EditorsNote: changes to "attack" in third graf; changes to "36-yard line" in last graf
Sophomore quarterback Matt Corral completed 24 of 36 for 385 yards and two touchdowns to lead Ole Miss to a 31-24 win over rival Mississippi State on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
Ole Miss (4-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) won the Egg Bowl game for the first time since 2017.
Half of Corral's 24 completions went to Elijah Moore, who had a team-high 139 receiving yards. Jerrion Ealy headed a balanced Rebels running attack (163 rushing yards) with 18 carries for 93 yards, including a touchdown.
For Mississippi State (2-6, 2-6), freshman quarterback Will Rogers accounted for 466 yards of total offense -- completing 45 of 61 passes for 440 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for a team-high 26 yards on four tries.
Ole Miss opened the scoring with a 48-yard touchdown pass from Corral to senior wideout Dontario Drummond with 6:03 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs blew a prime chance to tie the game early. After Mississippi State drove from its own 25 to inside the Ole Miss 5-yard line, Austin Williams caught a short pass but fumbled at the 1. Rebels senior Deane Leonard recovered and rumbled 84 yards to the Mississippi State 16-yard line.
Ole Miss then took a 14-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal by sophomore running back Snoop Conner with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.
Mississippi State cut Ole Miss' lead to 14-7 with 13:37 remaining in the second quarter on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Rogers to junior wideout Malik Heath.
But Ole Miss struck back with a big play, going up 21-7 on an 81-yard touchdown pass from Corral to senior wideout Braylon Sanders with 9:44 left until halftime.
The Bulldogs then went into halftime with momentum after an 11-yard touchdown pass from Rogers to Heath with six seconds remaining in the second quarter that made it 21-14 Ole Miss.
Ole Miss took a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Luke Logan, although the Rebels had to settle for three points after having a second-and-goal from the 1-yard line on what wound up being a 13-play drive.
The Bulldogs then drove down the field and closed within 24-20 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Rogers to Williams with 7:51 remaining.
But Ole Miss restored a double-digit lead, taking a 31-21 lead with 4:48 left on an 8-yard touchdown run by the Ealy.
The Bulldogs stayed in the game on a 25-yard field goal by junior Brandon Ruiz with 2:08 left that made it 31-24, but Ole Miss recovered the onside kick.
Mississippi State did get the ball back and moved to the Ole Miss 36-yard line with five seconds left, but a Hail Mary attempt into the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.
--Field Level Media
