Here’s a position-by-position look at Ole Miss and Oklahoma State with advice on what to watch for in Friday’s Sugar Bowl matchup:

QUARTERBACK — Ole Miss: These two teams love to score points and overall, the offenses are pretty equal. But the edge goes to Ole Miss with Chad Kelly because of his hot finish and running ability.

Kelly accounted for 1,149 total yards, 13 total touchdowns — including six rushing scores — and no interceptions in the final three games. He broke Eli Manning’s single-season total TDs record with 37, 10 on runs.

Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph had a fine season, throwing for 3,591 yards, 21 TDs and nine interceptions. Kelly had more passing yards and TDs, but Rudolph had a higher yards per attempt average and fewer picks.

RUNNING BACKS — Ole Miss: Neither team runs the ball particularly well. Ole Miss wins with junior Jaylen Walton, who rushed for 690 yards and five TDs, which leads both teams.

Cowboys junior RB Chris Carson gained 504 yards and scored four TDs.

Those numbers indicate the two starting running backs are close, however, Walton has a huge advantage in yardage per attempt. Walton posted a 5.1 yards per carry average while Carson was only at 4.2.

WIDE RECEIVERS, TIGHT END — Oklahoma State: This position is also close. The best receiver on the field will be junior Laquon Treadwell for Ole Miss. But Oklahoma State has three wideouts with at least 40 catches and 600 receiving yards.

Sophomore James Washington led the way for the Cowboys’ receivers with 1,077 yards and 10 TDs. Senior WR David Glidden led the team with 53 receptions and posted 807 yards with three scores. Junior Marcell Ateman chipped in 40 catches, 696 yards and five TDs.

Treadwell is the only Rebels receiver with at least 600 receiving yards (he has 76 catches and 1,082 yards). But Ole Miss has three other wideouts with more than 500. Quincy Adeboyejo, Cody Core and Damore’ea Stringfellow combined for 1,637 yards on 106 catches and 15 TDs.

OFFENSIVE LINE — Ole Miss: The Rebels have done a much better job of running the ball when necessary and protecting the quarterback.

Neither of these teams rely on much rushing production, but Ole Miss gets more chunk yardage on running plays.

Ole Miss averages 5.1 yards per carry, 21st in the country. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is in the bottom 20 nationally in rushing yards (1,586) and yards per carry (3.7).

Furthermore, the Ole Miss running game got better once LT Laremy Tunsil returned from his NCAA suspension. In SEC games without him, Ole Miss averaged 104 rushing yards. In conference games with Tunsil, the Rebels averaged about 201 yards on the ground.

The Rebels offensive line has also allowed just 17 sacks this season while the Cowboys have yielded 29 sacks.

DEFENSIVE LINE — Oklahoma State: With junior DT Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss easily wins this position battle. Nevertheless, it is hard to predict how the Rebels will cope without him. The junior is suspended for the Sugar Bowl due to marijuana possession charges.

Nkemdiche drew double teams, which allowed others to make plays. Sophomore DE Marquis Haynes led the team with 9.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. But what will Haynes do when he gets the double teams?

Without Nkemdiche, Oklahoma State has the biggest impact defensive linemen in junior Emmanuel Ogbah, who posted 13 sacks (fourth in the nation) and 16.5 tackles for loss.

LINEBACKERS — Oklahoma State: The Cowboys linebackers were tackling machines. Junior Jordan Burton was second among all players from both teams with 91 total tackles, including 8 tackles for loss. Sophomore Chad Whitener wasn’t far behind with 88 total tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss.

Ole Miss’ leading tackler was sophomore Demarquis Gates with 71 total tackles. Rebels seniors Denzel Nkemdiche and C.J. Johnson have been staples of the great Ole Miss defenses of the last few years. If Ole Miss has any advantage without Robert Nkemdiche, it will be the senior leadership provided from Denzel Nkemdiche and Johnson.

SECONDARY — Ole Miss: Oklahoma State safety Jordan Sterns leads all players from both teams with 103 total tackles. He also posted three pass defenses, two interceptions, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

But overall, the Cowboys secondary has struggled to stop the pass, especially lately. In three of the last five games, Oklahoma State has allowed at least 390 passing yards. The Cowboys are going to have trouble stopping Kelly, particularly without a cornerback capable of covering Treadwell.

The Ole Miss secondary has taken a big step back statistically this season. After leading the country with 13.8 ppg allowed, the Rebels defense was 36th with 22.8 points yielded per game. The biggest reason is Ole Miss has gone from the 16th-best passing defense (187.6 yards allowed) in 2014 to 101st (255.1 yards allowed) this season.

Much of that can be credited to Ole Miss scoring more points this season, so teams have to pass to keep up. Trae Elston, Mike Hilton and Tony Bridges are still more than capable of making big plays, combining for nine interceptions with three TD returns.

FINAL THOUGHTS — Interestingly, the Cowboys have won four of its their five bowl games under coach Mike Gundy. Oklahoma State beat Washington 30-22 in the Cactus Bowl last season. Back in 2012, the Cowboys shocked Andrew Luck and Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl. Another big bowl win would help erase the two blowout losses to Baylor and Oklahoma to end the regular season.

Ole Miss would also like to do some memory erasing. Even though so much has happened to the the Rebels’ program in the last year, the 42-3 thrashing Ole Miss took at the hands of TCU in the Peach Bowl last year still stings.

This is an important game to validate Ole Miss as a legitimate national power. With a victory, Hugh Freeze would reach 10 wins for the first time in Oxford.

Look for Ole Miss to fulfill those goals with a heavy dose of Kelly and Treadwell.