Outside of the National Spotlight, 2015 Egg Bowl Should Still Be a Classic
The 2015 edition of the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State won't match the hype and exposure of last year's edition, when Mississippi State had outside hopes of a berth in the College Football Playoff and both schools spent several weeks in the national spotlight.
Don't be fooled by the lack of buzz, though.
This one should be a classic.
"The Egg Bowl, because of what it is, [getting ready to play] won't be that difficult," Rebel head coach Hugh Freeze said, according to Ole Miss' official site. "We will have emotion, and we will be ready to go."
Ole Miss comes in fresh off its 38-17 demolition of LSU on Saturday night in Oxford and has one of the most difficult offenses to defend in all of college football. Laquon Treadwell is a monster at wide receiver with 72 catches for 1,060 yards and eight touchdowns. The threat of Treadwell burning offenses deep has opened things up for Cody Core, Quincy Adeboyejo, Damore'ea Stringfellow and tight end Evan Engram to exploit one-on-one matchups.
Couple that with the dual-threat capabilities of quarterback Chad Kelly, and Ole Miss is tough to defend, as Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen noted, according to Mississippi State's official site:
"I think what he does outside of their offense is where he presents problems. He brings improvisational skills. When the play breaks down, he is a very deceptive runner. He makes people miss. He can avoid pressure. He keeps plays alive and breaks tackles. He's elusive with the ball in his hands.
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Ole Miss leads the conference with 40.5 points per game, has upped that to 45 points per game during the month of November and—if it gets a little help from Auburn earlier in the day—could be playing for a berth in its first SEC Championship Game on Saturday night in Starkville. However, Freeze said he won't be focusing on anything other than the Bulldogs:
"Once we get to the stadium, all the phones will be put away. We won't have any idea of what is going on with that game. There may be some updates in the stadium. I don't know. I typically don't hear those. There will be enough riding on the Egg Bowl regardless of the outcome of that game. We should play with everything that we have.
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Yeah...right.
Even if there aren't SEC title hopes on the line, this game still carries enormous weight for the push for a New Year's Six bowl in addition to the already-heated in-state bragging rights.
On the other side, Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott is fresh off a performance for the ages in the 51-50 win over Arkansas. The dual-threat senior totaled seven touchdowns (five passing, two rushing), had 554 yards of total offense by himself and vaulted back into the thick of the race for the 2015 Heisman Trophy.
What better way for Prescott to cap off of his career than to beat the in-state rivals in his final home game?
"I'm not around him, but he strikes me as someone that is determined to be the best that he can be, and I'm certain he is putting the work to be the best quarterback that he can be for his team," Freeze said. "He shows it on the field."
Couple that with a talented Bulldogs receiving corps that features De'Runnya Wilson but also boasts Fred Ross—who trails only Treadwell in catches this year with 69—and the Egg Bowl should evolve into the sequel to last week's Bulldogs-Razorbacks pointfest in Fayetteville.
High-scoring? Major bowl implications? Two great quarterbacks? Potentially an SEC West title on the line for Ole Miss?
Count me in.
Sure, there are some great games of national importance on the line Saturday night like Notre Dame at Stanford, Florida State at Florida and Oklahoma at Oklahoma State. Keep an eye on the Egg Bowl, though.
It could wind up being the best game of the weekend.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
