Music City Bowl Preview

This Friday, Mississippi State will play Wake Forest in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN. Many have marked Mississippi State's season a disappointment. Mississippi State started the year ranked top 20 in most polls. Injuries on the offensive line and close games have lead the Bulldogs to a 6-6 season. And while, yes, it was a disappointing season, most everyone will tell you that reaching this bowl game was a rather large step for MSU in the long run. This marks only the 4th time in school history that the Bulldogs have reached back-to-back bowl games and the first time since the 2000 season.

The Bulldog's opponent, Wake Forest (6-6), is in the process of getting back on top. The Demon Deacons received a BCS-bowl bid in 2006. They lost in the Orange Bowl to Louisville 26-14. This is the Demon Deacons first bowl bid since the 2008 season.

Mississippi State has been somewhat of a mystery this season with performances that range from a dominant victory against Ole Miss to a blowout loss to Arkansas.However, Wake Forest has played fairly consistent this season. With a win against ranked (at the time) Florida State and a near win against BCS-bound Clemson. Both of these teams will be looking to claim a winning season.

Wake Forest plays a unique style of a 3-4 defense. This defense has many different schemes and blitzes. Look for Miss. State to take advantage of  linebacker-wide receiver mismatches during this game. Screen passes and quick throws will neutralize this blitz-happy defense.

On offense,Wake Forest will use an air attack that the Bulldogs haven't seen since Arkansas (and that didn't turn out too well for MSU). Lead by Tanner Price ( 2803 yards, 20 TDs, 6 INTs), WF will test Mississippi State deep through the air early and often . And MSU better keep an eye on WR Chris Givens, a Mississippi native who is having a very special season ( 1276 yards, 74 receptions, 9 TDs).

With all of that said, let's look at my keys to this game.

Wake Forest's Keys to the Game

• Test the MSU secondary DEEP early and often.
• Get the passing game going early, and it will open up the ground game.
• Blitz Bulldog quarterbacks Chris Relf and Tyler Russell and force them to make costly mistakes.

Mississippi State's Keys to the Game

• Take advantage of any Linebacker-WR mismatches.
• Use screen passes and quick throws to slow down WF's Defense
• Play assignment football on defense. Lock down the passing game and WF won't be able to do much on offense.
• Run the ball down hill at the defense. WF is a speedy team. Don't go around them, go through them.

Prediction: I just pointed out what each team will have to do to win this game. I think it will be easier for MSU to beat WF for one reason: They have a team that is battle-tested because they have already played the best teams in the nation. One of those top teams (Arkansas), thrashed the dogs. If WF can match Arkansas's offensive firepower, it could be a long day for MSU.  Not Happening.  MSU 41, WF 24.