Mississippi State is walking into Week 3 with real momentum, and that makes Saturday’s SEC opener against South Carolina a lot more interesting than it looked a couple weeks ago.
The Bulldogs have rolled through their first two games, opening with a 62-13 win over Louisiana-Monroe before backing it up with a 38-13 victory against Minnesota. South Carolina has been just as dominant in its own lane, blanking Kent State 57-0 and then beating Towson 45-9. Now the two teams meet with conference play starting and a tougher test on deck for both.
The biggest reason Mississippi State suddenly looks dangerous is Kamario Taylor. Through two weeks, he has completed 67.9% of his passes for 581 yards, seven touchdowns, and no interceptions.
He has also added 145 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. That kind of production changes the feel of a team fast, especially for a program that not many people expected to make noise this season.
Mississippi State’s numbers back up the eye test. The Bulldogs are averaging 8.4 yards per play, which ranks fourth in the nation, and their defense has held opponents to 4.2 yards per play, good for 25th nationally. That combination gives them a real chance to keep this game tight - and maybe more than that.
Taylor is the player to watch here, plain and simple. He has looked like a game-altering quarterback so far, and if he stays at this level, Mississippi State has the ingredients to pull off the upset on Saturday.
In Other News...
Georgia Is Suddenly Part Of A Crowded SEC Quarterback Race
CBS Sports latest weekly quarterback rankings only reinforced what this SEC season already feels like: there is no clear pecking order at the position, and the conference is packed with players forcing their way into the conversation. Trinidad Chambliss sits No. 2 overall and first among SEC quarterbacks, with Arch Manning right behind him at No. 3, while Gunner Stockton, Kamario Taylor and Austin Simmons also cracked the top 10.
For Mississippi State fans, Simmons inclusion is the part worth watching most closely, because it keeps the Bulldogs in the middle of a quarterback discussion that is suddenly crowded with league heavyweights. When five SEC passers land in the same top-10 ranking, it says plenty about the depth at the position across the conference, and it only raises the stakes for every game these quarterbacks still have ahead of them. [Read more 🡒]