This Saturday, Mississippi State football reignites its rivalry against Ole Miss in the 2020 Egg Bowl. Mississippi State has won the last two and three of the last four against its rival.
According to ESPN, Ole Miss has a 68.2% probability of winning with a -9.5 spread. The game will be televised on SEC Network at 4 p.m. ET.
The Bulldogs are looking to avoid their sixth loss in seven games after losing last week to No. 9 Georgia. Meanwhile, Ole Miss got last week off due to Texas A&M COVID-19 concerns.
Preview
Both Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin will be getting their first taste of the ninth longest uninterrupted college football rivalry. Leach is looking to make it three straight for the Bulldogs while Kiffin attempts to defend his home turf.
It’s not usually the case, but Mississippi State football picked up a small moral victory even in defeat last week. The Bulldogs arguably played their best football overall and definitely their best offensive performance since the season opener.
Will Rogers really flashed his potential by setting career highs in passing attempts, completions, passing yards and yards per completion. The potential lethal connection of Rogers to another true freshman in wide receiver Jaden Walley also flashed as the pair connected for seven completions, 115 yards and one touchdown. Rogers was at his best when he was patient, and the offensive line showed a lot of improvement last week, giving Rogers that extra time to find the open receiver.
The Mississippi State secondary faces a huge task ahead of it as Ole Miss wide receiver Elijah Moore currently leads the conference in receiving yards with 1,054 yards. It certainly has to play better than it did against Georgia, considering it let one of the worst pass offenses in the SEC throw for 401 yards.
Ole Miss also comes into the game with one of the elite quarterbacks in the conference in Matt Corral. Corral comes into the game with 2,359 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Prediction
The Bulldogs looked like a completely different team last week, and that moral victory will lead to some much-needed juice for the biggest game in the state of Mississippi. Especially for Rogers, he should come into this game with a lot of confidence.
The game will come down to whether the Bulldogs secondary can contain Moore and the Rebels’ passing attack. Moore will have a big game, but it will be the Mississippi State defensive line that will come in clutch once again. The Bulldogs should all but nullify the Ole Miss running game, and key sacks on third downs will give Rogers and the offense multiple attempts to win a close game.
Rogers may not play a perfect game, but he’ll be a hero in Starkville after pulling off a close win for Mississippi State’s third straight Egg Bowl victory.
FINAL SCORE: Mississippi State 28, Ole Miss 24
Photo courtesy of MSU Athletic Communications
My name is Colin Bailey and I’m a Los Angeles native and currently a Journalism Major/Sports Media Minor at the University of Colorado Boulder.