Bryan Harsin and Mike Leach are both successful head coaches. That’s where the similarities end.

Harsin is, by all accounts, a stoic yet intense head coach for Auburn. Leach is, by multiple video accounts, a goofball. Harsin uses gimmicky coaching phrases when he talks to his team. Leach says whatever comes to his mind when the cameras are rolling. Harsin, as best I know, doesn’t love pirates. Leach adores them.

They even have different coaching styles. Harsin loves running the ball and using multiple tight ends. Leach would probably coach flag football if it paid as much. The passing game is what he loves.

That brings us to one commonality. The two are offensive coaches. So how do they move the ball in Saturday’s matchup against the other? There are several keys for both teams as they establish the SEC West pecking order.

The first thing that Auburn and Mississippi State must do is put potentially season-destroying type losses behind them. Auburn was supposed to be on the verge of a championship run before it was thoroughly outplayed against Texas A&M in a 20-3 loss. State suffered another kind of crippling defeat when it lost 31-28 to Arkansas. The Bulldogs were close to capitalizing on a comeback but fell just short. Both losses were heartbreaking.

Auburn was the talk of the SEC and beyond heading into its contest against the Aggies. The Tigers controlled their path to Atlanta. Sure, it wasn’t going to be an easy path, but just being in a championship hunt was something to feel good about. Now, that talk has dissipated and Auburn will need help to play for any sort of title.

State’s up-and-down season was close to finding a flow until falling at Arkansas. Both losses can have lingering effects. That’s something that Harsin and Leach likely addressed. If either team comes out flat, the other is good enough to win. That’s why the game’s point spread is just 5.5 points. Auburn is favored at home, but this certainly isn’t an easy win for either team.

The key for Auburn offensively is pretty simple. They just need to get back to running the football effectively. That’s what Arkansas did against State. The Razorbacks’ top-rated SEC rushing attack ran the ball 45 times for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, against the Bulldogs. Arkansas wasn’t explosive on the ground. Its longest run was just 26 yards. However, they stuck to the ground game no matter how the game was unfolding.

Auburn averages 185 yards per game rushing. If they reach that total, the Tigers can keep the ball away from State’s offense and will likely win. Auburn only managed 73 yards last week on 29 carries for a 2.5-yard average. If Auburn again struggles to run, the Tigers will be in trouble because its passing game isn’t built to carry the offense.

Bo Nix has owned up to his poor performance last week when he completed just 20-of-41 passes for 153 yards and an interception. However, that doesn’t mean he’ll play markedly better against State. It’ll help that the game is at Jordan-Hare, where Nix typically plays better. But he has been erratic throughout the season. That’s a constant challenge for Auburn.

The key for Auburn’s defense is also pretty simple. The Tigers have to stop — or at least slow — State’s offense, which is ranked No. 1 in the SEC with 376 yards passing per game. To put that in perspective, the No. 2 passing team, Alabama, is averaging just 320 yards passing per game. State’s passing attack is just that good. Or at least that unwavering in its plan. The Bulldogs lead the country in pass attempts per game, with 54.

Auburn’s pass defense has lived by a bend-don’t-break mentality. They’ve yielded 225 passing yards per game, which ranks 9th in the SEC, but they only given up 10 TD passes. Only 3 SEC teams have allowed fewer.

Big picture, the Tigers are only allowing 19.8 points per game, which also ranks 3rd in the SEC.

The game should be a contrast in philosophic coaching styles. Harsin is much more traditional and will run his offense by the book. It’s unlikely he’ll take big chances when they present themselves. The same can’t be said for Leach, who loves to take chances almost as much as he loves pirates. Could Leach be more conservative this week? That might not be a bad idea if his team is fighting morale problems. His risk-and-reward approach can uplift or destroy a team’s mindset with one play call.

Harsin’s team shouldn’t have such emotional peaks and valleys. Even in the loss to the Aggies, Auburn still played hard against a team with superior talent. Then, mistakes happened, Texas A&M scored 14 points in the 4th quarter and the game was essentially over. If Auburn finds itself down by two touchdowns or more on Saturday, the Tigers will still likely play hard. However, it doesn’t seem as if they have the offensive firepower to overcome a significant deficit.

Leach’s seemingly carefree attitude may give the Bulldogs a slight advantage in a bounce-back game for both teams. However, one could argue that Harsin’s business-like approach will have the Tigers more ready to play. That’s what makes this game so intriguing. Both coaches have been successful, but they couldn’t be any more different.