Mike Leach explains differences between Lane Kiffin's offense and Air Raid

Rivalry week kicks off in the SEC with a game that projects as a high-scoring, high-intensity Egg Bowl matchup, featuring Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels and Mike Leach’s Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Last season, Kiffin left Florida Atlantic to accept the Ole Miss job, while Leach came over from Washington State, and both offensive-minded coaches struggled to get the ball rolling in year one. Kiffin and the Rebels went 5-5 in 2020, while Leach and the Bulldogs went 4-7 — this year, however, there’s a completely different story in the state of Mississippi. Mississippi State is 7-4, hosting Kiffin’s 9-2 Ole Miss team, which could very well punch a ticket to a New Year’s Six bowl with a win.

Ole Miss claimed a victory in last year’s Egg Bowl, and Leach hopes to turn the tide in Starkville to put a bow on the 2021 regular season. In doing so, Leach’s Air Raid offense will have to find the same success it’s had all year; meanwhile, his defense will have to find a way to stop Kiffin’s dynamic offense, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Corral.

“Well, they’re quite a bit different,” Leach said, comparing his Air Raid philosophy to Kiffin’s offense at Ole Miss. “[Ole Miss is] kind of an RPO offense, you know, run-pass option, and then the quarterback keeps it some. Both of us have some tempo going and both are trying to attack the field.”

So far, at least, so good, and for both teams. Ole Miss and Mississippi State both rank in the SEC’s top six in scoring offense, with the Air Raid averaging nearly 32 points per game at Mississippi State and Kiffin finishing with roughly 36 per game. Moreover, the Bulldogs’ offense has finally reached its potential in the past few weeks, helping the team improve its offensive yards per game to 452.27. Ole Miss still holds its position atop the SEC, averaging 517.45 yards per game.

Other than production, there remains one main similarity between the two offenses, according to Leach.

“In both, I think a good quarterback is key to it, too,” Leach said.

Luckily, neither team is lacking in that department. While Matt Corral has thrown for over 3,000 yards, 19 touchdowns and three interceptions on a near-68 percent completion rate (and ran for 552 yards and 10 touchdowns), Mississippi State sophomore Will Rogers has mastered Leach’s Air Raid attack, amassing over 4,000 passing yards and 34 touchdowns to date.

Leach seemed excited for the rivalry Thursday night, and he expressed confidence in Rogers out-dueling Corral at the helm of the offense.

“It’s similar [to rivalries I’ve coached in the past],” Leach said of the Egg Bowl. “Probably a little closer to what it was in Texas Tech against Texas A&M, but it’s just good to be in stands where you’re not looking at paper cut outs, you know? So it’s a lot better this year and more exciting in that way.”