Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Mississippi State’s Storylines vs. Ole Miss
November 21, 2022 | Football
STARKVILLE – The instate rivalry is renewed.
Mississippi State travels to Oxford on Thanksgiving night to face No. 20 Ole Miss in the annual Battle for the Golden Egg. The Bulldogs and Rebels face off in a 6 p.m. CT game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The contest will be televised by ESPN with Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Louis Riddick (analyst) and Harry Lyles, Jr. (reporter) on the call.
Fans can listen to live audio of the game by CLICKING HERE.
Mississippi State's Storylines vs. Ole Miss
- Mississippi State is looking for its first eight-win season since 2018. That was also the last year that the Bulldogs won the Battle for the Golden Egg in Oxford.
- MSU has already claimed its first six-win season at home since 2018. The Bulldogs have won at least six home games five times in program history (2018, 2014, 2012, 1999).
- In 2022, MSU is outscoring opponents 90-21 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs are 13-4 when scoring first under Mike Leach.
- RB Jo'quavious Marks has caught a pass in 34 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the SEC and tied for No. 11 nationally. The MSU school record is 35 games set by Fred Ross (2013-16). Marks has at least one reception in every game of his collegiate career.
- Marks has caught 44 passes, which is tied for the SEC lead among running backs, and RB Dillon Johnson is tied for second among SEC backs with 40 receptions.
- The Bulldogs have collected at least one takeaway in 28 of 35 games under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett with 55 total takeaways in that span. State leads the SEC in takeaways since 2020 and its 28 games with a takeaway are second in the conference in that span.
- State leads the SEC with 14 interceptions and is fourth in the league with 51 pass defenses this season.
- MSU has an interception in 20 games under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett with multiple picks in 11 games for 36 total picks. The Bulldogs are 10-1 in multi-interception games. Ten active players have collected 32 total interceptions in their careers.
- MSU leads the FBS in points per red zone drive (5.19), red zone touchdown percentage (81.08 percent) and red zone passing touchdown percentage (59.46 percent).
- MSU is bowl eligible and will play in a postseason game for the 13th straight season, which is a program record. Only seven schools have active streaks of at least 13 seasons and only Alabama and Georgia join MSU from the SEC.
- Mike Leach will now have taken 19 of his 21 teams to bowl games, including eight straight seasons.
- QB Will Rogers threw for 301 yards and five touchdowns in his last outing against ETSU (Nov. 12). It marked the fourth time this year that he has thrown at least four touchdown passes, which is tied for third in the FBS. It is also just the second season in school history that a Bulldog has passed for four or more touchdowns in four games. Rogers threw four touchdowns in four games last year.
- Rogers has thrown for 300-plus yards and at least three touchdowns in 16 of his 33 career games, which is tied for 13th in the FBS since 2000.
- Since 2020, Rogers is third nationally among active players with five career games of five or more passing touchdowns and is tied for third with 79 total passing touchdowns. He also leads the nation in passing yards (10,189).
- Rogers boasts 20 career 300-yard passing games, which is an MSU career record (Previous: 9 by Dak Prescott, 2012-15) and 24 career 30-completion games, also an MSU record (Previous: 5 by Dak Prescott, 2012-15) and tied for the third-most in the FBS since 2000.
- Rogers has also matched Prescott's school record with 29 career 200-yard passing games. Rogers needs four passing touchdowns to tie his own school record set last year (36).
- WR Austin Williams was named one of 12 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy. He is MSU's fifth finalist and the only finalist this season with a perfect 4.0 GPA every year of his career. The last Bulldog finalist was Taveze Calhoun (2015), who now serves on staff as a graduate assistant.
- Four current Bulldogs are now among the top 10 in MSU career history for total receptions: RB Jo'quavious Marks (2nd, 187), WR Austin Williams (5th, 147), RB Dillon Johnson (7th, 141) and WR Jaden Walley (10th, 131).
- Mississippi State boasts some of the best special teams return units in the nation. State's kickoff return unit leads the nation, averaging 28.2 yards per return. Both the Bulldogs' kickoff and punt return teams have broken a return for a touchdown this season, and only five teams nationally have scored on both a punt and kick return.
- The Bulldogs are tied for the national lead with a 90.5 special teams grade from PFF.
- WR Lideatrick Griffin leads the nation in yards per kick return (32.3), and WR Zavion Thomas is seventh in yards per punt return (12.9). Griffin's career average (33.3) is tops among active FBS players and would exceed the school record by 6.6 yards.
- LB Nathaniel Watson has led MSU in tackles in seven games and is second in the SEC with 98 stops this season, which ranks 27th nationally. He now has eight career double-digit tackle games, which is the ninth-most by a Bulldog since 1988.
- Watson is tied for fifth in the SEC with 38 "stops," which are tackles that constitute a failure for the offense per PFF. LB Jett Johnson is tied for 11th with 33 "stops".
- CB Emmanuel Forbes is tied for the national lead with six interceptions and tied for eighth in the FBS with 14 total passes defended. He has broken the FBS and SEC records with six pick-sixes in his career.
- S Collin Duncan boasts the No. 4 coverage grade (86.9) in the SEC per PFF.
- LB Tyrus Wheat is tied for ninth in the SEC with 5.0 sacks and now has 17.5 career sacks, which is ninth in MSU history. His 0.53 career sacks per game mark ranks 16th among active players nationally.
- Under Mike Leach, the Bulldogs are 14-0 when scoring at least 30 points.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Football
CB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballFOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Jeff Lebby
Thursday, April 16
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Kamario Taylor
Saturday, April 11
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Kelley Jones
Saturday, April 11
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Jeff Lebby
Saturday, April 11