Ole Miss football is 10-1 on the season, and could be making a run at the College Football Playoff. The backdrop of this game will be the future of Lane Kiffin with Ole Miss. Now, the Rebels need to focus on the game on Friday, as it is the 122nd meeting between Ole Miss and Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.
The Rebels are one of the top teams in the nation this year. The team started 6-0 before falling to Georgia on the road, 43-35. Since then, the team has run off four straight wins. This includes a victory over Oklahoma. With just one loss, they are in a position to make it to the CFP, but they need to win the Egg Bowl first.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State is 5-6 on the year and needs a win to make it to a bowl game. They opened the season 4-0, including a win over Arizona State. They have since lost six of seven games, with two losses in overtime and a two-point loss to Florida. They did beat Arkansas 38-35.
Ole Miss leads the all-time series 66-46-6. They have also won four of the last five games between the two teams.
Kewan Lacy controls the game
The Ole Miss offense has been great this year. They are 13th in the nation in points per game while sitting third in yards per game this season. Ole Miss is 11th in passing yards per contest, while sitting 23rd in rushing yards. This has been led by Kewan Lacy, who has been the star for the Rebels' offense.
He has run for 1,136 yards with 19 touchdowns this season. He has run for touchdowns in ten of the last 11 games this year, including having multiple scores in four of the last five outings. The running back has been dominant as of late. In the last three games, he has run for 440 yards and seven touchdowns over his last three outings.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State has been bad on defense. They are 107th in opponent points per game while sitting 103rd in opponent yards per game. While the defense is 54th against the pass, the Bulldogs are 123rd against the run this year. In their last game, Mississippi State allowed Ahmad Hardy to run for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Lacy is not going to run for 300 yards, but he is going to have a massive game, going for over 100 yards and multiple touchdowns.
Blake Shapen struggles
Mississippi State has been much better on offense than defense this year. They are 51st in points per game and 67th in yards per game. They are 81st in the run while ranking 47th in the passing game. Blake Shapen has led the way for the Bulldogs at quarterback. He has passed for 2,433 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has also run for three touchdowns this year. Still, Shapen has thrown eight interceptions.
Shapen has struggled in the last two games. Against Georgia, he passed for just 86 yards while being sacked twice. He also did not have a touchdown. Against Missouri, he threw for 199 yards and two interceptions while being sacked ten times. He ran for two touchdowns in the game.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss has been great on defense this year. They are 36th in opponent points per game while sitting 37th in opponent yards per game. They are 54th against the run and 32nd against the pass. The Bulldogs have struggled to protect their quarterback this year, allowing Shapen to be sacked on 10.32 percent of his dropbacks. Princewill Umanmielen already has 5.5 sacks this year, while Will Echoles and Kam Franklin have 3.5 each. At least one of them is going to get to Shapen, and the Bulldogs' quarterback will be under constant pressure in this game.
Even with distractions, Ole Miss moves to 11-1
The will he stay or not of Kiffin has to be a distraction for Ole Miss, but they are going to fight through that in this game. One of the major turning points in the game will be on third down. Ole Miss has been great on third down this year, sitting 27th in conversion rate in FBS and 26th in defensive stops. Meanwhile, Mississippi State has not been as good. They are 49th in conversion rate on offense, but 78th in stopping the opponent.
This will also lead to the kicking game playing a major role. If the teams get down near the red zone, but with stops on third down, the need for points will be major. Mississippi State has converted just 78.57 percent of its field goal attempts this year. Meanwhile, Ole Miss is converting on 91.3 percent of their attempts this season.
Odds at the time of writing, according to FanDuel, have Ole Miss as a 7.5-point favorite. Ole Miss has covered in six of 11 games this year, while missing covering by a point or less three times. Mississippi State has covered in eight of 11 games, but not in each of its last two, as the team has been blown out each time. They will be blown out again in this one as Ole Miss moves to 11-1.
