SEC Rivalry Week: Games of the Week
Nov 21, 2015; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly (10) runs the ball during the second quarter of the game against the LSU Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mississippi won 38-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
18 Ole Miss VS 21 Mississippi State
Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Game Time: Saturday, November 28 7:15PM ET
TV: ESPN2
Perhaps the SEC’s best game this week resides in the Magnolia State this weekend. Mississippi State and Ole Miss square off in the Egg Bowl, where for consecutive years both teams enter ranked in the top 25. Once again this SEC Rivalry will be played with more on the line than bragging rights.
Credit goes to Dan Mullen and Hugh Freeze or raising the standards at both programs and elevating the stature of the Egg Bowl. Last year Mississippi State entered with a shot at the first ever College Football Playoff. Ole Miss played spoiler (in rather convincing fashion) by shutting the Bulldogs down. This year Ole Miss will possibly enter with a shot at the Western Division title, though that scenario will be alive or dead by kickoff depending on the Iron Bowl.
If you go further beyond that, both teams appear to be playing for a potential Sugar Bowl bid. A Florida loss either this Saturday or in the SEC Championship game may send the winner of the Egg Bowl to New Orleans. It’s been a long time since the Rebels celebrated New Year’s in New Orleans and the Bulldogs have never done it.
The game itself looks poised to be a shootout that will ultimately go down to the wire. Both offenses are firing on all cylinders, while both pass defenses have looked horrendous at times this year.
Nov 21, 2015; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
The matchups are compelling. Ole Miss’s defensive line rivals Alabama’s. We all saw what the Crimson Tide were able to do when they tore up the Mississippi State pocket and get after Prescott.
Still, the Rebels’ secondary has been volatile — to say the least. Suppose the Rebels are able to disrupt the Mississippi State backfield, but Prescott is able to get passes off. Will the Ole Miss secondary be able to cover a Mississippi State receiving corps that has been downright brutal on opposing defense lately?
Flip the script.
How will the Ole Miss’s offensive line perform against a stout Mississippi State defensive front? Mississippi State’s defensive line has looked nasty at times this year and the Ole Miss offensive line has struggled before. If the Ole Miss offensive line performs well, how will the Mississippi State secondary perform against arguably the strongest receiving corps in the SEC?
Now let’stake a look at the intangibles of the game.
Ole Miss owns wins over the three teams that have beaten the Bulldogs this year. The Rebels possess an extremely high ceiling, but the floor has been a valley (to put it kindly). That last sentence begs the question: Which Ole Miss team shows up Saturday night?
For Mississippi State it’s the home field advantage. Davis-Wade has been a nightmare of sorts for previous Rebel teams, and recent trends show a major advantage for the Bulldogs. Also, for the sentimental at heart, Saturday night will be Dak Prescott’s final game in Starkville. There is no doubt the Bulldogs will be looking to send their senior leader out on top.
The Egg Bowl this Saturday might be the game to watch this weekend. Not only on the conference level, but on the national level. One coach is going walk away a hero. The other will walk away with a lot of questions to answer. One program will walk away with a potential Sugar Bowl spot, while the other walks away with a respectable Florida bowl. But they’ll also walk away with a longer than usual month of December.