The No. 22 LSU Tigers are set to host No. 16 Mississippi State in Baton Rouge on Saturday afternoon in a critical ranked SEC matchup.
However, there's been notable injury questions ahead of kickoff for one of college football's biggest rising stars.
Mississippi State star quarterback Kamario Taylor has been dealing with a turf toe injury that's put his availability in doubt for Saturday. Now, the worst appears to have been realized for the Bulldogs, and it's a big break for the LSU defense.
Kamario Taylor Still Dealing With Turf Toe Injury
Taylor is not expected to play against LSU on Saturday as he continues to deal with injury, per reports from ESPN's Pete Thamel. He originally suffered the foot/turf toe injury in the win over Missouri on Sept. 26.
Additionally, Mississippi State starting running back Fluff Bothwell is also not expected to play for the Bulldogs.
Both players have been listed as questionable on the SEC injury report this week.
Though it's never good to see a star quarterback like Taylor miss a game due to injury, LSU needs all of the breaks it can get while staring at a 4-2 record. You play who is in front of you, and the Tigers certainly won't apologize for not having to play against a Heisman-level quarterback like Taylor.
There's no doubt that Taylor's expected absence significantly increases the Tigers' chances of winning, but who will start in place of him on Saturday?
Who Starts in Place of Kamario Taylor?
Once Taylor is officially ruled out, it remains unclear who Mississippi State will start at quarterback.
The Bulldogs brought in Appalachain State transfer AJ Swann this offseason as a veteran backup to Taylor, yet it was freshman Parker "Billy" Puckett who has received the backup reps so far this season. In two appearances, he's gone 8 of 14 passing for 89 yards along with two carries for 24 yards.
Swann has yet to appear in a game this season.
As a result, one would assume that Puckett gets the call against LSU, but perhaps Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby has been saving Swann for a moment like. Not having him play during pointless mop-up duty gives opposing defenses less film from this season to work with.
Perhaps both quarterbacks will play. Either way, LSU and defensive coordinator Blake Baker will face an interesting challenge despite Taylor's absence.
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