What a time to love college football in Mississippi
If you’re a college football fan in the state of Mississippi, what a time to be alive! The two biggest college football teams, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, are a combined 6-0, with a couple of wins over formidable opponents. Ole Miss, for example, just knocked off LSU, while State is coming off a huge comeback win at South Carolina.
Both of these teams have solid defenses and coaching staffs that mostly stay below the spotlight, but where they each shine is on the offensive end, where each team has a game-changing quarterback. State is led by Kamario Taylor, a powerful sophomore with 11 touchdowns versus one interception on the season. Meanwhile, Ole Miss is QB’d by Trinidad Chambliss, who looks like perhaps the best player in college football this season. No defender seems to be able to get a hand on Chambliss, who plays with a beguiling confidence.
The best thing about being a fan of either of these teams—well, besides the winning—must be the belief, the confidence. It’s still early, and we don’t know exactly how either team is going to finish. But what we do know is that at the moment, having a quarterback like Chambliss or Taylor gives you a fighting chance in every game. It doesn’t matter who the opponent may be; with either of these guys under center, Ole Miss and Mississippi State are in the game.
It works both ways. I’m a fan of the Atlanta Falcons, a birthright I was unfortunately assigned in adolescence. The quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons is supposed to be Michael Penix Jr. a decorated college player who the Falcons drafted eighth overall a few years ago. Through two seasons, injuries have limited Penix to 14 starts, and this year he has yet to make an appearance. In his absence, with backup Tua Tagovailoa also injured, the Falcons have entrusted the job to someone named Cooper Rush.
To say the Falcons have struggled is an understatement: Through two games, the Falcons have yet to even get the ball into the red zone, the first team to achieve this distinction since the 2008 Rams. (The 2008 Rams finished 2-14.) According to one odds site, the Falcons’ team passer rating is 38.2. If the Falcons quarterback spiked the ball into the ground on every play, it would be 39.6.
Incredibly, the Falcons’ next three games will all be nationally televised. I head into these games mildly terrified, knowing that even if Penix returns, I don’t know if he’ll stay healthy. Conversely, this weekend Miss State hosts a ranked Missouri team, and just knowing Kamario Taylor is back there gives me a feeling that the Bulldogs have a real shot at winning. Ole Miss travels to Florida, where they are three-point underdogs. But as long as Trinidad Chambliss is taking snaps, I’m all in on the Rebs.
For fans, it doesn’t take much to move the needle, just one capable player to whom we can attach our highest hopes. Did I ever think we’d see a day where the Mississippi State quarterback generated more confidence than a starting quarterback in the NFL? Nope, but then, here we are.
What a time to be alive.
