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The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAME PREVIEW: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State
11/23/2009 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 20 Ole Miss football team aims for a second-place finish in the SEC Western Division and a second straight Egg Bowl victory Saturday at Mississippi State.
Kickoff is set for 11:21 a.m. CT at Starkville's Scott Field, and the SEC Network will televise the game.
Victorious in five of its last six games, Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3 SEC) is riding a season-long three-game winning streak and has equaled its best start since 1990. The Rebels are coming off an emotional 25-23 win over No. 8 LSU Saturday that improved the team to 4-3 against top-25 teams under head coach Houston Nutt.
Dexter McCluster continued his spectacular play with 148 rushing yards and his first career completion on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Shay Hodge. Averaging 184.8 rushing yards over the last four SEC games, McCluster needs 97 rushing yards to become just the fourth Rebel to reach 1,000 in a season.
"Dexter makes everyone better, and our linemen don't have to hole their blocks as long," Nutt said. "When the linebackers and a safety have to keep an eye on number 22 it just helps everything. It is a quarterback's best friend. Take the ball down the center and hand it to number 22. What an awesome ally."
Defensively, Ole Miss posted season highs in sacks with six against the Tigers. That unit now faces a Mississippi State team it recorded a school-record 11 sacks against a year ago in a 45-0 blanking in Oxford.
However, Nutt said his team realizes the signifiance of this game and how hard both teams will play.
"Mississippi State and the Egg Bowl are very big," he said. "Our guys have been talking about it since Saturday night and that is unusual. I have had several guys come up to me and say its Egg Bowl week. They are excited about it and they know how big it is."
Under first-year head coach Dan Mullen, the Bulldogs (4-7, 2-5) are on a two-game skid since a 31-24 road win at Kentucky.
The MSU offense ranks fourth in the SEC in rushing, led by senior tailback Anthony Dixon. State's career leader in all rushing categories, Dixon is averaging 125.8 yards per game this year, which ranks second in the conference, and has scored 11 TDs.
"(Dixon) will be a very good professional football player," said Nutt. "They are finding different ways to get him the ball with different schemes, counters and zones. They can lull you to sleep with all that and then hit some passes on you."
Ole Miss holds a 60-39-6 advantage in the all-times series, which is tied for the 16th longest and 10th longest uninterrupted series in FBS history. Saturday's game will also be the 82nd "Battle of the Golden Egg," and the Rebels enjoy a 54-22-5 edge in that series.
Ole Miss has taken five of the last seven against State, but the home team has won nine of the last 10 games.
