While both of the famous coaches had their moments on Saturday, Leach, his new quarterback K.J., won the day. Costello and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They did nothing more than set school and Southeastern Conference records for passing, en route to a victory of 44-34 over LSU at Baton Rouge, the defending national champion. Leach deadpanned and Leach is undoubtedly the master of deadpans. State beat the sixth-ranked team in the country with Costello throwing a variety of beautiful passes that accumulated 623 yards. This win is sure to propel State into the Top 25 college football teams. The Southeastern Conference has been playing football for 87 years. Leach’s Air Raid offense only won one game to break the league’s single-game passing record. The Rebels had a remarkable 617 yard total offense against Florida’s fifth-ranked Florida earlier in the day and lost to them by just 51 yards. The Rebel defense must improve to make sure that Kiffin’s Ole Miss offense scores lots of points. Let’s just say that the over/under number for this year’s Egg Bowl could be as high as 90. Let me just say that Florida has a better football team than LSU right now. You don’t have to lose 14 NFL draft picks. That includes five first rounders, the Heisman trophy winner, your defensive coordinator and five other players who signed free agents contracts. Your passing game coach is also not affected. LSU also lost its All American cover cornerback, Derek Stingley Jr. Costello picked apart the Tigers’ stubborn press man-to-man coverage of the Bulldogs. Costello was both resourceful and accurate, and the receivers were open. The biggest difference between Mississippi State Saturday and Ole Miss Saturday was on defense. Leach has inherited higher-caliber SEC players than Kiffin, particularly in the front seven. LSU’s usually strong running game was limited to 2.1 yards per rush by the state. Seven times, Myles Brennen, Tiger quarterback, was sacked by the Bulldogs. Ole Miss was often defenseless at Oxford. Florida ran for almost 200 yards while running for 442 yards. On average, the Gators gained nearly nine yards per play. Kiffin called them “video game numbers”, and they were. This was not a lack defensive scheming. This was not coaching. This was not Xs and Ys. It was, as they say Jimmys and Joes. It seems like we have been doing this for years, but Ole Miss has to continue improving, growing, and playing faster on the other side of the ball. The Rebels are fun offensively. They have many, many weapons. Wide receiver Elijah Moore was the most prolific, catching 10 passes for 227 yards. These are also video game numbers. Matt Corral, Quarterback, threw for 395 yard. Running back Jerrion Elly gained 161 yards through running, receiving, and kick returning. Dontario Drummond, receiver, caught two passes for 60 yards and threw one for 45 yards. Another weapon is Kenny Yeboah, a transfer tight end. Mississippi State was the winner of this strange football season’s first big day. All the factors were present: A new coach, a new quarterback, a new offense, a new defensive coordinator, and no spring training. This was the first time that the team played on the road against the national champion. Yes. And every time the CBS cameras were focused on Leach from the Mississippi State sideline it seemed like he was taking in the game as if he were buying produce at the market. He would later add, “Better than average.” Well, yeah.