WHO: Mississippi State (6-6) vs. Louisville (7-5)
WHAT: The 22nd Music City Bowl
WHEN: Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN
WHERE: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.
BUY TICKETS: Click here
THE SKINNY: Just one game separates the records of the Bulldogs and Cardinals, but both teams enter this tussle along the Cumberland River on very different trajectories.
Sitting at .500 on the year isn’t exactly what Joe Moorhead had in mind for Year 2 in Starkville, but that’s where things stand after the team survived rival Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl to reach bowl eligibility thanks to one of the more bizarre endings of a game in recent memory. A soft schedule certainly helped the team reach six wins, but they were otherwise uncompetitive against anybody with a pulse this year. That was largely thanks to an offense that failed to find much of a rhythm. Running back Kylin Hill (1,347 yards) has been a bright spot and will be playing in his final game before departing for the NFL, but so much of State’s success (or lack thereof) has come down to what consistency they’ve gotten out of the quarterback position.
Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens was supposed to be the answer under center in 2019, but has been hot and cold this season, replaced several times in the starting lineup by freshman Garrett Shrader. The latter was supposed to make another start in the bowl game but was involved in an altercation at practice and picked up an injury. That certainly summed up the kind of year it’s been for the team, which has been taking one step forward and two back seemingly every other week.
On the opposite sideline, Louisville comes in on a high just to reach the postseason in the debut campaign of new coach Scott Satterfield. The former Appalachian State program builder has turned around things in a hurry from the 2-10 crater that Bobby Petrino left behind and earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in the process.
While the Cardinals defense has been suspect for stretches, their offense has certainly flashed plenty of potential. QB Micale Cunningham and RB Javian Hawkins have formed quite the tandem in the backfield this year. Add in receiver Chatarius Atwell to the mix and the trio is certainly one to watch as the game should not lack for big, explosive plays.
The Music City Bowl has produced some exciting classics in recent years and as evenly matched as these two teams are, that could be the case once again. As with many of these mid-tier postseason games, which team enters motivated to play in it could be an overarching factor and one would tend to lean toward the ACC squad if that’s the case.
THE PICK: Louisville 33, Mississippi State 27
