Gutsy Egg Bowl Goes to Ole Miss, 17-7 Over Mississippi State

Bulldogs needed a win to remain bowl eligible while numerous players were honored on Senior Night and participated in their final game.

One coach went for it on fourth-and-3 in the other team's territory, the other didn't when faced with four-and-1 at his own 34. That's what the annual game for the Golden Egg Trophy came down to Thursday night at Davis Wade Stadium.

The former, of course, was by Lane Kiffin, who saw his team not only convert for the key first down, but go on to score the crucial touchdown as No. 12 Ole Miss won the annual rivalry game, 17-7. 

With the loss, the Bulldogs' search for a head coach can begin in earnest, and it was also a final goodbye to numerous seniors including quarterback Will Rogers. Not only did Mississippi State (5-7, 1-7 Southeastern Conference) need another win to secure a bowl spot, but the future of the program will now be determined after Zach Arnett was fired 11 days previous and Greg Knox named interim head coach (again). Arnett had taken the reins after Mike Leach died last December.  

"Great group of seniors, that took control and led this team," Knox said. "I can't thank them enough for all they did, through all the tough times. They really did everything they could to keep this team together, and I appreciate them."

In many ways it was a typical Egg Bowl, with some gutsy performances due to numerous players trying to play through injuries, some nastiness, and some odd things happening both on and off the field. But it hardly included any scoring, at least early on. 

Neither offense was able to get much momentum in the first half, with Zavion Thomas and Justin Robinson having the longest gains on receptions of 26 and 23 yards, respectively. Ole Miss put the only points on the board on a 36-yard field goal by Caden Costa, to cap a 13-play, 66-yard drive that was aided by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Corey Ellington. 

Things did start to click for the Bulldogs, though, on a 10-play, 58-yard drive just before halftime. It ended with a 42-yard missed field goal with 15 seconds left on the clock, however the swing carried into the second half. 

After the defense forced a three-and-out, State went 71 yards on 10 pays, with Rogers running in his first rushing touchdown of the season (and second of his career). In addition to giving the Bulldogs their first lead of the night, it ate up 4:55 off the clock.

Yet it wasn't a tone-setter, as Ole Miss (10-2, 6-2 SEC) more than countered. It quickly retook the lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Quinshon Judkins, as the 10-play, 75-yard drive made the score 10-7. At that point, both teams had exactly 214 yards of total offense. They would finish with 307 by the Rebels (including just 96 passing), and 303 for the Bulldogs. 

That's when the key coaching decisions came into play. Knox opted not to go for it on fourth-and-1 due to the field position, despite doing so in a similar situation earlier in the game. 

"I just didn't want to give them field position like that," Knox said about the second-half decision. "I made the decision. We were going to try and punt the ball and pin them deep, and try and get an advantage through that."

Kiffin didn't hesitate with his opportunity, on fourth-and-3, and did an arm pump at the end of the Jordan Watkins reception for 7 yards. Three plays later Jaxson Dart hit tight end Caden Prieskorn for a 26-yard touchdown to pull away for good early in the fourth quarter. Previous to the play, the quarterback was just 1-for-6 on third downs.

“I missed coach Leach today.”

-⁦@Lane_Kiffin⁩ following the win pic.twitter.com/VuAbYKLd0I

— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) November 24, 2023

The quarterbacks were among those who appeared to be playing through injuries. Dart took a hard hit that led to a targeting call during one of the touchdown drives, which Knox said was "probably" the play of the game. Rogers was still dealing with a shoulder injury suffered against Southern Michigan. He was 25 of 39 passes for 207 yards. 

"Would've been so easy for us to quit after everything we've been through on and off the field," Rogers said. "People can say a lot of things about us, but we're not quitters."

The Morning Bell: Friday, November 24, 2023