Fresh off their SEC championship in 1941, Mississippi State put together a strong season in 1942, finishing second in the conference behind nationally No. 2 ranked Georgia.
Mississippi State entered the season on a twelve game undefeated streak in SEC play. The streak featured ties in 1940 (against Auburn) and 1941 (against LSU), and it started when Mississippi State defeated LSU in 1939 after dropping a game to Alabama. The streak came to an end in Mississippi State's first SEC game of the year with a 21-6 loss at Alabama. Mississippi State picked up their second loss of the season to at LSU 16-6.
Mississippi State rebounded by winning their next seven games, posting three shutouts along the way. The streak started with a 33-0 victory on the road over No. 12 Vanderbilt, which propelled Mississippi State into the rankings at No. 16. Victories over Florida, Auburn and Tulane followed before Mississippi State avenged their lone loss of 1941 with a homecoming victory over Duquesne. The season concluded with victories over Ole Miss and San Francisco.
Mississippi State finished the season ranked No. 18 in the AP poll, and the Blondy Black earned Third Team All-American honors at the halfback position.
Several all-time winning streaks started in the 1942 season. The seven wins to end the season would start the longest winning streak in Mississippi State history, which stands at 13 games. The season also saw the start of an eight-game winning streak on the road, which is still a Mississippi State record, and the eight-game winning streak started in 1942 was not matched until 1999.