Ole Miss is bringing the Golden Egg back to Oxford after its 17-7 win over Mississippi State in Starkville. The victory improved the Rebel’s record to 10-2, earning them their second double-digit win regular season under Head Coach Lane Kiffin and ensuring a trip to a prestigious bowl game.
While it is always great to triumph in a heated rivalry game, this win particularly is the perfect capstone to what has been a season full of hopes, struggles and ultimately success for the Ole Miss Rebels.
Here are three takeaways from the final game of the regular season
Rivalry games are never easy
Seemingly every year, regardless of the gap in records between the two teams, there is a significant chance of an upset or a closely contested matchup in the beloved Egg Bowl. This year was no exception to that rule.
Ole Miss came into this game with the goal of finishing off an amazing season under Kiffin. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, were playing for slim chances at a bowl game and pride under an interim head coach.
Despite all of this, the Rebels limped into halftime with a 3-0 lead, and managed to pull away by only a small margin in the fourth quarter — 17-7. While some might see this as a bad sign, this rivalry game speaks volumes to this year’s roster and its ability to overcome all kinds of adversity.
The defense bounces back
After their blowout loss to Georgia, there was much concern around how well the Rebel defense would be able to perform for the rest of the season. After all, the unit had several hiccups during the year, but none so bad as the beatdown it took in Athens.
Well, after a tune-up game against ULM, the defense managed to put on a clinic in the Egg Bowl, holding the Bulldogs to a mere seven points. While Ole Miss failed to force any turnovers, it made key plays to push Mississippi State away from the end zone and into tough field goal attempts, two of which were missed.
Rebel fans can only hope the defense continues its dominant streak in the upcoming bowl game to round out the season.
Get ready for Dart’s senior season…hopefully
This may be a surprising statement given his below average stat line from the game, but it is going to be a blast watching Jaxson Dart lead the Ole Miss offense next year — hopefully.
Even in a game where he mustered only 96 passing yards and one touchdown, he brings this energy and excitement to the team that is so fun to watch, and it will make for a magical season.
Watching him give his all on first down scrambles, come back from injury and continue to play at full steam no matter the situation is the most fun fans of Rebel football have had in a while.
According to Kiffin, Dart will be returning next year for his third and final season with the Rebels. It will be extremely interesting to see just how far he can take his team.
