Egg Bowl history lesson
The Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-3, 4-3 SEC) come into the 2017 Egg Bowl looking for their ninth overall win and fifth SEC win of the year. The Bulldogs, who are hosting the 2017 Egg Bowl, will be going for their second win in a row over Ole Miss (5-6, 2-5 SEC) after crushing the Rebels 55-20 in their last meeting. The Bulldogs have won six of the last ten meetings, but the Rebels own a 63-44-1 overall record in the series. Since the turn of the Century (2000), the Rebels are 9-7 in Egg Bowls.
In the early days of Ole Miss athletics their teams were known as the Red and Blue, but in 1929 they became known as the Flood and in 1936 they changed their nickname to the Rebels.
The first game played in the series was a 17-0 win in 1901 by Mississippi A&M, who changed the name to Mississippi State University in 1958 after being granted university status. Although references as long ago as 1905 refer to Mississippi State as the Bulldogs, the Bulldog was not adopted as the official mascot until 1961. The first teams representing Mississippi State were called the Aggies, and when the school officially became Mississippi State College in 1932, they were nicknamed the Maroons.
The Bulldogs have the largest winning streak, 13 wins in a row, that extended from 1911 until Ole Miss finally notched a 7-6 win over the Bulldogs in 1926. The Rebels dominated the 20s while the Bulldogs took control of the series once again in the 30s. Ole Miss regained control of the series in 1947 with a 33-14 win and would not lose to the Bulldogs again until falling 20-17 in Oxford in 1964. The Rebels dominated the Bulldogs from 1944 through 1974, compiling a 23-4-3 overall record.
The Rebels were 13-9 from 1975 through 1996, but the series is tied 10-10 from 1997 through 2016.
With a win in this year’s Egg Bowl, the Bulldogs will be 6-4 in the last 10 Battles for the Golden Egg. A Rebel win will have both teams at 5-5 in the last 10 clashes.
Mississippi State at a glance
The Mississippi State Bulldogs will be looking for their ninth win Thanksgiving night and for their fifth SEC win as well. The Bulldogs started the 2017 season with three wins in a row over Charleston Southern, Louisiana Tech and LSU to move to 3-0 before losing two in a row to Georgia and Auburn by scores of 31-3 and 49-10 respectively. The Bulldogs then won four in a row over BYU, Kentucky, Texas A&M and UMass before losing a heartbreaker 31-24 to Alabama at home. Mississippi State got back on the winning track this past Saturday when they squeaked out a 28-21 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Bulldogs have accumulated 4537 yards of total offense with 2701 yards on the ground and 1836 yards through the air.
The Bulldogs have allowed 3269 total yards of offense with 1416 on the ground and 1853 through the air. Mississippi State has scored 357 total points and have only allowed their opponents to score 214. The Bulldogs average 5.5 yards per play while allowing their opponents 5.1 yards per play.
Offensively, Nick Fitzgerald leads the Bulldogs. Fitzgerald is 158-of-281 through the air for 1770 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, has also carried the football 159 times for 968 total yards with 14 touchdowns. Aeris Williams has 944 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 204 carries and 15 catches for 122 yards. Keith Mixon, who has been nursing a foot injury, leads the Bulldogs with 275 yards and a touchdown on 18 catches. Donald Gray has 214 yards on 24 catches and three touchdowns while Deddrick Thomas has 275 yards and three touchdowns on 16 catches.
The defensive leaders for the Bulldogs are Mark McLaurin with 63 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two interceptions. J. T. Gray has 57 total tackles with a sack and an interception while Jeffery Simmons has 55 stops, 10.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks with one fumble recovery and a touchdown.
Ole Miss at a glance
Even though they will not be eligible for a bowl game due to self-imposed penalties stemming from NCAA infractions, the Ole Miss Rebels (5-6, 2-5 SEC) will be seeking their sixth win of the year while trying to avoid two losses in a row in the Egg Bowl after last year’s 55-20 loss to Mississippi State. The Rebels started the 2017 season with two wins in a row over South Alabama and UT Martin before dropping three straight on the road to California, Alabama and Auburn. The Rebels pulled even at 3-3 with a 57-35 win over Vanderbilt before losing twice in a row to LSU and Arkansas. The Rebels would then go on to win two in a row once again with wins over Kentucky and ULL before dropping a last minute 31-24 decision to the Texas A&M Aggies.
The Rebels have accumulated 5193 yards of total offense with 1499 yards on the ground and 3694 through the air. The Rebels have allowed 5013 total yards, yielding 2650 yards on the ground and 2363 yards through the air. Ole Miss has scored 363 total points and have allowed their opponents to score 387. The Rebels average 6.9 yards per play while allowing their opponents 6.3 yards per play.
Sophomore quarterback Shea Patterson was 166-of-260 for 2259 yards with 17 touchdowns before a season-ending injury against LSU. Junior quarterback Jordan Ta’amu took over and has completed 105-of-151 passes for 1435 yards and nine touchdowns and three intercpetions. Ta’amu has rushed for 173 yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries as well. Jordan Wilkins has 901 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on 141 carries and has 241 yards receiving and a touchdown on 26 catches. Five Rebels have over 300 yards receiving on the year with A. J. Brown being the leader with 1085 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns on 69 catches. Demarkus Lodge has 690 yards and seven touchdowns on 40 catches while D. K. Metcalf has 579 yards and six touchdowns on 37 catches.
The defensive leaders for the Rebels are DeMarquis Gates with 101 tackels with 10 TFL and two sacks and one fumble recovery. Zedrick Woods has 59 total stops with a TFL while Josiah Coatney has 57 tackles and 7.5 TFL and Breeland Speaks has 55 tackels with 6.6 TFL with a forced fumble.
