STARKVILLE — And so Egg Bowl week is upon us.
In a rivalry that thrives on absurdity, the 93rd edition of the Battle for the Golden Egg is set for 3 p.m. Saturday as Mississippi State heads to Oxford for a date with in-state rival Ole Miss.
For first-year head coaches Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin, it’s the first meeting in a long friendship that dates back to their days in the Pac-12.
With that, here are three matchups to watch Saturday:
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral vs. Mississippi State secondary
Whatever Ole Miss redshirt sophomore quarterback Matt Corral is drinking, I’ll take two. After an up-and-down redshirt freshman campaign, Corral has enjoyed a career renaissance under Kiffin this fall.
In seven games this year, the Californian ranks No. 6 nationally in passing yards per game, sits No. 4 in yards per attempt and is tied for No. 6 in passing touchdowns. In all, Ole Miss heads into the annual rivalry contest with the seventh-best passing offense in America and the second-best in the Southeastern Conference.
Saturday, Corral stands to have a field day against an MSU defense that is beaten, battered and thin in the secondary. Sophomore Martin Emerson has been a stud in the No. 1 corner spot this year, tied for ninth nationally among all cornerbacks with a pass coverage grade of 84.2 according to Pro Football Focus.
Opposite Emerson, things are a little more complicated. Freshman Emmanuel Forbes has had spurts of brilliance, but in a year in which he wasn’t expected to be relied on as heavily as he has been, there have been a handful of blown coverages and general freshman mistakes. Behind them, it gets even thinner. Only four cornerbacks this year, including sophomore Esaias Furdge and freshman Decamerion Richardson have appeared in four or more games.
The Bulldogs also have depth issues at safety between COVID-19, opt-outs and injuries. Junior Londyn Craft and sophomores Shawn Preston and Collin Duncan have performed admirably in relief of starters Fred Peters and Marcus Murphy, but all three are inexperienced at best.
The Ole Miss offense has begun rolling under Lane Kiffin and a reinvigorated Corral, while MSU allowed 401 yards passing to a previously anemic Georgia aerial attack last week. If the Bulldogs hope to hang in this one, the secondary will have to do its part.
Will Rogers vs. consistency
In a flip of the previous section, it’s fair to assume freshman quarterback Will Rogers has found a groove after last week’s showing at Georgia. In his second career start, Rogers completed 41 of 52 passes for 336 yards and one touchdown against a Georgia defense that’s been among the nation’s best in recent years.
Rogers has had his struggles as a freshman given he’s been thrust into difficult situations in relief of Stanford transfer K.J. Costello and his first career start against Vanderbilt wasn’t pretty. But now facing an Ole Miss defense that has been among the worst in the country, it’s another chance for the Brandon native to continue his upward trajectory.
Rated the No. 116 passing defense in the country, Ole Miss is allowing nearly 300 yards per game through the air. Even more dismal, the Rebels are allowing a shade over 40 points per game — good for No. 124 nationally.
MSU hasn’t scored more than 24 points in a game since its season-opening win over LSU, but last week’s game at Georgia offered a look at what this offense is capable of when Rogers is clicking and afforded enough protection. It’s likely the winner of this game will need to score in the 30s or 40s, and the Bulldogs should be capable of doing so if the offense and Rogers mimic their trip to Athens.
Ole Miss vs. history
In a COVID-19-affected year, things have gotten wacky. Take, for example, the Egg Bowl not being played as the final game of the season. In a series that spans 117 meetings, this has only happened eight times. Of those, MSU is 7-1 in such contests.
In the past 10 meetings between the Bulldogs and Rebels, MSU has won six, including three of the last four. The Bulldogs have also won three of the past five Egg Bowls played in Oxford.
Sitting at 2-5 with three games remaining, MSU has winnable games against Ole Miss, Missouri and No. 22 Auburn remaining on its ledger in a season that looked to have fallen off a 10,000-foot cliff after an awe-inspiring victory over then-No. 6 LSU. For Ole Miss, it’s a chance to draw closer to its first winning season Hugh Freeze’s second-to-last year at the helm.
Neither team has been a world-beater thus far, and MSU has struggled to muster much of anything offensively for most of the season, but the loser of Saturday’s contest is a good bet to finish in or near the basement of the SEC West.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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