Who will have the better quote come Saturday: Mike Leach or Ed Orgeron?
How could you possibly not get fired up for Mike Leach vs. Ed Orgeron on Saturday afternoon?
We’ve had many great head coaching matchups before in the college football landscape, but nothing quite like this. As part of the CBS SEC Game of the Week, we’ve got the defending national champion Coach O vs. “The Pirate” making his triumphant return to the SEC after spending decades at two remote Power 5 programs in Northwest Texas and then over in The Palouse.
Though we could get a great game or a terrible one, we are sure to get at least one incredible soundbite from each of them. Orgeron will speak in his thick gravely Cajun accent, ending any conversation he has with anyone with, “Geaux Tigahs!” Leach is unpredictable at the podium. Oh, he will ramble with rampant “uh’s” every three words, but we’ll surely learn something from him.
When it comes to elite SEC coaching personalities, is this the new apex?
If there was ever an SEC game to have two head coaches mic’d up instead of having to listen to whatever Gary Danielson or Brad Nessler want to talk about, this would be that game. If this was an NFL game, you know NFL Films would be all over this. Let’s hope CBS captures one of the most significant coaching moments in our lives as SEC football fans.
Orgeron may be a champion already, but he lost two key coaches off his staff from last season, as well as seemingly every player of note to the NFL Draft. He may praise his new starting quarterback Myles Brennan or his new No. 1 receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. if they win.
But should Leach pull off the upset, CBS will not be ready for what’s about to hit them with the postgame interview. If Leach is not immediately handed a cowbell to start playing with while he’s mumbling about all sorts of stuff to Jamie Erdahl, we will have been let down as Americans. Could you imagine if Gardner Minshew shows up and slaps him on the lips with a fake mustache again?
Even if Mississippi State-LSU is a tertiary SEC West rivalry, bringing Leach into the mix to pair with Orgeron certainly gives it more juice. It may not be a featured game like this every year, but if you want a money quote or five, this is the game to build your featured story from Saturday around. This game will help prepare us for the Lane Kiffin Train being back in the SEC, too. Buckle up, kids.
Yes, we’ll get great soundbites out of Nick Saban a few times a year, but the Mississippi coaches will be the gift that keeps on giving. If you have not canceled all your plans yet to watch the Egg Bowl as if your life depended on it, you must do that right now. The only way to top last year’s fake dog pee celebrations is with “The Pirate” vs. “The Lane Train” on Nov 28.
Though there are other excellent games on tap in the SEC’s triumphant return to greatness, Mississippi State vs. LSU is the one to watch if you have no rooting interest in any particular game. When it comes to big personalities with firmly established brands, this one at Death Valley will be so hard to top. The Egg Bowl can definitely do it, but this one should whet your appetite for 2020.
Have your audio recorders ready because Coach O and “The Pirate” will never let you down.
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