Mississippi State @ Mississippi preview
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 28, 2009 ) Mississippi 27, Mississippi State 41
Two straight losses have taken some of the shine away from Mississippi’s bounce-back season, but a win over its archrival would certainly provide a nice glow.
The No. 25 Bulldogs will be looking to snap their slide when they travel to Oxford on Saturday to face Ole Miss in the Battle for the Golden Egg.
Already assured of its first bowl bid since 2007, Mississippi State (7-4, 3-4 SEC) has been in the top 25 for the past eight weeks — its longest stretch since an eight-week span in 2000 — and has a head coach in Dan Mullen who is no stranger to bowl experience as an assistant to Urban Meyer at Utah and Florida.
In his second year on the job, Mullen has overseen vast improvements on both sides of the ball, with the offense converting 47 percent of its third downs and up in nearly every category over last season and the defense ranked 25th nationally while allowing 20.1 points per game.
All four of the Bulldogs’ losses this season have come to teams ranked inside the top 12, including last weekend’s 38-31 overtime loss to No. 12 Arkansas. Mississippi State overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force the overtime but could not convert a fourth-down play in the second extra session to keep the game alive.
Duel-threat quarterback Chris Relf had a nice game for the Bulldogs, completing 20 of 30 passes for 224 yards and rushing for 103 and a touchdown. The ground game got plenty of work for Mississippi State in the contest, as the school finished with 262 yards on 70 carries, including 150 yards and three touchdowns from Vick Ballard.
Relf was the star of last season’s Egg Bowl, rushing for 131 yards and a touchdown and passing for two more as Mississippi State grabbed the home victory 41-27. The Bulldogs finished with 317 yards on the ground in the contest and completed 9 of 13 third down opportunities while forcing four turnovers on defense.
This years’ Ole Miss (4-7, 1-6) squad has taken a step back from a 7-4 2009 campaign that ended with a 21-7 victory over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl. But a bowl berth will not be waiting for the Rebels at the line this time, making Saturday’s game their Super Bowl.
The upset-minded Rebels nearly pulled off a signature win last weekend, taking No. 5 LSU to the wire before suffering a 43-36 loss. Ole Miss led 36-35 after Jeremiah Masoli threw a touchdown pass with 5:08 remaining, but the Tigers marched right back down the field, pushing the winning score across with less than 50 seconds remaining.
The Rebels hold the advantage in the series history between the schools, 60-40-6. They have traded the Golden Egg back and fourth since Ole Miss enjoyed a three-game winning streak from 2002-04.