RIP Mike Leach. What we would give to have the Air Raid Pirate Man out on the sidelines one more time in the ReliaQuest Bowl for what is one of the most intriguing matchups of the Jan. 2 slate. 

The high-powered passing attack of Mississippi State will face one of college football’s brick wall defenses in Illinois. 

How We Got Here:

Mississippi State:

The Mississippi State Bulldogs might consider themselves blessed for finishing the season 8-4 after what was a relatively quiet 2022 campaign. Starting the season 5-1 with their only loss to the eventual SEC West champ LSU, the Bulldogs from Starkville were looking like they were ready to steamroll their opponents, scoring at least 39 points in all of their victories. The tides however would change rather quickly. 

The Bulldogs were sent to the pound in the middle of the season with two straight road trips to ranked SEC territories. They fell to Kentucky and Alabama, the latter of which they would only score six points at Bryant-Denny Stadium. 

With a loss at home to No. 1 Georgia, Mike Leach’s crew had had enough with the streaky losses. After beating East Tennessee State, Mississippi State would enter its Super Bowl of the season — the Egg Bowl. 

The Bulldogs walked out of Oxford victorious with an 8-4 record — their best regular season finish since 2017. Will Rogers tossed two touchdowns, and the running back duo of Jo’quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson combined for 149 yards.

With the news of Mike Leach’s passing only weeks later, the mood of the college football world has not been the same. With many coaches and programs paying tribute to the Air Raid pioneer, whether it’s Dana Holgorsen wearing a State hoodie on the sidelines during the Independence Bowl, Texas Tech getting in Air Raid formation and taking a delay of game during the Texas Bowl, or even various programs wearing decals on their helmets honoring him, Mississippi State is nowhere near alone during this heartbreak. 

Illinois:

The Illinois Fighting Illini, in their second year with Bret Bielema at the helm, outperformed every expectation set for them. After a 5-7 finish in 2021, many assumed it would be mostly the same for a team not many people saw as super talented. Those people would be proven wrong, especially when it comes to Illinois’ secondary. We knew they had some solid players going into the year, but Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown really showed out this year. Illinois had one of the best defenses in the country this year, but that wasn’t the only reason the Illini were great. Chase Brown was a middle of the road running back (by Big Ten standards) a year ago. This year, he finished as one of the best running backs in the country, tallying over 1,600 rushing yards and 10 TDs. 

The season began with a 3-1 start, with Illinois’ loss only coming against Indiana in a game where Illinois got relatively unlucky with officiating (obvious touchdown catch called back; field goal called good was actually not). The pattern in those three wins though was that the defense was stellar, giving up nine points TOTAL. This would be a good pattern to maintain going into what many thought would be the toughest stretch of the Illini season, facing the three biggest favorites to win the Big Ten West (which is ironic because none of them won it). The Illini would prove themselves to the nation with a dominating 34-10 win over Wisconsin, a 9-6 slobberknocker over Iowa, and a 26-14 win over Minnesota. 

The Illini would continue their winning ways until November, which was not a great month for them. It would begin with a frankly embarrassing loss to a Michigan State team that was one of the most disappointing teams in the country. Next, a tough loss to Purdue that really hurt Illinois’ chance at winning the division. The killing blow was giving up a late lead to eventual Big Ten champion Michigan, which would have changed so much about this conference if Illinois could’ve held on. Bielema’s squad would finish the season with an obvious thrashing of Northwestern, giving them a final record of 8-4, good for second in the Big Ten West behind Purdue.

Going into this bowl game against Mississippi State, Illinois is going to be without some of its top performers. RB Chase Brown, and DBs Sydney Brown and Devon Witherspoon are all opting out in favor of the NFL draft. How Illinois is able to replace its massive impact on this team will be critical to the success of the Fighting Illini in this matchup with a talented Bulldogs team from Starkville. 

Players to Watch:

Mississippi State:

#2 QB Will Rogers — Death, taxes, and Mike Leach quarterbacks putting up insane numbers. The best way to honor Leach in this game is to put up a typical Air Raid performance against a top five passing defense in the country in Illinois. Rogers has struggled against some of the top defenses in the SEC in Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky, and he will need to rely on Rufus Harvey and Caleb Ducking to get some points on the board with Rara Thomas transferring to Georgia. 

Illinois:

#23 RB Reggie Love III — With no Chase Brown available for the Illini to use, Reggie Love III is set to be the next man up. He only saw 59 rushing attempts all season, but Love was almost as efficient as Brown when he saw those attempts. When you look at how Mississippi State plays defense, it will be susceptible to a rushing attack that is able to wear out a front seven for 60 minutes of hard-nosed football. It’s tough to imagine Bret Bielema just ignoring his philosophy because he is missing one offensive player, so expect Love to try to earn himself a starting spot on next year’s team in this bowl game with an impressive performance.

#21 DB Jartavius Martin — Missing arguably the two best defensive players is going to hurt Illinois. With no Sydney Brown or Devon Witherspoon, Jartavius Martin is going to have a spotlight on him against the Air Raid offense of Mississippi State. Martin is no slouch though, as he totaled 11 passes defended on the year — good for second on the team. Mississippi State is without some offensive production (mainly Rara Thomas), so maybe that can help Illinois and Martin even more at stopping the pass.

Score Predictions:

Andrew D: Even with Chase Brown declaring for the NFL draft, I still believe Illinois’ defense is good enough to slow down Mississippi State’s passing attack. Rara Thomas no longer being with the program is a huge loss for the Bulldogs, and I don’t believe they will have enough to outplay their elite defense. Illinois 20, Mississippi State 17.

Andrew W: I struggle picking an Illinois team that is losing so much. The Illini missing their top back and two top DBs against the Air Raid just seems like a recipe for disaster. I believe the Bulldogs put on an incredible performance to honor their head coach Mike Leach, swinging their swords as they sail into the sunset to honor the man they called coach. Mississippi State 27, Illinois 20.