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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
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Mississippi State
Game Primer: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State
11/19/2018 | Football
Rebels, Bulldogs to Meet for the 115th Time
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OLE MISS (5-6, 1-6 SEC) vs. #20/22 MISSISSIPPI STATE (7-4, 3-4 SEC) Thursday, Nov. 22 • 6:30 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038)  |
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| Watch • Listen • Live Stats • Buy Tickets • OleMissGameday.com Ole Miss Game Notes • Mississippi State Game Notes • SEC Game Notes |
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WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• This game is the 115th meeting of one of the nation's most-played rivalries ... Ole Miss holds a 64-44-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1901.
• The Ole Miss-Mississippi State series is tied with the Michigan-Ohio State series for the 15th-longest in NCAA Division I history.
• This will be the 30th time the series has been played on Thanksgiving Day ... Ole Miss holds a 17-12 advantage in Thanksgiving games, including an 8-8 mark in games played in Oxford.
• Thursday's game will be the 91st "Battle of the Golden Egg," as the two schools started playing for the trophy in 1927 ... Ole Miss holds a 58-27-5 advantage in the "Egg Bowl."
• The Rebels are second nationally in passing (354.8 ypg), fifth in total offense (535.9) and 19th in scoring (37.5 ppg).
• Ole Miss has thrown for 300 or more yards in nine of its 11 games this season, including three games of 400 or more yards.
• Jordan Ta'amu leads the SEC and is second in the NCAA in both passing yards (3,831) and passing yards per game (348.3).
• Ta'amu ranks sixth in program history with 5,513 career passing yards.
• WR A.J. Brown ranks fifth nationally in the NCAA in receiving yards (1,259).
• Brown's 2,923 career receiving yards are the most in program history.
• Mohamed Sanogo ranks third in the SEC with 9.5 tackles per game ... He's tallied double-digit tackles in four straight games.
• K Luke Logan ranks fourth in the NCAA with 1.9 field goals per game ... Logan's 21 field goals rank third in school history for most field goals in a single season.
OLE MISS HEAD COACH MATT LUKE
Matt Luke (Ole Miss, 2000) is in his 11th season at Ole Miss and second season at the helm, taking the reins of his alma mater as the 38th head coach in program history. He was born a Rebel as his family has ties to Ole Miss that span three generations. During his 24 years as a player and coach at the collegiate level, Luke has risen through the ranks while learning from a number of successful veteran coaches. He has worked alongside national champion Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe and former Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville, among others. On the field, he has mentored 20 all-league selections as well as All-Americans and first-round draft picks Laremy Tunsil and Laken Tomlinson. Luke, a four-year center for the Rebels (1995-98), spent five seasons as the team's co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before being promoted to interim head coach for the 2017 season. During his first stop in Oxford (2002-05), he served four seasons coaching the Ole Miss tight ends and offensive line under Cutcliffe.
MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH JOE MOORHEAD
Joe Moorhead (Fordham, 1996) is in his first year as Mississippi State's head coach and owns an 45-17 record in his five years as a head coach, including a 7-4 mark so far this season. Moorhead is in his 21st year in collegiate coaching and spent 2016-17 as the offensive coordinator at Penn State before coming to Starkville. Moorhead transformed the Nittany Lions offensively and spearheaded them to a combined 21-5 record, a 17-3 mark in Big Ten regular season play, the 2016 Big Ten Championship, two New Year's Six bowls and back-to-back top 10 national rankings. The 2017 campaign saw the Nittany Lions rank in the top 25 nationally in seven different offensive categories. Prior to Penn State, Moorhead spent four seasons as the head man at his alma mater Fordham. where he posted a 38-13 record. After inheriting a program that went 1-10, he steadily built the Rams into a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) powerhouse, leading them to their best season in program history in 2013 and the Patriot League title in 2014.
BULLDOG SCOUTING REPORT
Mississippi State is 7-4 overall and 3-4 in conference play entering this week's game with Ole Miss, including winning three of its last four contests. The Bulldogs are averaging just over 400 yards of total offense per game, with 218.9 yards coming on the ground, second in the SEC. Senior signal-caller Nick Fitzgerald ranks fifth in the SEC with 901 yards rushing and 10 rushing TDs. Sophomore running back Kylin Hill teams with Fitzgerald to form a dangerous rushing attack. Hill has rushed for 583 yards on the season with three scores. Fitzgerald is completing 51.0 percent of his passes on the season for 1,504 yards and 14 touchdowns, compared to seven interceptions. Fitzgerald's top target has been Osirus Mitchell. The sophomore wide receiver leads the Bulldogs in receiving yards (385), catches (24) and TDs (four). Defensively, the Bulldogs come in with a defense ranked fourth in the NCAA in total defense (275.6) and second in points allowed (12.8). Mississippi gives up just 165 yards passing and 110 yards rushing per game. Safety Johnathan Abram leads the Bulldogs in tackles with 89. Senior defensive end Montez Sweat ranks second in the SEC with 9.5 sacks on the year.
REBEL-BULLDOG CONNECTIONS
• Ole Miss DBs C.J. Moore were teammates with MSU senior DB Jamal Peters at Bassfield HS in Bassfield, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss junior OL Javon Patterson and MSU senior WR Jesse Jackson were teammates at Petal HS in Petal, Mississippi.
• The Rebels A.J. Brown and Jerry Johnson and Mississippi State's Cameron Gardner, Willie Gay, Jr., Kobe Jones and Kameron Jones, all attended Starkville HS in Starkville, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss freshman defensive back Kam White and the Bulldogs' Grant Harris both attended Clinton HS in Clinton, Mississippi.
• Rebel DB C.J. Miller and Mississippi State TE Christian Roberson were teammates at McEachern HS in Powder Springs, Georgia.
• WR Elijah Moore and MSU LB Tyler Dunning were teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas HS in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• Ole Miss DE Markel Winters and Javien Hamilton were teammates with Mississippi State DB Johnathan Abram at Jones County Junior College.
• Rebels RB KeShun Wells and MSU OL Martinas Rankin both attended Mississippi Gulf Coast CC in Perkinston, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss RB Eric Swinney and Bulldog LS Paul Blackwell were teammates at Lafayette HS in Oxford, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss' Art Mitchell and Mississippi State LB Tim Washington were teammates at Yazoo City HS in Yazoo City, Mississippi.
• Rebels RB D.K. Buford, Amani Johnson and Eli Johnson and MSU Tyler Williams attended Lafayette HS in Oxford, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss' Truett Bourne, Josh Ricketts and Lawson Stockett attended Madison Central HS in Madison, Mississippi, with State's Matt Stanic.
"EGG BOWL" FACTS
• This will be the 30th time the series has been played on Thanksgiving Day ... Ole Miss holds a 17-12 advantage in Thanksgiving games, including an 8-8 mark in games played in Oxford.
• This game is the 115th meeting of one of the nation's most-played rivalries ... Ole Miss holds a 64-44-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1901.
• Saturday's game will be the 90th "Battle of the Golden Egg," as the two schools started playing for the trophy in 1927 ... Ole Miss holds a 58-27-5 advantage in the "Egg Bowl."
• Ole Miss has a 23-12-3 record in games played in Oxford.
• Since 2004, the home team has won every game but four (Mississippi State won 31-23 in Oxford in 2010, Ole Miss won 38-27 in 2015 in Starkville, Mississippi State won 55-20 in Oxford in 2017 and Ole Miss won last season 31-28 in Starkville).
• Including a pair of forfeit victories, Ole Miss posted a 38-7-2 record versus MSU from 1944-1990.
• The Rebels own the four longest separate winning streaks in the series (nine, six, six and five games).
• From 1947 through 1963, the Rebels posted a 15-0-2 mark against MSU ... That means a child born in December 1946 was a senior in high school before they saw Ole Miss lose to the Bulldogs.
• The first "Battle for the Golden Egg" in 1927 marked the beginning of nine straight wins for the Rebels over MSU.
THE START OF THE GOLDEN EGG
The Golden Egg was first proposed by members of Sigma Iota, an Ole Miss honorary society in 1927. Sigma Iota proposed that a trophy be awarded in a dignified ceremony designed to calm excited fans, after Ole Miss fans stormed the field at Starkville's Scott Field following the Rebels' 7-6 win in the 1926 contest. The 1926 win snapped a 13-game losing streak to then-Mississippi A&M, and was just Ole Miss' fifth win in 23 tries. Following the game, Ole Miss fans made a dash for the goal posts, while Aggie fans took after them with cane bottom chairs and fights broke out. The mayhem continued until most of the chairs were splintered. After Sigma Iota made its proposal, Mississippi A&M approved the suggestion, and Ole Miss, two weeks before the game, officially added its approval. The trophy, to be called "The Golden Egg," would be a regulation-size gold-plated football mounted on a pedestal. Cost approximately $250 would be shared by both schools. On Thanksgiving Day, 1927, the first "Battle of the Golden Egg" was waged before a crowd of 14,000 in Oxford. The Rebels won 20-12 and the symbol of supremacy in the series was born.
ORIGINS OF THE NAME
The term "Egg Bowl" can be traced back to 1978, when Executive Sports Editor of The Clarion-Ledger Tom Patterson decided to spice up the 1978 meeting. A year earlier, the Clarion-Ledger headline on game day had been "Egg Bowl Is Up For Scramble." With the Rebels and the Bulldogs 6-4 both apparently out of the bowl picture heading into the 1978 game, Patterson instructed his staff to follow the "Egg Bowl" theme throughout the week. The result was a special section on Sunday, which recounted in great detail the Rebels' stunning 27-7 victory. While the game is still officially the "Battle of the Golden Egg," most members of the media now refer to the annual game simply as the "Egg Bowl."
PHILLIPS NEARING THE 1K MARK
With two games remaining for the Rebels, RB Scottie Phillips has the 1,000-yard rushing mark in sight. Phillips, the junior college transfer, in just his first year at Ole Miss, is 73 yards short of becoming just the sixth Ole Miss running back to go past 1,000 yards rushing. It would mark the eighth time in Ole Miss history for a back to reach that mark. BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Kayo Dottley both accomplished the 1,000-yard mark twice in their careers.
CHASING THE 300-YARD MARK
With his 467-yard performance vs. Vanderbilt, quarterback Jordan Ta'amu broke the Ole Miss school record with nine 300-yard passing games this season, including a program-best six straight. His 12 career 300-yard games is tied for the school record held by Chad Kelly.
SENIOR SALUTE
Thursday's game will serve as Senior Day and will be the final home game at for 19 Ole Miss seniors. DE Victor Evans, WR DaMarkus Lodge, DB Ken Webster, QB Jordan Ta'amu, WR Floyd Allen, DE Markel Winters, DB Javien Hamilton, RB D.K. Buford, DB Cam Ordway, DB Zedrick Woods, DB C.J. Moore, DB Kweisi Fountain, LB Detric Bing-Dukes, OL Sean Rawlings, OL Jordan Sims, OL Javon Patterson, WR Alex Weber, DT Ross Donelly, DT Jordan Hebert.
DANGEROUS TRIO
All season long, the Ole Miss offense has forced opposing defenses to pick their poison. The Rebels are fifth in the country in total offense and Jordan Ta'amu, A.J. Brown and Scottie Phillips have been a big reason why. Ta'amu recently became just the fourth Rebels quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season and is on pace to challenge Chad Kelly's single-season passing record set in 2015. After his 212 yards receiving vs. Vanderbilt, Brown broke Ole Miss' single-season record with 1,259 yards on the season, besting his mark from 2017. If Phillips gains 73 more rushing yards, Ole Miss will have a 3,000-yard quarterback, a 1,000-yard running back and a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time in school history.
STARKVILLE REBEL #1 ON OLE MISS RECEIVING CHARTS
WR A.J. Brown, a Starkville, Mississippi, native and a 2018 Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, is having a historic junior campaign as he has already broken his single-season receiving mark that he set last season. Brown also continues to add to his program-best 2,923 receiving yards. He ranks fifth in the country in receiving yards (1,259) and seventh nationally in receptions per game (7.4), just two receptions shy of breaking the school record for most catches in a season. Brown has six 100-yard receiving games this season, including four straight. Brown is the only Ole Miss receiver in program history to record 60 or more receptions in back-to-back seasons. He is also the only receiver in program history to go over 1,000 yards receiving in multiple seasons. With one game remaining in the season, Brown continues to etch his name in the Ole Miss record books.
TACKLING MACHINE
In his first year as a full-time starter, LB Mohamed Sanogo ranks third in the SEC with 9.5 tackles per game, including four straight games with double-digit tackles. With 104 tackles on the season, Sanogo is just the second Rebel since to surpass the 100-tackle mark in a season in the last 12 season. Prior to this season, there had been only two Rebel defensive players in the last 20 years tally 16 or more tackles in a single game; Sanogo has accomplished that feat twice in the last four games. If Sanogo can finish the season as the Rebels top tackler, it'll be the fourth straight season that an LB has led Ole Miss in tackles.
OPPORTUNISTIC DEFENSE
The Rebels are tied for 11th nationally with three defensive touchdowns this season. Ole Miss' defensive scores include a 96-yard fumble return by DB Zedrick Woods against Texas A&M, an 88-yard interception return by DB Vernon Dasher and a 56-yard fumble return by DE Victor Evans vs. Southern Illinois. Woods' 96-yard scoop vs. the Aggies was the second-longest fumble return in program history. B.L. "Pinky" Roberts recorded a 99-yard fumble return against LSU back in 1914.
COMING ON AS OF LATE
Octavious Cooley hadn't tallied a single catch through the first six games for the Rebels, but the junior tight end has hauled in eight catches for 172 yards and one touchdown over the last five contests. Cooley tallied a career-high three catches for 66 yards two weeks ago at Texas A&M.
TOTALLY TA'AMU
Coming into this season, there had been 17 400-yard total offense performances in school history. QB Jordan Ta'amu has surpassed the 400-yard mark six times this season. His eight career 400-yard games of total offense are the most in program history by an Ole Miss quarterback. Ta'amu currently ranks sixth all-time in career passing yards at Ole Miss with 5,513 yards.
A.J. BROWN NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR BILETNIKOFF AWARD
WR A.J. Brown was recently named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the outstanding FBS receiver in college football. Any player, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot back, and running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award. As such, the Biletnikoff Award recognizes college football's outstanding receiver, not merely college football's outstanding wide receiver. Brown is Ole Miss' all-time leading receiver in both single-season and career receiving yards. Brown leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally in receiving yards with 1,259. His 7.4 receptions per game rank seventh in the NCAA.
HE'S GOT SOMETHING SPECIAL
Sophomore kicker Luke Logan has made three or more field goals in three of the Rebels' last four contests and ranks first in the SEC and fifth nationally in scoring. Luke's 108 points scored this season rank third in program history. His 21 field goals also rank third in a single season, just four behind Jonathan Nichols' record of 25 set in 2003.
FIRST-TIME STARTERS
Eighteen Rebels have made their first career starts this season: (Offense) Ben Brown (OL), Octavious Cooley (TE), Elijah Moore (WR), Scottie Phillips (RB), Braylon Sanders (WR), Isaiah Woullard (RB); (Defense) Ryder Anderson (DE), Josh Clarke (DB), Montrell Custis (DB), Jacquez Jones (LB), Armani Linton (DB), Elijah Moore (WR), Austrian Robinson (DE), Kevontae' Ruggs (LB), Mohamed Sanogo (LB), Keidron Smith (DB), Tariqious Tisdale (DE), Markel Winters (DE).
DEBUTS
A total of 42 players have made their Ole Miss debut this season: Zikerrion Baker (LB), Miles Battle (WR), Drake Beck (WR), Quentin Bivens (DT), Ben Brown (OL), Nic Cantu (OL), Jacob Carter (WR), Josh Clarke (LB), Spencer Cole (P), James Coley (DL), Matt Corral (QB), Peyton Cox (OL), Vernon Dasher (DB), Nikolas Dean (TE), Alex Faniel (TE), Tony Gray (OL), A.J. Harris (DB), Jakorey Hawkins (DB), Nick Haynes (TE), Jonathan Hess (LB), Amani Johnson (LB), Eli Johnson (OL), Sam Johnson (OL), Jacquez Jones (LB), Tylan Knight (ATH), Luke Knox (LB), Elijah Moore (WR), Patrick Nasiatka (K), Hal Northern (DL), Scottie Phillips (RB), Samuel Plash (OL), Grant Restmeyer (QB), Josh Ricketts (WR), Ty Rocconi (DB), Kevontae' Ruggs (LB), Keidron Smith (DB), Lawson Stockett (DE), KC Swaim (OL), Tariqious Tisdale (DL), Isaac Way (K), KeShun Wells (RB), Isaiah Woullard (RB).
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