SEC rivalry breakdown: Looking back at a decade of Egg Bowls

BEST GAME: Dak saves the Dawgs (2013)

Mississippi State knew it would be fighting an uphill battle in the 2013 Egg Bowl, forced to start third-string quarterback Damian Williams against Ole Miss due to injuries suffered by fellow quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Tyler Russell. Williams struggled to move the ball effectively, but the MSU defense kept the Bulldogs within striking distance in a low-scoring affair in Starkville. Ole Miss controlled the game for most of the first three quarters, but led just 10-7 entering the final period at Davis Wade Stadium.

And that’s when Prescott stunned the Magnolia State and left his mark on the rivalry forever.

Prescott overcame a shoulder injury and the recent passing of his mother to come off the bench cold and lead the Bulldogs to a game-tying field goal with fewer than three minutes left in regulation. Upon forcing overtime, he either threw the ball or ran with it himself on all six of MSU’s offensive snaps, eventually running in the go-ahead touchdown from three yards out.

Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace fumbled on the ensuing Rebels possession, handing Mississippi State the victory. Prescott’s unexpected entrance into the game ignited the MSU comeback, and he’ll be remembered as the hero of the 2013 installment in the rivalry as a result.

BEST PLAY: Derek Pegues punt return (2007)

Ole Miss led Mississippi State 14-0 with fewer than 10 minutes left in regulation, and at the time all hope seemed lost for a Bulldogs offense that was still seeking its first points of the afternoon. But upon forcing Ole Miss to turn the ball over on downs, Mississippi State drove 46 yards on six plays for its first touchdown of the game, cutting the 14-point deficit in half in the process.

Still trailing by seven with fewer than three minutes remaining, Ole Miss was forced to punt to the Bulldogs, who many expected to have one final shot at driving for a game-tying touchdown. The Bulldogs got that touchdown, but Pegues ensured they wouldn’t have to drive to do so with one of the most historic plays in Egg Bowl history.

Pegues’ punt return tied the game, and MSU forced another three and out before driving the length of the field for the game-winning field goal in the final minute of action.

LONGEST STREAK: Three’s a charm (2011)

Dan Mullen arrived at Mississippi State prior to the start of the 2009 season, and upon arriving in Starkville he led the Bulldogs to three straight Egg Bowl victories over Ole Miss from 2009-11, a streak that remains the longest win streak by either side in the last decade of the rivalry’s history.

The brief winning streak culminated with a 28-point rout in 2011, as Mississippi State clobbered Ole Miss to the tune of a 31-3 final in Starkville. MSU tailbacks Vick Ballard and Ladarius Perkins dominated the game, leading the team in both rushing and receiving on the day.

Ballard amassed 169 yards from scrimmage and two total touchdowns, and Perkins added 91 more yards from scrimmage and two more touchdowns in the win. The Bulldogs scored on their opening possession and led 21-0 at halftime in a game it controlled from start to finish.

Ole Miss committed a pair of turnovers and mustered just 202 yards of offense in defeat, closing the book on a frustrating 2-10 season in Oxford including an 0-8 run through the SEC. Hugh Freeze was hired as the Rebels new head coach following the Egg Bowl loss to close 2011.

BIGGEST TURNING POINT: Freeze arrives (2012)

Freeze wasted no time in establishing his presence in the Egg Bowl rivalry, leading Ole Miss past a ranked Mississippi State squad in his first year as the Rebels’ head coach in 2012.

The win earned Ole Miss bowl eligibility, something it has done in each of Freeze’s three seasons in Oxford. It snapped MSU’s winning streak in the rivalry, and more importantly it leveled the playing field in the Magnolia State once again.

Ole Miss got on the board first thanks to a 25-yard touchdown strike from Wallace (starting in the first of his three Egg Bowls) to Jamal Mosley midway through the first quarter. The two teams traded the lead back and forth throughout the first half, and eventually entered halftime deadlocked at 17.

Most expected Mississippi State to put its foot on the gas to open the second half, pulling away with a game it was favored to win. Instead, it was Ole Miss who came out of the locker room ready to play, as the Rebels scored 24 unanswered points to open the half and take a 41-17 lead. Wallace threw a trio of touchdown passes during the Rebels’ run, two going to Donte Moncrief, and a third going to Vince Sanders.

Ole Miss won the game 41-24, but in a grander sense it announced to the Magnolia State that with Freeze at the helm there were once again two legitimate threats in the state’s college football landscape once again.

BEST PLAYER: Michael Oher (2005-08)

Oher is better known for his improbable journey from poverty and homelessness to the SEC and later the NFL, but that incredible story (that’s since been turned into the film The Blind Side) has overshadowed Oher’s dominance on the football field throughout his post-high school career.

The mammoth offensive tackle arrived at Ole Miss in 2005 and won a starting job right away at right guard, where he’d earn first-team freshman All-America honors at season’s end. He played his final three collegiate seasons at left tackle, earning first-team All-SEC honors twice and first-team All-America honors as a senior in 2008. He also won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, the Outland Trophy, the Lombardi Trophy and the Conerly Trophy as a senior in 2008.

Oher was as dominant in his four Egg Bowl appearances as he was throughout the rest of his college career, helping Ole Miss post a 2-2 record in Egg Bowls during his four years in school (Ole Miss is 2-4 in Egg Bowls since Oher graduated school). His worst Egg Bowl performance came as a freshman in 2005, while Oher was still learning a new position on the right side of the line. As a left tackle from 2006-08 he was virtually unbeatable, making an impact greater than any quarterback, skill player or defender on the field.

As a senior in 2008, Oher anchored an Ole Miss offense that routed Mississippi State 45-0 in Oxford. Oher helped Ole Miss rush for 220 yards while earning a nearly six minute edge in time of possession. He never allowed a sack against the Bulldogs.

Oher graduated from Ole Miss in the spring of 2009 and was a first round selection of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL Draft.

SWEETEST REVENGE: Rebels strike back (2014)

Following Ole Miss’ heartbreaking loss in the 2013 Egg Bowl, revenge was firmly on the minds of the Rebels entering the 2014 showdown. Unfortunately, Ole Miss had lost three of its last four games entering the Magnolia State showdown, including a 30-0 loss to Arkansas just one week earlier.

The Rebels were also playing without top wideout Laquon Treadwell and with a brutally injured quarterback-left tackle tandem in Wallace and Laremy Tunsil. Needless to say, the odds were not in Ole Miss’ favor, and the Rebels ran the risk of dropping the annual rivalry game for the fifth time in a six-year span.

To make matters worse, the one-loss Bulldogs were still competing for an outside shot at an SEC West title and a berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff, giving them extra motivation to take care of Ole Miss in resounding fashion.

But that’s not at all what happened. Ole Miss punched the ball into the end zone to take a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, and it held onto a 7-3 lead heading into halftime.

Even though Mississippi State scored a go-ahead touchdown to open the second half by taking a 10-7 lead, Ole Miss never quit, scoring 17 unanswered points to take a two-touchdown lead into the fourth quarter. The 17-point run was capped by a 91-yard touchdown run by Ole Miss tailback Jaylen Walton, and the 14-point cushion his touchdown provided proved to be enough to secure a victory for the Rebels in the end.

Mississippi State got back into the end zone to cut the deficit in half with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, but a 31-yard touchdown pass from Ole Miss wideout Cody Core to tailback Jordan Wilkins cemented victory for the Rebels while crushing MSU’s once-in-a-generation national title hopes.

Instead of losing five of six Egg Bowls, Ole Miss avenged one of the worst chokes in Egg Bowl history in 2013 by overcoming a heap of obstacles to dampen MSU’s season in 2014. The win was sweet, and the revenge was even sweeter.

BEST DRIVE: Open with a bang (2011)

Mississippi State obliterated Ole Miss by four touchdowns in 2011 to win its third straight in the series, and the Bulldogs set a tone for the rout that day with a dominant opening drive.

The Bulldogs received the opening kickoff and proceeded to drive 68 yards on 13 plays to score the game’s first touchdown. Mississippi State quarterback Chris Relf opened the game with runs of 12 and 19 yards, respectively, and ran for 48 yards on six carries by the end of the drive. Relf also completed 3 of his 4 pass attempts, including an 18-yard strike to Vick Ballard to cap the drive off with a touchdown.

The Bulldogs converted 1 of 2 third downs on the drive, and the third down they failed to convert turned into a critical fourth and 4 conversion as Relf ran for five yards on the fringe of field goal range.

Ole Miss had no answers for the Bulldogs to open the game, and following the Ballard touchdown that trend would continue for the remainder of the evening. Mississippi State won 31-3, scoring 21 of those points in the first half.

EGG BOWL RESULTS (LAST DECADE)

2005: Mississippi State 35, Ole Miss 14
2006: Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 17
2007: Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 14
2008: Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 0
2009: Mississippi State 41, Ole Miss 27
2010: Mississippi State 31, Ole Miss 23
2011: Mississippi State 31, Ole Miss 3
2012: Ole Miss 41, Mississippi State 24
2013: Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 10 (OT)
2014: Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 17

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.