half. Was he hurt?
Lebby: He was dinged as well. So we didn’t have him in the second half.

Q: Can you take us through the sequence on the goal line where you didn’t score and turned it over?
Lebby: When you look at the third-down call there, we’re motioning and in heavy-personnel group. Felt good about that run. Frustrating for me. Blake was dinged at that point and he felt good in the huddle. Had the ability to go keep the football, type of read scheme for us. I truly believed in him in that moment. When things going on then physically, doesn’t end up keeping the ball. I wish I would have put him in a better situation and given us the ability there to go play action and take it out of hands because of the way he was feeling.

On the fourth-down call, don’t execute running speed option and the pitch that we wanted. Weren’t able to execute on the fourth-down play. That’s another thing that I told the guys. Everything that went on, all that had happened at that point, you got a chance to go cut the game to seven points. Go execute. Play clean down there inside the three, go get touchdowns. It’s a huge difference in the game right there. Then they’re able to go put together a drive and go up another.

Q: You use several time outs on Florida’s last drive of the first half and declined a 10-second runoff for a Florida injury timeout. Is that a notion that you just want the ball back one more time?
Lebby: We wanted to make sure we had the opportunity to get points. That was needed in that moment. At that point being down a couple of scores, we didn’t need to shorten the game. We needed the game to go longer and that was the reason for that.

Q: Even in a loss, was it a positive to see your guys still trying to score in the end?
Lebby: I do think we answered the bell from a run-game standpoint. We were able to run the ball effectively for the first time in three weeks, was huge for us. We’re gonna have to have that moving forward. We want balance. We want to be able to go run the football. That’s going to be a huge part of our success as we’re building it. But at the same time, if you end up on the wrong side of things, it’s hard inside the moment to feel good about anything.

Q: How important was it for Michael Van Buren to get some reps in an SEC game?
Lebby: Getting to live that experience was huge for him. Having the ability to go get coached on it and he will be able to see those things and get some things cleaned up. But that’s huge for him to get that experience. Proud of him being able to lead us down on that first drive and go get a touchdown was great for Mike.

Q: What’s the frustration level in the locker room?
Lebby: There’s a ton of disappointment. We got guys that want to win. That’s part of putting it on the line and playing inside this arena. Things don’t go the way you want them to go. It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing. We got a choice to make. How are we going to operate? How are we going to respond? What are the things we’re going to do to make sure we’re fighting like heck every day to get it fixed? Putting our best foot forward and giving ourselves a chance to go into Austin (Texas) next Saturday. That game is happening. We’re playing next Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas. So we got a choice to make on how we’re going to respond.

Q: What were your thoughts on the pass interference call on your team in the third quarter? And how do your team to clean up some of those penalties?
Lebby: I won’t speak on anything specifically. I will say this. The penalties inside the game were incredibly huge from a momentum standpoint. Both holds in the first half, the defensive (pass interference) in the third quarter were huge plays, huge momentum plays for us. Frustrating in the moment, frustrating right now. But things we’re going to have to clean up.

Q: After a rough 1-3 start, has that surprised you?
Lebby: Surprised sitting here that our record is what it is. That was never the expectation, that was never the thought and that was never the plan. It’s surprising to me and at the same time, understanding and I can’t say this enough, it’s up to every single one of us, starting with me, to fix it and have the ability to create energy for our guys. To create confidence for our guys and give them hope and vision as we go on the road next week before an open date. That’s what it’s all about. It’s always about what’s next. We got to find a way to learn from our mistakes. We got to clean them up, I got to coach better. We got a decision to make. I believe in our guys to come into work Monday and have a great mindset and be ready to fix it.