State Edged In Egg Bowl, 31-24

Saturday, November 28

Oxford, Miss.

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

Ole Miss

Freshman Will Rogers connected on 45-of-61 passes for 440 yards and three touchdowns against the Rebels Saturday in Oxford.

State Edged In Egg Bowl, 31-24

November 28, 2020 | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes Video: Game Highlights Photo Gallery

By: Mikaela Elizondo, Graduate Assistant/Communications

OXFORD, Miss. – The 2020 Egg Bowl came down to the final moments in Oxford on Saturday evening as Mississippi State's late comeback attempt fell short in a 31-24 loss to in-state rival, Ole Miss.

Will Rogers shined in his first Egg Bowl appearance and set a new freshman passing yardage record in the rivalry. The true freshman completed an MSU single-game-record 45 passes for 440 yards and three touchdowns. His 440 yards marks the most by a Bulldog freshman in school history.

The Rebels (4-4, 4-4 SEC) controlled the first quarter as they held the Bulldogs (2-6, 2-6 SEC) scoreless and jumped out to a two-score lead. Ole Miss struck first when Matt Corral found Dontario Drummond from 48 yards out at the 6:03 mark.

On the next drive, Mississippi State raced to the Ole Miss four-yard line before Austin Williams fumbled at the goal line on a potential game-tying touchdown. The Rebels' Deane Leonard returned the ball 84 yards to set up a Snoop Conner one-yard plunge into the endzone to put Ole Miss ahead 14-0.

Mississippi State didn't waste time in the second quarter, finding the endzone just 1:23 in to cut the Rebels' lead to seven. Rogers led the Bulldogs down the field as he completed all four of his passes in the drive, including a six-yard touchdown toss to Malik Heath. The possession was ignited by a 44-yard catch by Jaden Walley at the Ole Miss 31-yard line.

The Rebels relied on a 81-yard pass to Braylon Sanders to extend their lead back to 14, but State fired back with a 13-play, 93-yard march that culminated in another Heath reception in the end zone to give the Bulldogs momentum heading into the locker room.

After a scoreless third quarter, both squads recorded a field goal and touchdown in the fourth to allow the Rebels to maintain their double-digit lead.

Trailing 31-24 with 2:08 on the clock, State was unable to convert an onside kick attempt. Ole Miss received the ball at their 49-yard line but MSU's defense was able to force the Rebels to punt.

In a race against the clock, the Bulldogs were able to march to the Ole Miss 36-yard line with five seconds remaining, but Rogers final pass into the end zone fell to the turf as time expired.

Quotable...

"I thought we played extremely hard. I thought we finished the game. We just didn't win the game. I thought we contained their offense better than most teams have. We dealt ourselves out of some drives, which is unfortunate because they really didn't stop us for the most part. We stopped ourselves. But we played really hard, and it didn't go our way." - Head Coach Mike Leach

Notables From Tonight's Game Against Ole Miss…

Will Rogers' Record Day

Rogers completed a MSU single-game-record 45 passes, which ranks second in SEC history. Rogers became the first Bulldog quarterback to complete 30 or more passes in three consecutive games and the first MSU freshman to throw for 300 or more yards in multiple games.

His 440 yards marks the most by a Bulldog freshman in school history. Wesley Carroll previously held the record with his 421-yard performance against Arkansas in 2007. Rogers' 440-yard performance ranks sixth overall in MSU history.

With his 22-yard toss in the first quarter, the rookie also broke the MSU freshman record for completions with 135. Rogers finished the day at 169 for the season, which ranks seventh in MSU single-season history.

Walley Sets Freshman Receiving Yards Record

Walley tallied 176 receiving yards on a career-high nine catches to break the MSU freshman record. After compiling 115 yards on seven receptions at Georgia, Walley joined Mardye McDole as the only two freshmen in program history to record two 100-yard receiving games in the same season (1977) and the only two rookies with 100-plus receiving yards in the Egg Bowl.

Career Highs Across The Defense

The Bulldogs defense was paced by Shawn Preston Jr., who tallied a career-high 12 total tackles, ignited by eight solo stops. Erroll Thompson compiled his fifth double-digit tackle performance this season with 11 total.

Collin Duncan (9), Nathaniel Watson (8) and Cameron Young (3) also recorded career-highs in tackles.

State's Offense Climbing Leaderboard

Mike Leach's air raid offense has completed a 303 total passes in 2020, which ranks second on State's single-season leaderboard. The squad is just 28 passes shy of the school record set in 2015.

MSU completed a school-record 45 passes in Saturday's Egg Bowl. Six of the Bulldogs' top seven single-game completion marks have come in 2020 and the school record has been broken twice.

Guidry Gets First Start

Safety Landon Guidry made his first career start against Ole Miss, bringing the Bulldogs' season total to 21 first-time starters in 2020. Entering the game, first-time starters in 2020 had played 44 percent of the Bulldogs' snaps this season.

State's 21 first-time starters are the most in the Power Five, and rank fourth in the FBS.

Ruiz's Extra Point Streak

With three successful extra point attempts, Brandon Ruiz now boasts an active streak of 110 consecutive extra points made in his career.

Next Up for MSU…

State now returns home for its next matchup as the Bulldogs welcome Auburn to Davis Wade Stadium on Dec. 12. Kickoff time and television information for the contest are still to be announced.

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