Kirk Herbstreit highlights key for Matt Corral, Ole Miss offense vs. Texas A&M

Ole Miss star quarterback Matt Corral has been hindered by a nagging ankle injury over the previous couple of weeks. Corral’s ankle injury could play a big role in Saturday’s game against Texas A&M. The Aggies have a great defense that could pose problems for Corral and the Ole Miss offense if he isn’t 100%.

College GameDay’s Kirk Herbstreit joined SportsCenter on Saturday morning to talk about Corral and Ole Miss. The key to beating Texas A&M will be tempo, so Corral’s ability to hold up becomes even more important in this type of game.

“I think the most important thing is going to be Matt Corral’s playmaking ability as a thrower and especially, a runner,” Herbstreit said. “He’s been gimpy the last four weeks with an ankle. It looks like he’s the best that he’s been in weeks coming into this game and A&M is just a notch below Georgia as far as their defense and how physical they are at the line of scrimmage. 

“So if you’re Jeff Lebby, the offensive coordinator, and Lane Kiffin, you. Have to go tempo.  You have to crank it up and go as fast you can because you know that’s going to be an equalizer.” 

Lane Kiffin: Corral injury is “not ideal” for Ole Miss offense

Corral hasn’t been able to practice much over the last two weeks, which Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said is not ideal for the offense. A lack of practice impacts what you can get away with calling during a game, further limiting the offense. But Corral battling through his injury can also have positive impacts on the team.

“He didn’t practice last week so we’ve kind of gotten used to this,” Kiffin said of Corral earlier in the week. “It limits what we do obviously and what we can call in the game. Practice is important no matter who you are, especially the quarterback for a lot of reasons. So that is not ideal at all obviously.

“He said after the game, injured vs. hurt. Young players seeing him play through that, pretty powerful and pretty unique nowadays.”

After being an early season favorite for the Heisman, Corral has cooled off over recent games. But he has still had a great year. On the season, Corral has thrown for 2,527 yards, 16 touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also has 528 rushing yards with ten touchdowns.

Kickoff for Saturday night’s game between Ole Miss and Texas A&M is set for 7 p.m. ET.