STARKVILLE — A bad day and season for Mississippi State somehow got worse Saturday night.

The school announced that starting quarterback Blake Shapen suffered a shoulder injury during Saturday’s 45-28 loss to Florida, and it will require season-ending surgery. Specific details about the injury were not disclosed.

Shapen was injured in the third quarter, but finished a drive that spanned into the opening minute of the fourth. His last play, an option run that resulted in a fumbled pitch, came on fourth-and-goal from the Florida 1-yard line when the Bulldogs were trailing 35-21.

“We appreciate Blake’s toughness. He wanted to go, kept wanting to go. To me it speaks volumes of who he is and the competitor he is,” Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby said in his postgame press conference.

Shapen transferred to Mississippi State after spending the previous four seasons at Baylor. He passed for 5,574 yards and 36 touchdowns in 27 games with Baylor.

This season with Mississippi State, he had completed 69 percent of his passes for 974 yards and eight touchdowns. Saturday against Florida, he was 13-of-21 for 140 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 32 yards and a TD.

Lebby said the program will seek a medical hardship waiver that would give Shapen another year of college eligibility.

“Blake is the ultimate competitor and teammate and an unquestioned leader in our program. I know he will work incredibly hard to come back stronger than ever, and he will continue to serve as a team leader from the sidelines,” Lebby said in a statement announcing Shapen’s status.

Backup Michael Van Buren replaced Shapen in the fourth quarter against Florida. Van Buren completed 7 of 13 passes for 100 yards, and ran the ball five times for minus-5 yards. His rushing total was affected by two sacks that lost 11 yards.

Van Buren also saw some playing time in the season opener against Eastern Kentucky, but did not throw a pass.

Lebby praised Van Buren for stepping in and playing well, but the true freshman from Baltimore will have a difficult assignment moving forward. His first start will be next week on the road against No. 1 Texas. After that, the Bulldogs have an open date and another road game at No. 2 Georgia on Oct. 12.

Mississippi State (1-3, 0-1 SEC) has lost three games in a row. After it gets past the Texas-Georgia gauntlet, a stretch of three games against top-10 SEC opponents Tennessee, Missouri and Ole Miss awaits to finish the season.

“Getting to live that experience is huge for him,” Lebby said in his postgame press conference. “Obviously having the ability now to go get coached on it, he’ll be able to see those things and get some of it cleaned up. I’m proud of him being able to lead us down on that first drive of his and go get a touchdown.