LIVE! From Davis-Wade: Real time updates for No. 12 Ole Miss at Mississippi State
FINAL: OLE MISS 17, MISSISSIPPI STATE 7
It wasn’t pretty, but what Egg Bowl is, and the Rebels regain possession of the trophy while securing its second 10-win regular season in the last three years.
Lane Kiffin is now 3-1 against MSU in this game
After trying four times with Pegues out there on fourth down Ole Miss converts it and that might be all she wrote.
Ole Miss 17, Mississippi State 7 4:31 4Q
Another stand by the defense leads to a turnover on downs for Mississippi State and still down two scores with 4:47 remaining this is a chance for Ole Miss to salt this one away.
Field goal kicking has not been the Bulldogs friend as the 50-yard attempt doinked off the crossbar. Rebels dodge another one and that was a killer result for MSU who is down two scores with less than seven minutes remaining.
Rebels not able to take advantage of the MSU punt and put the Bulldogs in two touchdown mode despite the short field. Ole Miss punts it away and pins the Bulldogs inside their 10.
Ole Miss 17, Mississippi State 7 13:26 4Q
I wouldn’t call it rope-a-doping all game but mercy Ole Miss just had two tremendous calls in close succession. The 4th down call for a pass to Watkins that kept the drive going and then a wide open Caden Prieskorn walks in for the 26-yard touchdown catch.
Kiffin has another fourth down decision to make during the break. They were lined up in the Pegues formation but just let the clock expire.
END OF THE 3RD QUARTER: OLE MISS 10, MISSISSIPPI STATE 7
Ole Miss defense holds serve after the touchdown and forces MSU to punt it away. Lets see if the offense can carry momentum into back-to-back drives.
Judkins has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons his first two years in the SEC. Up to 87 yards tonight after the last drive.
Ole Miss 10, Mississippi State 7 4:47 3Q
Judkins turned it to another gear after the Dart hit and he gets the Rebels first touchdown of the game on a two-yard run. Suddenly there is offense.
Dart is back in after two motivated runs by Judkins to get into Bulldog territory.
After a review targeting was called on the Dart hit on.
Dart takes a hard hit on a third down run and very slow to move and attempt to get up to his feet. He is helped off the field slowly with trainers and Spencer Sanders is in.
Mississippi State 7, Ole Miss 3 8:33 3Q
The worst case scenario of events unfolded for Ole Miss with bad start on offense paired with Mississippi State’s offense having its best drive of the game. It was capped with a Will Rogers 1-yard touchdown run, putting the Bulldogs out in front.
Ole Miss opens up the second half with a three-and-out and then punts it away. Seems like a lot of factors in play for this performance by the offense. Injured Dart (possibly more than letting on), offensive line down to key players and the play calling.
First Half Stats:
HALFTIME: OLE MISS 3, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0
Mississippi State missed a 42-yard field goal try and Ole Miss has played its worst half of football this season and will half a lead. Rebels get the ball to start the second half.
Jared Ivey went into the north end zone tunnel a little early of halftime. Not sure what his issue is.
Mississippi State reaches the 50 but did not cross midfield as they were forced to punt for the sixth time tonight. Ole Miss defense has shown up and looks the best it has in several games.
Ole Miss 3, Mississippi State 0 8:23 2Q
The offensive line got more push on this drive and the run game opened up some with Judkins having his best carries of the game. The drive stalls at the Bulldogs 19 and forces a 36-yard field goal attempt by Caden Costa who hits
Defense has done more than its share of the job tonight, but the offense looks like it did in the first half against ULM. See what the second quarter brings.
END OF THE 1ST QUARTER: OLE MISS 0, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0
Zamari Walton had an interception but an offsides call negates it to end the first 15 minutes here in Starkville.
Ole Miss 0, Mississippi State 0 1:33 1Q
Eight drives, eight punts. Neither team has crossed midfield this game.
Ole Miss got a spark from Ulysses Bentley IV this drive but then it stalled after Dart’s long throw to double covered Dayton Wade was incomplete and then anther third down scramble from Dart.
If the offense was having any kind of success tonight this game could be put to bed before halway through the first quarter but instead the Rebels are keeping the Bulldogs in it while the defense is doing its job.
Make that six drives and six punts. Ole Miss lined up on fourth down with Pegues at quarterback but did not run a play, opting to call timeout and send the punt team out.
Five drives and five punts between the Rebels and Bulldogs. Ole Miss is flying around on defense and two of first three Mississippi State drives have lasted less than a minute of game clock.
Dart went into the medical tent after that drive but came out rather quickly. I think it was a tape job and he’s limping slightly.
Ole Miss 0, Mississippi State 0 8:41 1Q
This Ole Miss offensive line is not it. They cannot handle pressure fast or long enough and Dart once again is hurried on third down and throws it away. Rebels punt it down to the Bulldogs 15.
Each offense has one first down as State manages to get their on a third down pass from Rogers, but then forced to punt three plays later. Bulldogs running back Seth Davis was hit hard on the play by Zamari Walton and he is being tended to.
Ole Miss 0, Mississippi State 0 12:31 1Q
A good start on offense ends in a punt after Dart is hurried and forced to throw it away on third down. The drive stalled when Judkins failed to haul in a catch on first down that looks like a bubble screen.
Ole Miss defense forces a three-and-out to open up the game. Got more pressure on the quarterback that drive than they did all last week against ULM. Bulldogs punt it away.
Pregame Observations
Mississippi State won the toss and elected to take the ball first. Ole Miss defense up first.
Williams did not do much in warm up drills, so we will see how much Williams gets involved.
Jaxson Dart is dressed out and good to go, despite national media reports discussing his availability.
As is Jayden Williams. Would be a good sign and boost for the Ole Miss offensive line if he can go to any degree and be effective.
Ole Miss captains for tonight: Tre Harris, Cedric Johnson, Ashanti Cistrunk and JJ Pegues
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The end of the regular season is here and No. 12 Ole Miss battles Mississippi State for the “Golden Egg” in the 96th edition of the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night.
In the nation’s longest rivalry the Rebels (9-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) and Bulldogs (5-6, 1-6) are set to meet for the 120th time. This is the fourth under Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin who is looking to improve to 3-1 against the in-state rivals.
Plenty on the line with Ole Miss looking for its second 10-win regular season in the last three seasons. The Rebels secured the first one in Starkville with a 31-21 win to cap off the 2021 regular season. Kiffin is trying to add to his total being the only head coach in program history to achieve the mark and join Johnny Vaught as the only Ole Miss head coaches to have multiple 10-win seasons.
Another question mark entering Thursday’s game is the Rebels banged up offensive line. Micah Pettus is out and Jayden Williams is questionable after sustaining an injury early in the game at Georgia and missing last week’s home finale against ULM. Jaxson Dart was under pressure often against a ULM defensive line which brings concern in how the Rebels will handle the Mississippi State defensive front.
On the flip side can the Ole Miss defensive line get after a banged up Will Rogers and keep the Mississippi State offense off schedule?
Keep this page open and stick with The Ole Miss Spirit as it will serves as the live updates for today’s game. That includes score updates, stats, highlights and quarter recaps which will be found here throughout the night.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
