Rebels Lay Egg On Bulldogs, 31-0

Nov 27, 2003

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By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP Sports Writer

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Eli Manning and Mississippi sent Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill into retirement with his worst Egg Bowl loss ever.

Manning threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns in Ole Miss' 31-0 victory Thursday night in the 100th meeting between the Magnolia state rivals.

The Rebels (9-3, 7-1) remained in the SEC West title race and reached nine regular-season victories for the first time since 1990. Ole Miss can earn its first trip to the SEC championship game if No. 3 LSU loses to Arkansas on Friday in Baton Rouge.

For Sherrill and the Bulldogs (2-10, 1-7), the season ended with a sixth straight lopsided loss. Since the 60-year-old coach announced his retirement on Oct. 17, the Bulldogs have been outscored 267-57.

He received a long, loud standing ovation from the Bulldogs fans when he was introduced before the game.

But by the fourth quarter, most of the rain-soaked fans remaining in Scott Field were rooting for the Rebels.

Sherrill completed 13 seasons at Mississippi State 75-75-2, but was just 8-27 in the final three.

Sherrill won over Bulldogs fans by becoming the first Mississippi State coach in decades to consistently beat Ole Miss, doing it seven times in his first 11 seasons.

In the end, he couldn't even do that.

The Rebels won the Battle for the Golden Egg for the second straight season, a first during the Sherrill era.

And never have the Rebels so easily dismantled Sherrill's Bulldogs.

Ole Miss outgained the Bulldogs 359-192. Kevin Fant, playing his last game for Mississippi State, was 14-for-28 for 91 yards.

The previous largest margin of victory for Ole Miss against Sherrill's teams was 15. The shutout was the Rebels' first against the Bulldogs since 1971.

Manning and his Heisman Trophy candidacy took a beating in a loss to LSU last Saturday. The senior quarterback was often off target against the Tigers, but was impeccable with his passing in a steady - at times driving - rain against the lowly Bulldogs.

Brandon Jacobs heads for a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

He passed for more yards (211) in the first half against Mississippi State than he did in the entire game against LSU (200) as the Rebels built a 24-0 lead.

Only two lost fumbles by Manning in Mississippi State territory kept the game from getting completely out of hand early.

Manning found Tremaine Turner in the back of the end zone for a 25-yard score late in the first quarter and got a lot of help from backup tight end Lawrence Lilly on an 11-yard TD pass in the second quarter.

Lilly had to reach behind him for the throw and tipped the ball. The ball then hit off a defender and Lilly reached into a crowd to cradle it in for a 14-0 lead with 8:40 in the half.

Chris Collins caught Manning's third TD pass late in the third quarter, breaking a tackle and scooting 23 yards to make it 31-0.

Collins caught eight passes for 113 yards and Manning finished 19-for-27, improving to 2-1 in Egg Bowls.

Ole Miss leads the series 57-37-6. Since the rivals started playing for the Golden Egg trophy in 1927, Ole Miss leads 51-20-5.

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