Three things Mississippi State football must do to win the 2018 Egg Bowl
By Ethan Lee
Joe Moorhead must trust the Bulldogs’ ability to run the ball and utilize Nick Fitzgerald, Aeris Williams, and Kylin Hill on the ground.
Few teams have as many talented runners as the Mississippi State football team does in 2018. And yet, the Bulldogs have had issues this season with getting two of the Bulldogs’ key three runners involved at times. Aeris Williams and Kylin Hill have not been used anywhere near enough and should have been given more carries all year, but there’s nothing MSU can do about that now.
What the Bulldogs can do is focus on running the ball well against Ole Miss, a team that seemingly allows all of its foes to run the ball well. The Rebels have a defense that gives up 488.2 total yards of offense per game and 212.8 of those yards per game come as teams run the ball against Ole Miss.
That means that Ole Miss is even worse at defending passing attacks than it has been in a while. And while it might be tempting to allow Nick Fitzgerald to attempt to shred the Rebels through the air, it’s probably best that the Bulldogs stick to what they do best and run the ball.
Yes, Ole Miss gives up 275.4 passing yards per game and opposing quarterbacks are completing 63.4 percent of their passes against the Rebels. That’s encouraging for Fitzgerald when he does have opportunities to throw the ball, but MSU is still not all that impressive at throwing the ball in relation to its running abilities.
The majority of Mississippi State’s yards comes as the Bulldogs run the ball. Fitzgerald has run for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns himself this season. Kylin Hill and Aeris Williams combined to run for 1021 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2018. MSU should be able to find some success through the air, but the Bulldogs can definitely find success on the ground.