No. 8 Ole Miss tops Mississippi State in Egg Bowl
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Snoop Conner ran for two touchdowns and No. 8 Mississippi scored 21 straight points to beat Mississippi State 3121 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 an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Walley in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs (7-5, 4-4) added an 11yard touchdown run by Jo’quavious Marks with 2:27 remaining, but could not pull within single digits.
“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.”
The Bulldogs had 420 yards of total offense, primarily in the final period in the belated rally, but had trouble translating yards into points.
Makai Polk had 10 receptions for 98 yards and added a two-point conversion. Nolan McCord had field goals of 34 and 29 yards.
Winning a high-risk, high-reward match was capped by the usual bragging rights for Ole Miss. A New Year’s Six appearance appears likely for the Rebels, who wrapped up second place in the SEC West race.