Mississippi State
Florida
State Falls Just Short At Florida
October 18, 2025 | Football
Bulldogs drop a 23-21 decision to the Gators.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mississippi State fell 23-21 at Florida on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.
The Bulldogs had a chance to escape with the win in the final moments as MSU drove deep into Florida territory. However, the Gators intercepted a pass with under 30 seconds to play to break State's hearts.
The Bulldogs started off Saturday's game hot. Quarterback Blake Shapen threw a 48-yard strike to receiver Anthony Evans III on MSU's opening possession to set the Dawgs up in the red zone. A two-yard touchdown run from quarterback Kamario Taylor gave State an early 7-0 lead.
Florida drove down the field on its ensuing possession, but State was able to stand strong on defense and force a field goal in order to keep a 7-3 lead with 8:55 left in the first.
That score held until early in the second quarter. Florida punched in a score on a 19-yard run to take a 10-7 advantage at the 14:15 mark.
Florida looked to add to its lead later in the period before MSU safety Brylan Lanier came up big with an interception on a deep ball to get the ball back to State. The Bulldogs didn't turn the pick into points though.
Later in the second quarter, the Gators turned in another field goal to stretch their lead to 13-7 with 3:08 remaining in the half.
Lanier made sure the score stayed there when he jumped another pass with 17 seconds left in the half to pick up his second interception of the game. That sent both teams to the locker room at the intermission with Florida still up 13-7.
After a scoreless third quarter on both sides, Florida extended its lead to 20-7 with 13:42 remaining. State responded with a two-yard score from running back Davon Booth before the Gators added to the lead once again with a field goal at the 6:49 mark of the fourth. That made it 23-14 in favor of Florida.
State responded again when Booth punched in his second touchdown of the game at the 2:32 mark, making the score 23-21. Needing a defensive stop, State got a sack to force a punt and reclaim the ball back at their own 28-yard line with 1:39 left in regulation and one timeout.
That's when State put together what looked like it might be a game-winning drive before the Dawgs' costly turnover ended their chances.
Booth stepped up in the absence of star running back Fluff Bothwell, carrying the football for 105 yards on the ground with two touchdowns. Shapen finished with 324 total yards through the air. Receivers Brenen Thompson and Evans combined for 262 receiving yards.
Defensively, Lanier led the team with eight total tackles to go along with his two picks.
Â
Next up for MSU…
Mississippi State has its homecoming game when the Bulldogs host Texas on Saturday, Oct. 25, at Davis Wade Stadium. Kickoff will either be at 2:30 or 3:15 p.m. CT, and the game will be aired on either SEC Network or ESPN.
