What Baylor QB Will Ole Miss Face In The Sugar Bowl?

The Bears will turning back to their regular season starter in New Orleans.

No. 8 Ole Miss will travel to New Orleans to take on No. 7 Baylor for a shot at the Sugar Bowl title. The outcome of the game will be a surprise for both parties. 

Who will start at quarterback for the Bears is no longer one. 

The Bears will start Gerry Bohanon Saturday in place of Blake Shapen, according to coach Dave Aranda. Shapen, a redshirt freshman who led the Bears to a Big 12 championship game victory, has been battling a shoulder injury during over the past several weeks. 

“Blake has not been participating,” Aranda said Monday. “Blake is still recovering from a shoulder injury. So we’re not anticipating having Blake.”

Bohanon, a redshirt junior, won the starting job over Jacob Zemo back in August following a strong spring. Behind his dual-threat abilities, the Arkansas native culminated a 9-2 record in 11 starts before suffering a hamstring injury prior to the season finale. 

For the year, Bohanon has thrown for 2,165 yards and 17 touchdowns against six interceptions while completing 64.3 percent of his passes. He also proved to be a good fit in the power run game, rushing for 303 yards and nine touchdowns.

“Gerry’s been good," Aranda said. "He’s been throwing the ball better and better I think, towards the end of the week. Very strong, able to run, open up and do all the things that we’ve been accustomed to seeing him do. Excited for him and his opportunity.”

Shapen filled in for Bohannon over for the regular-season finale against Texas Tech, throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He would complete 23 of 28 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns against No. 6 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game, securing the third Big 12 title in program history. 

With COVID-19 ravishing bowl season, Aranda also spoke of the potential chance of the Sugar Bowl being canceled. Outbreaks have occurred across the country, the second-year coach said the team was following protocols established at the beginning of the year. 

Aranda said that he allowed his players to return home for the holidays to be with their families despite a high raise in the omicron variant.

“Our vaccination rate is very high on the team,” Aranda said. “For us, our superpower, if there is one, is relationships, it’s people, it’s family.

"Our guys all checked in [Sunday] night, and so we got everybody back on time.”

The Rebels are expected to start Matt Corral, who hopes to close out his Ole Miss career with a record-setting 11th win. This season, the California native threw for 3,349 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions.  

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