Mississippi players celebrate after an NCAA college football game against Mississippi State in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. Mississippi won 31-17. (Photo | Cady Herring)
Oxford, MS.- A year of bragging rights was given to Mississippi State last Thanksgiving over Ole Miss. This year, the Golden Egg returns to Oxford as Ole Miss upended in-state rival Mississippi State 31-17.
It was the first time since 1999 that both teams came into the Egg Bowl ranked and the lower ranked Rebels came out on top.
Ole Miss accumulated 532 total yards of offense against the Bulldog defense , which is the fourth time the Rebels have totaled over 500 total yards. It was also the second highest yardage total this season for the Rebel offense.
The 205 rushing yards for Ole Miss was the most against an SEC opponent this season.
Senior quarterback Bo Wallace came into the matchup with an injured right ankle suffered last week against Arkansas. Wallace looked shaky at times, only completing 13-30 passes for 296 yards and one interception, but powered through and made big throws against the Mississippi State secondary.
With his performance, Wallace eclipsed Eli Manning for the most total yards in Ole Miss history.
The first scoring drive only took the Rebels two plays for 47 yards, capped off by a one-yard touchdown run from Wallace to take the early 7-0 lead with four minutes left in the 1st quarter.
Mississippi State would tack on a 45-yard field goal near the start of the second quarter to make the game 7-3 Ole Miss. The first half would end with the same score.
It was an eventful third quarter to say the least.
Mississippi State would score first in the second half, with junior quarterback Dak Prescott running in for the one-yard score to take the 10-7 lead.
The lead lasted only for 1:29. Ole Miss would drive 84 yards in only four plays to get the go-ahead touchdown. Sophomore tight end Jeremy Liggins would take the snap and dive over the line to give the lead back to Ole Miss 14-10.
With 3:36 left in the third quarter, freshman kicker Gary Wunderlich knotted a 37-yard field goal to increase the Rebel lead to 17-10.
Junior running back Jaylen Walton finished the game with a career-high 148 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown. His touchdown will be one that will forever live in Egg Bowl lore.
Walton took the stretch handoff from Wallace to the right side of the field, reversed fields, broke numerous tackles, and dashed for the 91-yard strike to make it 24-10 Ole Miss.
Dak Prescott would lead the Bulldogs on a nine play, 75-yard touchdown-scoring drive in the fourth quarter to make it a one possession lead for Ole Miss 24-17.
The running backs had major contributions in the victory for Ole Miss. Redshirt freshman Jordan Wilkins would join Walton in the play-making frenzy for the running backs.
At the 9:45 mark in the fourth quarter, Wilkins took the handoff and ran for 41 yards on the first play of the drive to put the Rebels at the Mississippi State 31-yard line. Freeze used one of his many trick plays on the next play, letting Wilkins throw the ball to junior wide receiver Cody Core for the 31-yard score to make it 31-17 Ole Miss.
The Rebel defense held Mississippi State to a season-low tying 17 points. While the “landshark” defenses’ streak of 34-straight games forcing at least one turnover ended, the defense consistently got pressure in the MSU backfield, forcing Prescott to scramble constantly and made stops against the Bulldog run game.
The Golden Egg trophy is here to stay in Oxford, at least for another year.
