Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo (4) stiff arms his way past Mississippi State Bulldogs cornerback Brice Pollock (14) at Mountain America Stadium on Sept. 7, 2024, in Tempe. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ranking the best running backs Mississippi State will face in 2025

Originally posted on Mississippi State Bulldogs on SI
By Taylor Hodges | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 12:00 PM ET

A year ago, running backs facing Mississippi State’s defense had to be excited about the performance they could have.

The Bulldogs weren’t very good at stopping the run. They weren’t the worst in the nation, but giving up 217 yards per game put them 129th out of 133 FBS teams.

Mississippi State’s struggles were most evident in its second game of the season against Arizona State. The Sun Devils ran for 346 yards with 6.1 yards per carry. Cam Skattebo had 262 of those yards and averaged 7.9 yards per carry.

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That performance was just a sign of what was to come the rest of the season for the Bulldogs. If they want to win more than two games this season, the run defense will need to have made the biggest improvements.

Luckily, Skattebo is in the NFL but there are other running backs who tormented the Bulldogs last year and will have a chance to do it again in 2025.

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Size was a major reason why the Bulldogs struggled. Most weeks, the Bulldogs’ defensive line faced larger offensive lines. Using a primarily three defensive line front didn’t help matters either.

Mississippi State has addressed that issue with transfer players such as Colin Coates (6-foot-2, 320 lbs.).

Here are the three best running backs Mississippi State will face in 2025 and, yes, each of them were on the field for the team’s win against the Bulldogs last season.