Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State vs. Toledo: Key Factors for Victory in Saturday’s Showdown

What will it take for the Bulldogs and Rockets to win at Davis Wade Stadium

Taylor Hodges

Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby reacts against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium.
Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby reacts against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State and Toledo’s coaches know there’s always more than one way to win a game.

Sure, both staffs will have their game plans they think will give them the best chance to win. But sometimes those plans don’t work or get thwarted by something crazy or weird.

Despite Toledo being a Conference USA team, the Bulldogs will have to do more than just show up to win. The Rockets have a roster with players who have played with one another for more than two games and they haven’t had a losing season since 2009.

They also have a win against a top 20 SEC team and have won 10 or more games three times since 2015 (Mississippi State has had none).

After watching the Bulldogs against Arizona State, this week’s game against Toledo isn’t as easy of game to predict than it was before the season.

We’ll be posting our official game predictions Saturday morning, but for now, let’s identify what each team will need to do to win.

And to make things interesting for myself, the reason for one team can’t be the opposite of the reason for the other one. For example, if the reason Mississippi State will win is it’s defense stopping the run, the reason for Toledo can’t be running the ball.

So, with that set up, let’s take a look at what it’ll take Toledo and Mississippi State to win Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.

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Taylor Hodges

TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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