For the first time since 2009, Ole Miss is entering the Egg Bowl coming off a win. The Rebels played well in a 38-17 drubbing of LSU, especially on the defensive side of the ball, and it was in part due to a pair of sophomores, Marquis Haynes and DeMarquis Gates.
Gates, who earned SEC defensive player of the week, led the Rebels in tackles with 14, along with a pass break up and a quarterback hurry.
“DeMarquis has matured some this year, which needed to occur, and I think he continues to do that, both as a player and as a young man,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said.
Gates was starting in place of senior Denzel Nkemdiche, who was not available due to health concerns.
Haynes earned SEC defensive lineman of the week with four tackles and a fumble recovery.
“Marquis has just had a really solid year for us,” Freeze said. “Love his personality, love the energy he adds to this building every time he comes in here. We’re really proud for those two guys.”
The Rebels will need to continue that level of defensive play this week if they wish to win in Starkville for the first time since 2003. The Landshark defense will be facing arguably the best quarterback in the SEC in Dak Prescott, who has thrown for 3159 yards and 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
“They have one of the most tremendous leaders that we’ve seen in this conference in Dak,” Freeze said. “He’s a great player, a great leader, a winner, and will compete at a high level.”
Prescott is also coming off of his best performance of the 2015 season at Arkansas, where he went 38-50 for 508 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-50 win. Prescott looks as if he has greatly improved as a passer this year, and Freeze took note of that on Monday.
“He strikes me as a guy with great mental toughness, and best online casino knows what he wants and will have a plan to go about achieving that,” Freeze said. “He’s throwing the ball extremely well, and he takes care of it, and uses his legs when he needs to.”
The Rebel defense will face a Mississippi State offense that is lacking in the run game from a year ago, but is passing at a more efficient rate.
“I think they’re true to who they think they are. They’re throwing the ball with great efficiency and accuracy” Freeze said. “They’re very similar to a lot of the teams we’ve coached in that the quarterback could be the biggest threat running as well as throwing it.”
Ole Miss needs a win and an Alabama loss to Auburn in order to have win the SEC West. The Iron Bowl will kick off at 2:30, meaning that the Rebels will know their fate beforehand, but according to Freeze, the team will not be aware of what is taking place a Jordan-Hare. He said they will not turn on the game on the bus ride over, and once they arrive in Starkville, all cell phones will be turned off.
“We will have no idea really what is going on in that game,” Freeze said. “There will be enough riding on the Egg Bowl regardless of the outcome of that that we should be playing with everything that we are for it.”
