New Week, Big Game, Same Process
September 22, 2025 | Football, Joel Coleman
Undefeated Bulldogs are taking a familiar approach as they prepare to face No. 15 Tennessee.
(NOTE: Watch head coach Jeff Lebby's full weekly press conference by clicking the image above.)
STARKVILLE – Davis Wade Stadium sat quietly on Monday. The home of the Mississippi State Bulldogs almost seemed to be resting up.
The venue will surely be shaking on Saturday. That's when the first 4-0 MSU football team in more than a decade is all set to see where it measures up against Southeastern Conference competition when the Bulldogs and No. 15 Tennessee kick off at 3:15 p.m. CT.
Before then, the buzz will continue to grow. Media members and insiders will discuss and predict what awaits. Message board threads will passionately point out the what-ifs and the what-might-bes.
All the chatter is understandable. The Volunteers have College Football Playoff aspirations. The Bulldogs have the chance to start taking their season description from much-improved to incredible.
Yet while the hype rages all around the game, meanwhile, at State's Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex, it's just business as usual.
"There's literally not one single thing [we've changed this week]," MSU head coach Jeff Lebby said at his weekly press conference. "How we've done what we've done the previous four weeks is going to be the exact same as we move forward and get ready for Saturday."
Down in SEC territory, it's said frequently: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Mississippi State's formula allowed it to roll through its non-conference schedule. The Dawgs already boast a win over a then-top-15 opponent and have earned convincing victories in the other three contests. From a sheer results standpoint, it's been a perfect start.
The recipe to get there hasn't been an original one, but it has absolutely been an effective one. It's game by game. It's week by week. It's really day by day. And the plan remains, no matter how big this week might seem on the outside.
"If you start to look at the big picture…you'll get lost in it," Lebby said. "For us, it's about having the best Monday we've ever had, then the best Tuesday we've ever had, to give ourselves a chance to go 1-0 on Saturday. It's that simple. That's the process for us, and that's what it's going to be as we get into league play.
"We've got to take this thing one game at a time."
Let's put it another way for this week. How do you scale a mountain? One step at a time.
It never hurts to have some help though. That's why Lebby is glad this upcoming much-anticipated affair happens in Stark Vegas, where they'll be 60,000ish of the Dawgs' closest friends doing all they can to pull MSU to the summit of Rocky Top.
"Home-field advantage is very real," Lebby said. "With [Tennessee] coming to town, it's their first true road game. They had a neutral site game to open the year, but this is their first real road game.
"It needs to be an atmosphere and energy that is really hard for the opponent to come play in. That's going to be a huge piece Saturday. Our people will have great energy. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Our guys will be excited to keep them involved in the game by how we play."
Sounds like Davis Wade better enjoy the stillness of the week. A loud, rowdy weekend will be here before we know it.