Conner, Corral lift Rebels to win in rainy Egg Bowl
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Snoop Conner ran for two touchdowns as No. 8 Mississippi scored 21 straight points to beat Mississippi State 31-21 on Thursday night in a windy, rainy and cold Egg Bowl.
“What a cool night. What a cool win. We’re happy and relieved,” Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin said. “It wasn’t easy. But our players found a way to win, and that’s what matters. We’re at 10 wins, and that sounds really cool.”
Matt Corral ran for a touchdown and passed for 229 yards to help Ole Miss (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) overcome an early 6-3 deficit for a 24-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. Corral was 25-of-33 with an interception.
“I was with this team when we were 5-5 and we had losing records. It was in us. We just needed people to bring it out of us,” Corral said. “We bonded together and we’re stronger. And it shows.”
The Rebels had 388 yards of total offense, with Connor scoring twice on 1-yard runs during the decisive outburst. He rushed for 60 yards on 16 carries.
Dontario Drummond had 13 receptions for 133 yards,
and Jerrion Ealy scored on a 15-yard run to make it 31-13 with 5:35 left.
Mississippi State’s Will Rogers was 38-of-58 for 336 yards and had an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Walley in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs (7-5, 4-4) added an 11-yard touchdown run by Jo’quavious Marks with 2:27 remaining but couldn’t pull within single digits.
The Bulldogs had 420 yards of total offense but had trouble translating yards into points.
“The stat sheet looks pretty good,” Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said. “We played hard. But they made more key plays, and that’s the difference.”