Ole Miss-Texas A&M: Most fun game to watch that doesn’t matter

The Ole Miss-Texas A&M matchup has lost its luster in recent weeks.

The Rebels have gone from the “best two-loss team in the nation” to losing three of their last four games. Last week, Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly experienced a torn ACL and lateral meniscus and will miss the remainder of the season.

Coincidentally, Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight also went down with a shoulder injury in Week 10 that will keep him out of at least the rest of the regular season. His setback took place during the Aggies’ stunning 35-28 loss to Mississippi State.

That upset came days after the College Football Playoff selection committee controversially ranked A&M ahead of undefeated Washington. So naturally, the perception of the Aggies has changed in less than a week.

A&M is still ranked No. 8 in the College Football Playoff poll, but few expect it to make much noise with two losses and without Knight. Ole Miss has been out of contention in the SEC West for weeks, and things look to be getting worse without Kelly. At this point, the Rebels are just playing for a bowl game and to not finish last in the division, which is where they rank entering Saturday’s game (1-4 in SEC play).

But that doesn’t mean this week’s matchup will be any less entertaining. In fact, it could be more so just because of the influx of uncertainty.

Both teams have less to lose than in weeks prior. Perhaps this will be the Jackson Pollock of football games as both teams throw everything at the wall and make a brilliant masterpiece.

A&M and Ole Miss have enough talent at the skill positions for their backups to both struggle and flourish in Saturday’s game. That means plenty of big plays from both sides and a likely back-and-forth score.

Let’s not forget that these are two of the best offenses in the SEC. A&M has a star at running back in Trayveon Williams and several playmakers at wide receiver, including Josh Reynolds and Christian Kirk. Ole Miss’ Evan Engram leads the SEC with 775 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns on 53 receptions. Damore’ea Stringfellow isn’t far behind with 529 yards, 3 touchdowns and 34 catches of his own.

Granted, much of that has to do with the exceptional play of Kelly — who has led the SEC in passing yards during each of the past two seasons — and Knight, who both possess enough mobility to help big plays develop.

But let’s not discredit the quarterbacks on either team. Ole Miss’ Shea Patterson was a 5-star prospect and ranked as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback and No. 4 overall signee from the 2016 national recruiting class. That’s assuming Ole Miss burns his redshirt instead of playing Jason Pellerin, a former 3-star dual-threat QB who has seen limited action behind Kelly.

A&M has a more experienced option in Jake Hubenak. Hubenak started in the Aggies’ bowl game against Louisville following the departures of former starters Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray. He threw for 307 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception on 28-of-48 passing despite the losing effort.

So it’s not like the quarterback play will be terrible. Perhaps a bit rusty for both teams, which could provide some exciting early turnovers, but an improvement as the game progresses.

Either way, with both teams likely eliminated from contention in the SEC West, there’s still plenty to be excited about. It may not be the game many expected in preseason, or even several weeks ago, but the A&M-Ole Miss matchup should still be entertaining.

If nothing else, it could be similar to a car crash in which you can’t help but feel bad for both teams but still won’t look away.

Jason Hall

Jason covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.