Joe Moorhead isn’t backing down from the high expectations placed upon his first Mississippi State team heading into 2018. In fact, he’s embraced the high hopes of the Hail State faithful as he likes to say, “No one rises to low expectations.”

The big reason for the hype surrounding this Mississippi State team is the talent Moorhead has inherited in Starkville. In addition to all the standout players he has to work with, Moorhead is regarded by many as a rising star in the coaching profession and he showed his value to the Penn State program by arguably saving James Franklin’s job.

He did this by turning Penn State’s offense from a laughingstock to one of the best units in the nation. If you can elevate Mississippi State’s offense just as quickly, a trip to Atlanta isn’t out of the question for the Bulldogs in 2018.

During his recent appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show, Moorhead was asked to explain what exactly the offense he plans to run in Starkville will look like next season.

“If you were to assign a label to it, I would say we are a multi-tempo spread with the run,” Moorhead answered. “We want to play as quickly as possible regardless of the look we are in. We can play as fast or as slow as we need to and we are more concerned with running the best play possible against the look presented, rather than a bad play quickly.

“When you talk about the two elements, the run game and the pass game, we would best be described as a run-based RPO run game coupled with a West Coast-style passing game that willingness and an ability to, as you saw at Penn State, take shots down the field and try to stretch it horizontally as well as vertically.”

The Mississippi State coach was then asked where his offense came from, to which he explained he picked up the best bits and pieces from all the coaches he’s worked with over the years.

“It’s a combination of things, going back to my days at Pitt working with Walt Harris having a chance to work with him there — a reputed quarterback guru that knows about coaching quarterbacks and offense,” Moorhead said. “Larry Core was a defensive coordinator that had been in the league as a defensive coordinator for a bunch of years and every stop at Akron with JD Brookhart, at UConn with Coach (Randy) Edsall, taking bits and pieces of management and philosophy and culture and combining those with your own ideas, it’s a combination of great ideas from other people in addition to things you believe in strongly.”

Finebaum couldn’t resist asking Moorhead about the Egg Bowl rivalry. While the previous Mississippi State coach refused to even call Ole Miss by its name, Moorhead doesn’t go quite that far.

“It’s great to be a part of a rivalry that’s steeped in such tradition,” he continued. “Coming down from State College and growing up in Pittsburgh we had the Backyard Brawl with Pitt and West Virginia and obviously Pitt-Penn State and being a part of that the last two years, I think that’s what makes college football great where you have two great schools in close proximity of each other with passionate fan bases who believe strongly in their school. I’ve had a chance to meet Coach Luke and certainly understand the importance of the Egg Bowl and what that means to the people in this state, the people of Starkville and both schools. I’m really excited for November 22 to be a part of it.”

If he wins the game on Nov. 22, his tune regarding the game will likely remain the same. Lose that game and Moorhead won’t be so eager to hear about the Egg Bowl all offseason.