Top 5 Most Disappointing SEC Football Teams: Mississippi State Makes the List

Expectations were tempered in Jeff Lebby's first season, but the Bulldogs are still missing their target in 2024.

Rich Cirminiello | Oct 10, 2024

Sep 7, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby reacts against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first half at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Mississippi State Bulldogs

Through the first six weeks of the 2024 season, Mississippi State is the worst team in the SEC. It was supposed to be a trying debut for Jeff Lebby as the head coach, but it wasn't supposed to be this bad.

The situation in Starkville was compounded by a season-ending injury to QB Blake Shapen that thrust true freshman Michael Van Buren Jr. off the sidelines and into the spotlight. The Bulldogs will be favored in just one remaining game, so 2-10 is likely to be as good as it gets this season.

5. Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-4)

There was hope after beating Eastern Kentucky in the opener. And then reality set in.

Mississippi State's four-game losing streak includes losses to Arizona State, Toledo, and Florida. The Rockets and Gators losses were in Davis Wade, which is when this season began to fall apart. Even in rebuilding mode, you can't get embarrassed in your own building by a team from the MAC.

Mississippi State paid Toledo $1.2 million to play in Starkville tonight.

Toledo just won 41-17. pic.twitter.com/4xQI7jfu88
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 15, 2024

4. Florida Gators (3-2)

The Gators have stopped the bleeding with back-to-back wins over Mississippi State and UCF. Still, the bar needs to be much higher in Gainesville.

Florida was shellacked at home by Miami and Texas A&M in September, gashing holes in the Swamp mystique. Things are about to get worse with the nation's toughest back-end schedule looming.

3. Georgia Bulldogs (4-1)

Sure, the bar is set in a different galaxy for Georgia, but such is life as a college football blueblood. It looked like business as usual after the Dawgs pulled away from Clemson in the opener.

Since then, though, they narrowly escaped Kentucky and got exposed by Alabama. Plus, the offense is scoring at its lowest clip since 2019.

2. Oklahoma Sooners (4-1)

Quick, name the game this fall that Oklahoma played like a ranked team. Exactly, it doesn't exist. The Sooners beat Houston, the Big 12's worst team, by four and the Tulane game was a one-score affair in the fourth.

In SEC play, OU came up small at home against Tennessee and needed to rally to beat 2-4 Auburn. The projected future at quarterback, Jackson Arnold, has already been benched.

1. Auburn Tigers (2-4)

Hugh Freeze is a program-builder, so the only way was up in Year 2, right? Hasn't happened.

After going 6-7 last season, Auburn is 0-3 in SEC play and staring at another losing season. The Tigers also lost to Cal at Jordan-Hare and haven't fixed the quarterback situation, which is typically one of Freeze's strengths.

Defense went crazy 🔥

5️⃣ takeaways in yesterdays 21-14 victory at Auburn 💪#GoBears | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/dUCcM4IkJf
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) September 8, 2024