OXFORD, Miss. - With the Ole Miss football regular season coming to a close, the Rebels (5-6, 2-5 SEC) will take on the No. 24 Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-3, 4-3 SEC) for the annual Battle for the Golden Egg today at 6 p.m. CT.
The Rebels come back to Oxford for the season finale after a close loss to No. 7 LSU in Baton Rouge. After leading for much of the contest, the Rebels fell short 41-35 on a last-minute LSU touchdown drive. Quarterback Bo Wallace threw for 310 yards, and sophomore receiver Donte Moncrief caught six balls for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns. Moncrief is now ranked fifth in the SEC with 775 receiving yards this season.
“They continued to compete at a high level last Saturday night against one of the nation's best in their place,” said Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze. “It was possibly the most fun, besides the outcome, that I've had in a game in a long time. Our staff enjoyed it, and our kids had a lot of fun together in competing.”
Mississippi State comes off of a 45-14 victory over Arkansas in Starkville, their first SEC win since October 13 against Tennessee.
The Rebels will be forced to contain the offensive attack of running back LaDarius Perkins, wide receiver Chad Bumphis and quarterback Tyler Russell. Perkins and Bumphis account for 120 of the team’s points this season.
With five wins this season, the Rebels are looking for a victory against Mississippi State in order to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2009.
“There's a lot riding on this game for us,” said Freeze. “Obviously the Egg Bowl is enough, but I sure would like to send these seniors out going to play in a postseason game and our fans to get to experience that. They're a team that deserves to do that in my eyes.”
The Ole Miss and Mississippi State rivalry marks the most-played contest for both teams and second-most played in the SEC behind Georgia and Auburn. Today marks the 109th meeting between the in-state rivals. Named “The Battle for the Golden Egg” in 1927, this will be the 85th anniversary of the contest that has become known simply as the Egg Bowl. Ole Miss owns an all-time series lead of 60-42-6, with a 54-25-5 record in the Egg Bowl.
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