Ole Miss Football defeated in-state rival Mississippi State 38-19 in the Egg Bowl on Friday, Nov. 28 in Starkville, Miss., finishing out their regular season 11-1.
“It’s awesome. I know how much it (the Egg Bowl) means to so many people in this state,” head coach Lane Kiffin said in his postgame press conference.
First half
Davis Wade Stadium was incredibly loud to start the game, but that did not stop Ole Miss’ first drive.
The campaign to get more Rebel fans to the Egg Bowl by Ole Miss Athletics, called “Invade Wade,” seemed to work. Most sections in the east grandstand were filled with Rebel fans.
“It was amazing. Seeing all that in the stands, all the fans coming out. Awesome,” linebacker TJ Dottery said in his postgame press conference.
Rebel receiver Harrison Wallace III got the Rebels started with a 34-yard catch in the middle of the field. Running back Kewan Lacy ran on the outside and got around the edge for a 31-yard touchdown to start the scoring. Ole Miss scored on just five plays in less than two minutes.
The Bulldogs had a miscue on the kickoff and muffed the ball after signaling a fair catch, which forced them to start on their own three-yard line. However, they marched down the field into Rebel territory with a few clutch plays.
Mississippi State responded with a 10-play, 97-yard drive touchdown after a 22-yard run from quarterback Kamario Taylor to tie it up 7-7. The Egg Bowl marked Taylor’s first collegiate start.
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw a 24-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown pass to Wallace and put the Rebels back on top.
Ole Miss was 2-for-2 on third down conversions to begin the game. The offensive line gave Chambliss plenty of time in the pocket to make quality reads. The gameplane still relied on quick passes, but Chambliss went through his progressions without significant pressure a few times early on.
A couple passes from Taylor put State at fourth-and-eight. The Rebels were able to stop the home side after gaining just 15 yards.
Ole Miss continued to have success against the Mississippi State secondary in their third drive. After three consecutive runs, Ole Miss was forced to fourth-and-two. Lacy lined up for a direct snap and ran for nine yards and the first down.
To end the first quarter, Chambliss was 7-for-7 with 118 passing yards. Lacy had 11 carries for 64 yards. Wallace led the way for the receivers with four catches for 72 yards.
Miscommunication between Wallace and Trinidad, coupled with a false start, forced the Rebels to kick a field goal. Lucas Carneiro’s kick went wide and gave the Bulldogs the ball back at the 20-yard line.
Taylor avoided a sack on first down, then on the next play ran for 39 yards. Momentum was swinging in States favor until Princewill Umanmielen intercepted a tipped pass.
Coming off the missed field goal drive, Chambliss threw four straight incompletions after three passes went awry. Ole Miss had to punt after a three-and-out. Chambliss took a couple of deep shots but was unable to connect.
The Rebel defensive line put significant pressure on Taylor and the State offensive line and forced two holding penalties and a third-and-16. State was unable to convert and punted it away.
Both offenses stalled out in the second and were unable to get anything going. Lacy got a couple carries in the next drive, but was unable to make anything of it and Ole Miss had to punt again after a three-and-out.
Taylor eluded Rebel defenders and the Bulldog run game was efficient with 113 yards halfway through the second quarter, but Ole Miss dug in and halted Taylor on third-and-three to force a punt.
Chambliss passed to Lacy to pick up their first first down in several drives. A few plays after Ole Miss entered State territory, Chambliss threw an incomplete pass that State players thought was a fumble. A fight between the sides broke out, but the coaches were mostly able to prevent escalation.
The Oscar Bird punt took a very favorable bounce, but the Ole Miss defender made a mental mistake and let the ball trickle into the end zone.
Mississippi State sprinted down the field with two first downs for 58 yards to threaten to tie the game going into the second half. Coming out of the two minute warning, the Rebels forced a field goal to make it 14-10. Ole Miss got the ball back with a minute and 45 seconds left and three timeouts remaining.
Chambliss and the Rebels were rolling with less than a minute to go. A back shoulder toss to De’Zhaun Stribling put the Rebels at the State 40 yard line.
Rebel offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. went back to the normal game plan and Chambliss executed three straight completions to restart the offense.
Lee was a weapon in the two minute drill. He had several catches and his 15-yard catch got Ole Miss to the 11 yard line.
Stribling finished the drive off with a spectacular catch on a 50-50 ball to put Ole Miss up 21-10 with 12 seconds left in the half.
The Rebel drive went for 75 yards in just over a minute-and-a-half.
After the kickoff, there was a small scuffle between the players, but the referees did not throw a flag. The Rebels went into halftime with an 11 point lead.
Ole Miss looked sharp in the first half, but the crowd noise seemed to get to Chambliss and the offense stalled out for several drives. The defense kept them in it and had crucial plays, like the tipped interception, to ride the shifts in momentum.
Second half
Mississippi State received the ball to start the half. The Bulldogs ran the ball well and were efficient through the air to start the half. They settled for a 36-yard field goal to make it 21-13.
A holding call on a deep ball and a hands to the face penalty pushed Ole Miss to the State 30 yard line. Chambliss had Wallace open on a slant for a first down, but it fell incomplete and the Rebels settled for a field goal to make it 24-13.
State had five penalties for 57 yards through two-and-a-half quarters. The Bulldogs were particularly undisciplined in defending the deep ball, and the scoreboard reflected that.
After the Rebel defense stalled the Bulldogs next drive, the offense drove down the field with three passes for 30 yards. Lacy got his 20th carry of the game and went over the 100-yard mark.
Ole Miss ended the quarter at the State 29-yard line. Chambliss and Stribling teamed up again for a stellar touchdown pass, this one was a 23-yarder. The point after attempt was good, and Ole Miss went up 31-13.
The offense was clicking with good decisions and even better short, quick throws from Chambliss. Three Rebel receivers were over 60 yards and Chambliss had 271 passing yards.
Wydett Williams Jr. had a great pass breakup to prevent a touchdown; however, the Bulldog offense was pushing and got into Rebel territory.
The Ole Miss pass rush had Taylor sacked, but he escaped the pocket and scored a 35-yard touchdown to make it 31-19. State went for two but were stopped.
The Rebel defense bent to the Bulldog run game all afternoon, but had not broken except for the two touchdowns by Taylor.
Ole Miss responded with an 88-yard touchdown pass to receiver Deuce Alexander. It took just 43 seconds for the Rebels to reestablish their three score lead, 38-19.
State went for it on fourth-and-one on their own 48, but the Rebels stood tall and forced a turnover on downs.
The Rebels came away with a 38-19 victory. Chambliss threw four touchdowns and 359 yards with a 68% completion percentage. Lacy carried the ball 27 times for 143 yards. Receiver Cayden Lee had seven catches and 77 yards. Wallace, Stribling and Alexander all had over 65 yards.
Ole Miss totaled 545 yards (359 in the air and 186 on the ground). They allowed 440 yards (178 in the air and 262 on the ground).
What’s next?
With the win, Ole Miss has likely secured their spot in the playoffs. The college football playoff committee will reveal the playoff bracket on Sunday, Dec. 7 from 11 to 3 p.m.
Chambliss spoke about Ole Miss hosting a playoff game in his postgame press conference.
“Hopefully, we have a home playoff game and have a great game in front of our fans,” Chambliss said. “This team has battled. Our one loss is to Georgia on the road by one score. So I feel like we’ve definitely earned it and we deserve to be in the college football playoffs.”
All eyes are now on Kiffin’s expected announcement regarding his future with the program tomorrow.
“I gotta do some praying and figure this thing out,” Kiffin said.
