Hey SPS! I've been a huge lurker on here for several years and just wanted to take the plunge and get an account because there has been several times I've wanted to add my two cents on here and was just too lazy to sign up. I was a student at MSU for five years and am pretty jealous of the students now because they have the number one team in the country on campus. Anyway, I've been reading a couple of the threads about the Egg Bowl and just wanted to add a little bit to that. First of all, it needs to be said that a lot can happen between now and the Egg Bowl (injuries, suspensions, etc.) but I've watched all of Ole Miss games this year except for the Vandy game (because I knew it would be a bloodbath) and here's my take on how the Egg Bowl may go if it were played this week:
Yes, I think everyone is aware that Vaught-Hemingway will provide a huge lift to their team and we will have to execute well to win. But looking ahead (and this has been said before), we play Vandy the week before (which is like a half bye week) and they have to play an Arkansas team that is going to have a huge chip on its shoulder and completely exploits their one weakness on defense. I think it's safe to say that our coaches can look ahead to the Egg Bowl considering Vandy may be worse than Southern Miss. Ole Miss, on the other hand, will have a tough test against Arkansas. This is HUGE.
Watching Ole Miss play, it's pretty obvious that they lack any type of power running game so I think that if we don't allow them to score long touchdowns, and force them to try to score from the red zone, they'll have to kick FGs. Also, if we can make it to half time leading, tied, or only down by 7 or 10, I think Mullen and Dak can make the needed adjustments to make the difference up. And another thing, I would say they will need about 3+ turnovers to win because I don't see their offense driving the ball down the field on us. And like I said earlier, in order for their O to get down the field, they will need to make massive plays down the field. The bottom line is that if we can withstand their home-field advantage through the first half and not be down by a lot, we've got the quarterback to fall back on and think we win. Also, I'm REALLY glad Moncrief left early.
Yes, I think everyone is aware that Vaught-Hemingway will provide a huge lift to their team and we will have to execute well to win. But looking ahead (and this has been said before), we play Vandy the week before (which is like a half bye week) and they have to play an Arkansas team that is going to have a huge chip on its shoulder and completely exploits their one weakness on defense. I think it's safe to say that our coaches can look ahead to the Egg Bowl considering Vandy may be worse than Southern Miss. Ole Miss, on the other hand, will have a tough test against Arkansas. This is HUGE.
Watching Ole Miss play, it's pretty obvious that they lack any type of power running game so I think that if we don't allow them to score long touchdowns, and force them to try to score from the red zone, they'll have to kick FGs. Also, if we can make it to half time leading, tied, or only down by 7 or 10, I think Mullen and Dak can make the needed adjustments to make the difference up. And another thing, I would say they will need about 3+ turnovers to win because I don't see their offense driving the ball down the field on us. And like I said earlier, in order for their O to get down the field, they will need to make massive plays down the field. The bottom line is that if we can withstand their home-field advantage through the first half and not be down by a lot, we've got the quarterback to fall back on and think we win. Also, I'm REALLY glad Moncrief left early.
