The 2019 Egg Bowl between Mississippi State and Ole Miss was decided after Elijah Moore was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in the end zone after the potential game-tying touchdown.
As wild as that was, it's nothing compared to what we're about to see in the state of Mississippi over the next few years. Mississippi State made the latest splash on the coaching carousel by hiring Mike Leach on Thursday. This comes after Ole Miss hired Lane Kiffin on Dec. 7.
Talk about taking the spotlight back. Leach, 58, makes the move after spending the last eight seasons at Washington State. Leach has a 139-90 record between his stint there and at Texas Tech from 2000-09, and he promises to bring a lot more attention to Starkville with the hire.
Think of everything college fans are getting as a result:
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'Air Raid' is coming to the SEC
We've been waiting for this since Leach flirted with Tennessee after the 2017 season: Leach's "Air Raid" is coming to the SEC West. Washington State averaged 437.2 passing yards per game this season. The next-closest team was LSU, which averaged 397.2 passing yards per game in the greatest single-season passing performance in program history.
Leach's offense makes no apologies for passing all the time, and it will be interesting to see how SEC coaches handle getting into shootouts with Leach. Washington State lost 67-63 to UCLA and beat Oregon State 54-53 this season. Leach is not going to change his style in the new conference.
Mike Leach at SEC Media Days
Coaches such as Steve Spurrier, Les Miles and Bret Bielema have been the toast of SEC Media Days in the past. Now, Leach will be one of the main attractions when the event moves back to Atlanta in 2020:
Will he be asked to break down a mascot fight again?
How about a coaches' fight?
No topic is off limits, and any question could spark another viral comment.
Leach vs. Bama and LSU
Mississippi State last beat Alabama 17-12 in 2007, when Sylvester Croom was the coach. That is the only loss Saban had against the Bulldogs.
Alabama has won the last 12 meetings in that series, and only two of those have been decided by seven points or fewer. Saban will get asked a lot of questions about Leach too, and the stark contrast in their demeanors makes for an interesting coaching matchup.
Speaking of coaches who would win the Royal Rumble in the SEC: Leach would probably pick Ed Orgeron. Can we get those two mic'd up for their game? For what it's worth, Mississippi State plays at Alabama on Oct. 17 and at LSU on Oct. 24. That will be a fun two-week stretch.
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Starkville will be fun again
Mississippi State was ranked No. 1 in the country for a four-week stretch in 2014 at the height of the Dak Prescott era. Alabama ended that on Nov. 15, 2014, with a 25-20 victory that led to the end of Dan Mullen era after the following season.
The Bulldogs are 29-23 the last four seasons, and that includes a 14-12 record the last two seasons under Joe Moorhead — a hire that didn't work more for the cultural fit than Xs and Os. Leach might not fit either, but it won't be because he's a “Yankee.” Leach has made it work in places such as Lubbock, and Pullman. He can do the same with more resources and a brighter spotlight at Mississippi State. This isn't a blue-blood program, but Leach is in the biggest conference now. This hire might be the perfect sweet spot for Mississippi State and Leach.
It's going to be entertaining whether it works or not, and that's kind of the feeling you get about what went down in Oxford, too.
Egg Bowl is must-watch TV
Kiffin vs. Leach in the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving. What did we do to deserve this?
There is a one-up feel to what Mississippi State has done here; Ole Miss got a lot of attention for bringing in Kiffin, who had real-time failures at Oakland, Tennessee and USC before reviving his career under Saban at Alabama. Then there's Leach, who was fired by Texas Tech before turning Washington State around.
These two rival schools have met 112 times, but both schools were ranked in only six of those matchups. Next year's game might go down as the most memorable because of the coaches who will be involved.
It's a matchup made in trending-on-Twitter heaven, and not because a player pretended to pee in the end zone. We can't wait to see it.
