No. 20 Ole Miss Welcomes Mississippi State into the Vaught for the Egg Bowl

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

No. 20 Ole Miss will welcome into the Vaught in-state rival the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Thanksgiving night for the annual Egg Bowl. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.

Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3 SEC) is coming off a 42-27 loss on the road to Arkansas this past Saturday night. Against Arkansas, freshman running back Quinshon Judkins ran for over 200 yards and set the rushing touchdown record at 16 with 1,385 yards on the ground. 

Judkins also leads the SEC running backs with those yards and touchdowns this season.

The Rebels running back duo of Judkins, and Evans have combined for 2,284 rushing yards that would rank the tandem No. 18 in the FBS as their own team.

Mississippi State rolls into Oxford with a 7-4 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the SEC. The Bulldogs are coming off a 56-7 blowout win over ETSU in Starkville, where star Bulldog quarterback Will Rogers threw for 301 yards and five touchdowns through the air. Rogers currently ranks sixth in the country in passing touchdowns (32), as well as seventh in the nation in passing yards (3,474) for the 2022 season.

The junior quarterback has already etched his name in the MSU history books, as he currently holds the school career records for career passing yards (10,189) and passing touchdowns (79), along with holding the SEC career record for completions with 1,103. 

The Rebel offense will have its work cut out for it with the Mississippi State defense ranking 11th in the country in interceptions this year with a total of 14, six of which came from defensive back Emmanuel Forbes who actively leads the FBS in interceptions for 2022. The Bulldogs also feature a fierce pass rush that is headlined by linebacker Tyrus Wheat, as the grad student currently leads the team in tackles (47), TFLs (8) and sacks (5) this season.

When the game is kicked off it will be the 95^th “Battle for the Golden Egg,” but the 119^th meeting between the Rebels and the Bulldogs. Ole Miss holds a 58-29-5 advantage in the “Egg Bowl”. The original record is 64-48-6 in favor of Ole Miss. The Rebels had wins in 2012 & 2014 vacated due to an NCAA ruling, while Mississippi State forfeited wins in 1976 & 1977.