Mississippi stuns Mississippi State
MISSISSIPPI 31, NO. 14 MISSISSIPPI STATE 28
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jordan Ta’amu threw for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns, Jordan Wilkins ran for 2 scores and Mississippi upset No. 14 Mississippi State 31-28 on Thursday night.
Ole Miss (6-6, 3-5 SEC) held off a late Mississippi State rally to win the Egg Bowl for the fourth time in six seasons. The Rebels had a 10-6 lead at halftime and broke it open in the second half with touchdown passes of 77 yards to A.J. Brown and 63 yards to D.K. Metcalf.
Brown, the SEC’s leader in yards receiving, had six catches for 167 yards. Wilkins had 110 yards rushing.
Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4) was a two-touchdown favorite, but had to play most of the game without starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. He was carted off the field in the first quarter with a right leg injury.
Fitzgerald came into the game with 968 yards rushing this season, which was the most for a quarterback in the SEC. Without him, the Bulldogs turned to freshman Keytaon Thompson.
The Bulldogs trailed 3113 with 8:23 remaining, but scored two touchdowns to pull to 31-28 with 1:05 left. Ole Miss recovered an onside kick to seal the victory.
Mississippi State hurt itself with 5 turnovers — 2 interceptions and 3 fumbles.
The game took a rough turn later in the first quarter when Fitzgerald took a snap and ran to the left before being tackled to the ground. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior immediately grabbed at his right leg, which was bent at an awkward angle. He was down for several minutes before being carted off the field.
The Bulldogs had all the momentum coming into the game, but Fitzgerald’s injury changed all that in a hurry.
Ole Miss has an eventful offseason ahead — the program is still awaiting word on its full punishment from the NCAA in its rules infractions case against the school. The Rebels must also decide if they’ll keep interim coach Matt Luke or turn to someone else.