Marcus Spears: Nick Fitzgerald’s performance key for MSU in Egg Bowl vs Ole Miss
By Paul Harvey
Published:
The Egg Bowl is one of the best rivalries in the south and fans are getting set for a special Thanksgiving Day kickoff.
The in-state rivalry between SEC West opponents is usually a heated matchup with bragging rights for the state of Mississippi on the line. Mississippi State QB Nick Fitzgerald recently referred to the “animosity, nastiness” involved in the rivalry between MSU and Ole Miss, and there is no denying that the game will be an intense one between two motivated teams.
The SEC Network recently broke down the looming holiday matchup between the Rebels and Bulldogs. Marcus Spears and Jordan Rodgers both agree that there will be two dynamic QBs dueling it out in the game, but Spears definitely sees Fitzgerald’s performance as the key to the matchup:
“Fitzgerald, because the deficiency is Ole Miss’ defense,” said Spears. “I don’t think you have a lot of questions about (the Rebels) offense, they can put points on the board.”
Spears also believes the Bulldogs will have a lot of confidence on offense coming off of their performance against the Crimson Tide a few weeks ago:
“Nick Fitzgerald, and the way Mississippi State runs the football – coming off of the Alabama game,” explained Spears, “You’ve gotta have a lot of confidence that you can run the ball against anybody.”
When asked about where Ole Miss may have an advantage in the contest, Spears and Rodgers both agreed that the Rebels have an advantage on the outside in the passing game:
“Bombs away, make this a one-on-one game outside,” said Spears.
“Ole Miss is going to put up points,” Rodgers said, “But the problem is how many opportunities are they going to get?”
You can see the whole segment here.
The game will be an intense one and could see a high-scoring outcome with two strong QBs in the contest. The Thanksgiving Day kickoff is set for 7:30 pm EST on ESPN.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
