Postgame Notables: Ole Miss Keeps Egg Bowl Trophy in Oxford after 26-14 win over State

OXFORD, Miss. — (Release) Ole Miss keeps the Golden Egg in Oxford after a 26-14 win over Mississippi State Friday at Vaught-Hemingway. Here are some notables on the win, one that saw Jaxson Dart surpass Eli Manning for most passing yards.

Series Information

• This game was the 121st meeting of one of the nation’s most-played rivalries.

• Ole Miss now holds a 66-47-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1901, including now a 23-14-3 mark in Oxford … The original record in Oxford is now 25-14-3 before vacated wins.

• The original record is 66-49-6 in favor of Ole Miss … The Rebels had wins in 2012 & 2014 vacated due to NCAA ruling, while Mississippi State forfeited wins in 1976 & 1977.

• This game was the 97th “Battle of the Golden Egg,” as the two schools started playing for the trophy in 1927 … Ole Miss now holds a 60-30-5 advantage in the “Egg Bowl.”

• This was the first time the Egg Bowl hasn’t been on Thanksgiving since 2020, and was only the fifth time the two schools have met on a Friday … State now leads 3-2 on Fridays.

• Head coach Lane Kiffin is now 4-1 in the Egg Bowl.

• The Rebels became the first home team to win the Egg Bowl since they did so in 2020 … Since 2014, the road team has won six of the last 10.

Starters

• QB Jaxson Dart made his team-leading 36th-straight start against Mississippi State.

• Other notable starting streaks include S Trey Washington (27th) and S John Saunders Jr. (25th).

• OL Jeremy James returned to the starting lineup for his team-leading 51st career start … It’s his first start since Week One against Furman.

General Notes

• Attendance for today’s game was 67,896.

• With the win, head coach Lane Kiffin earned his 25th conference victory in his tenure in Oxford.

• Ole Miss finished the regular season at 9-3 overall and 6-1 at Vaught-Hemingway … Under Kiffin, the Rebels are now 27-6 at home, including 27-3 in his last 30 home games and 13-1 since the start of the 2023 season.

Offensive Notables

• QB Jaxson Dart made Ole Miss history as he passed Eli Manning for the most passing yards by a Rebel … Dart threw for 143 yards to put his Ole Miss career total at 10,213 to Manning’s 10,119 … Dart also passed Manning for 10th in SEC history in career passing yards.

• Dart accumulated 220 yards of total offense for 4,327 for his Ole Miss career, passing Jordan Ta’amu (4,260) for the second-most all-time by a Rebel.

• With 14 completions, Dart became just the third Rebel to break 700 in their Ole Miss career … He now has 708.

• With his 77 yards on the ground, Dart become the first Rebel QB to ever break 1,400 career rushing yards, currently sitting at 1,455 – just 27 yards shy of Ole Miss’ all-time top-20 list.

• RB Ulysses Bentley IV broke off an 89-yard TD run to give Ole Miss the lead midway through the second quarter … It’s the longest play of Bentley’s career, the fourth-longest rush in Ole Miss history, and is Bentley’s second rushing TD this season of 50-plus yards.

• That rush is the longest scrimmage play by a Rebel since 2020 (91-yard TD pass, Corral to Moore, vs. South Carolina), the longest play overall also since 2020 (100-yard kick return TD, Jerrion Ealy, at LSU), and the longest rush since Jaylen Walton’s 91-yarder in the 2014 Egg Bowl.

• Bentley’s breakaway is the longest run by an SEC player this season and sixth-longest in the FBS … He finished the game with an Ole Miss career-high 136 yards on the ground.

• TE Caden Prieskorn ended the day with four catches for 53 yards and one touchdown, moving to fourth in Ole Miss history in receiving yards among tight ends (824), tied for sixth in touchdowns (7) and seventh in receptions (54).

• DT JJ Pegues ran for his seventh touchdown of the season on a five-yard direct snap … It’s the longest scoring rush of his career, as he joins WRs Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins for the second-most touchdowns by a Rebel this season.

• WR Jordan Watkins recorded his 135th catch in a Rebel jersey, tying him with Cory Peterson for the 13th most all-time by an Ole Miss receiver … Watkins ended with five catches for 39 yards.

Defensive Notables

• Ole Miss became the only FBS program this season with six individual players over 10 tackles for loss … DE Jared Ivey recorded his 10th tackle for loss of the season against Mississippi State, joining DE Suntarine Perkins (14.0), DT Walter Nolen (14.0), DT JJ Pegues (13.5), DE Princely Umanmielen (13.0), and LB Chris Paul Jr. (11.0) on that list.

• The teams with the second-most players of 10-plus tackles for loss are Pitt and Buffalo with four each.

• The Rebels held the Bulldogs to 39 rushing yards … For the Rebels, this was the fifth time holding an opponent to fewer than 50 yards rushing and the eighth fewer than 100 – four coming in SEC season.

• DT Walter Nolen‘s eight tackles led the team, the first time this year he’s had the top tackle total … It tied his career best in tackles, a mark he had previously set last week against Florida … He also tied his career-best in tackles for loss with 3.5, which he did at Texas A&M against Arkansas on Sept. 30, 2023 … His TFL mark is the most allowed by an individual player against the Bulldogs this season.

• LB Chris Paul Jr. and S Trey Washington had an interception apiece … They serve as the 10th and 11th by Ole Miss this season, signifying the second consecutive year the Rebel defense has recorded double-digit picks for a season and fourth time in the last six seasons.

• Paul’s interception was the first of his career, while Washington secured his first of the season and fifth of his career.

• CB Trey Amos picked up his 13th pass breakup of the season, the most by a Rebel since both Trae Elston had 14 and Mike Hilton had 13 in 2015.

• Amos is the first Ole Miss player to reach double figure pass breakups since Deantre Prince in 2022.

Special Teams Notables

• DE Suntarine Perkins recovered a muffed fumble in the third quarter, the first special teams turnover of the season for the Rebels.

• K Caden Davis drilled two field goals, pushing his career mark to 41 and tying several players for fifth-most in program history.

• Davis scored eight points in the game, bringing his season total to 120 points … He is now tied with Gary Wunderlich for second in single-season points scored and points kicking in Ole Miss history, and is now just four points shy of Jonathan Nichols’ 2003 record of 124.

• P Fraser Masin had six punts for a season-high 272 yards … Three punts landed inside the 20 and two were 50 yards or longer.