Mississippi State (2-2) at #15 Texas A&M (3-1)

A battle of teams seeking an identity.

Mississippi State travels to College Station on Saturday to face Texas A&M in what has turned into a key match-up for teams trying to salvage their seasons. Mississippi State is coming off consecutive losses to Memphis two weeks ago, and LSU last weekend. A lack of consistency that has continued to plague the Bulldogs throughout the young season threatens to derail Mike Leach’s team in his second year at the helm and seriously jeopardize the Bulldogs 11-year stretch of bowl games dating back to the 2010 season.

Texas A&M is coming off a devasting loss to Arkansas last week that not only knocked the Aggies out of the Top-10 but has cast a dark cloud over how the rest of the season may turn out for them. This past week was not a good week in College Station as a lot of questions will have to be answered if the Aggies wish to stay in contention for a division and conference title.

A&M is really hurting at the quarterback position, and it has exposed the Aggies as mediocre at best. However, they do possess an elite defense that will keep them in games, but the Aggies must score points. Both coaches are facing their own challenges with Leach trying the answer critics that the Air Raid still works and can be effective in the SEC, while Jimbo Fisher finds himself with the same coaching record as Kevin Sumlin at this point in their tenures.

However, Fisher’s performance to date has come at a much higher price tag since he is one of the highest paid coaches in the sport. A win will help shore up hopes for whoever comes out on top while a loss will be almost impossible to recover from for the rest of the season.

Article written by Chris Hiestand @Chrishiestand1