Written by Tyler Pastorius
When looking at the SEC you typically think of a top, powerful, dominant defense. When you look at the Big 12 you are thinking of some of the most potent offensive players and teams. Well in the opening week of college football, there is a matchup that is flipping that around with Texas Tech hosting Ole Miss. This is a huge game especially with the running question of who is better – the SEC or Big 12?
Both of these teams are looking to have a big impact on the college ranking this year. Both have power on both sides of the ball but have standouts in certain areas. Ole Miss will have that high power/high passing game. Texas Tech has a defense that has made a 30 spot jump (128th to 98th) in scoring defense. Needless to say, this is going to be the classic matchup of who is going to give first? Texas Tech has an offensive line group that has nearly 100 starts on the line returning which is one of the best in the country. With a great offensive line, you might have some time to make a play but, who is the ball going to? In the skill positions, there are a lot of questions for Tech. So the best opportunity that I think Texas Tech will see would be pounding the ball behind the experienced line.
Looking at Ole Miss, the wide receivers are a huge standout and even has the 33rd best-ranked offense in the country. When looking at the WR’s this is the opposite of Texas Tech in terms of the secondary is going to have its hand full. Just looking at the Ole Miss passing, last year they were ranked 11th in the nation. Not the best look for the secondary at Texas Tech. The person that I think that will be the difference in this game for Ole Miss (and unfortunately for Texas Tech) will be the current project first rounder, junior A.J Brown. Last year he pulled in 75 catches for 1,252 yards with 11 touchdowns. He is going to be the focal point for the Ole Miss offense but even for the Texas Tech defense. But someone with the talent that A.J has, it is going to be hard to stop that.
Overall, this is going to be a great game. I think it is going to be a close game that comes down to either a field goal or a late game-winning drive touchdown. But in the end, I have Ole Miss pulling this out with the offensive star power that they have. The game is Saturday morning at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
