Mississippi State Drops 31-21 Decision To Ole Miss

Thursday, November 25

Starkville

6:30 PM

Mississippi State

7-5 , 4-4

#8 Ole Miss

10-2 , 6-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Ole Miss

Mississippi St.

Mississippi State Drops 31-21 Decision To Ole Miss

November 25, 2021 | Football

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By: Joel Coleman, Senior Writer

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's regular season concluded on Thursday night with a 31-21 loss to Ole Miss.

The Bulldogs put up 15 points in the fourth quarter in a comeback attempt but ultimately came up short.

MSU outgained its instate rival as the Bulldogs tallied 420 total yards of offense to the Rebels' 388. State was led offensively by quarterback Will Rogers, who completed 38 of his 58 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown.

Other top Bulldog performers included Jo'quavious Marks, who led State on the ground with his 45 rushing yards and one touchdown. Makai Polk had 10 catches for 98 yards. Lideatrick Griffin hauled in five passes for 77 yards. Jaden Walley had five catches for 41 yards and a score.

Four MSU defenders reached double figures in tackles. Fred Peters had 14. Nathaniel Watson had 13, including a sack. Jalen Green had 12. Jett Johnson had 11, including a tackle for loss. Johnson also had an interception.

Mississippi State trailed by just four points at halftime. Nolan McCord had a pair of first-half field goals – a 34-yarder and a 29-yarder – as the Bulldogs headed to the locker room down just 10-6.

State's deficit grew to 24-6 as Ole Miss put up touchdowns in the third quarter and early in the fourth. The Bulldogs then tried to rally as they found the end zone twice in the final period.

Rogers hit Walley on an 11-yard touchdown pass and Marks crossed the goal line on an 11-yard run, however the late surge wasn't quite enough.

NOTABLES

JO'QUAVIOUS HITS THE MARK

Sophomore RB Jo'quavious Marks caught 79 passes this season, which is second in MSU single-season history. He has now caught 139 passes in his career, which is tied for fifth in MSU history with Justin Jenkins (2000-03). Marks holds the MSU career record for receptions by a running back and has a reception in all 23 games of his career.

ROGERS SURPASSES 300 YET AGAIN

MSU QB Will Rogers holds the single-season and career records for 300-yard passing games with 11 this year and 13 in his career. Rogers threw for 336 yards in tonight's game versus Ole Miss. He has now thrown for 300-plus yards in 10 consecutive games, which is the nation's longest active streak. Over that streak, has completed 75.0 percent of his passes (400-of-533) with 30 touchdowns.

TAKEAWAY STREAK

State now has a takeaway in 44 of its last 52 games with 83 takeaways in that span. The Bulldogs now have an interception in 32 of their last 48 games with 46 picks in that stretch.

CRUISING ON A JETT PLANE

Linebacker Jett Johnson intercepted the first pass of his career and returned it 48 yards in the fourth quarter. Johnson registered a career-high 11 tackles and added 1.0 tackle for loss.

Next Up for MSU…

Mississippi State will play in a bowl game for the 12^th consecutive season. The Bulldogs are one of only four Southeastern Conference schools to reach a postseason game in each of the last 12 years, and MSU will learn its next bowl destination on Sunday, Dec. 5.