Mississippi State Coach Uses Recency Bias to Describe Arkansas

Jeff Lebby gives statement that makes Hogs fans raise eyebrows

Mississippi State Bulldogs coach Jeff Lebby reacts against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first half at Mountain America Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas fans, get ready to have a light-hearted chuckle at this statement from Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby.

"Pitt's [coach Sam Pittman] done an unbelievable job of getting those guys to find a way to win close games as he's been there," Lebby said. "That's what they're doing right now."

Give Lebby a pass on this one. It's his first year in the SEC and as a head coach.

It does him no good to follow Pittman's one-score struggles over the past five years as coach. Yes, Arkansas is on a one-game winning streak of one-score games, after beating No. 7 Tennessee 19-14 thanks to a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive, so Lebby is technically correct,

Arkansas is doing that right now. Pittman is, however, 7-16 in such games across his tenure at Arkansas.

For any fan who has followed Arkansas since Pittman took over, finding ways to close out games decided by eight points or less has been an Achilles heel of his staff, perhaps best illustrated by Arkansas' 39-31 loss to Oklahoma State in double overtime this season.

Lebby is now facing some of the same issues in his first season as head coach. Although he is only 0-1 in one-score games through his first seven games as a head coach, he does face a similar issue of getting his team over the hump.

Mississippi State lost to both Texas A&M and Georgia by 10 points.

Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby stands on the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. The Aggies won 34-24. / Matt Bush-Imagn Images

"Our guys inside the building feel every single day it is an incredibly fine line," Lebby said. "We have a chance to have a happy locker room if there's two things that are different inside the game [against Texas A&M] it is that close."

Much like Tennessee found out the hard way when Arkansas finally turned the corner on losing close games, Pittman doesn't want to wander down that path again. He also doesn't want to be the note in the history books regarding who handed Lebby his first SEC win of his coaching career while snapping a six-game losing streak.

"They've got a great football team," Pittman said. "Sometimes everybody looks at somebody's record and they go, 'Man, well, who'd they play?' You know? This is his first year in there. He's playing everybody 10 points or under."

Arkansas and Mississippi State kickoff 11:45 a.m. Saturday from Starkville, Miss. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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• Arkansas, Mississippi State game notes

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