Game Primer: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State

			OLE MISS (3-4) vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE (2-5) Saturday, Nov. 28 • 3 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
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WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• This game is the 117th meeting of one of the nation's most-played rivalries ... Ole Miss holds a 62-46-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1901.
• The original record is 62-48-6 in favor of Ole Miss ... The Rebels had wins in 2012 & 2014 vacated due to NCAA ruling, while Mississippi State forfeited wins in 1976 & 1977.
• This game will be the 93rd "Battle of the Golden Egg," as the two schools started playing for the trophy in 1927 ... Ole Miss holds a 56-29-5 advantage in the "Egg Bowl".
• Saturday's game will serve as Senior Day and 14 student-athletes will be honored before the final home game of the 2020 season.
• Ole Miss has scored 50 or more points in back-to-back SEC games for the first time in school history.
• The Rebels rank top three in the SEC in 10 separate categories: total offense (564.9), rushing offense (212.7), passing offense (352.1), scoring offense (41.0), completion percentage (.739), first downs (200), passing efficiency (191.1), fumbles lost (3), passing yards per completion (14.76), kickoff return defense (17.4) and fewest penalties (36).
• WR Elijah Moore is tops in the nation in receiving yards per game (159.3) and receptions per game (10.6).
• Moore is the only Rebel in school history to surpass the 200-yard receiving mark three times in a season.
• QB Matt Corral ranks sixth nationally in passing touchdowns (22) ... His 380.0 yards per game of total offense leads the SEC and ranks No. 2 in the NCAA.
• Kenny Yeboah's 72.7 receiving yards per game are the fifth-most in the NCAA amongst tight ends.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH LANE KIFFIN
Lane Kiffin (Fresno State, 1998) is in his first season at Ole Miss, taking the reins for the Rebels as the 39th head coach in program history. Kiffin, who won two Conference USA titles in three seasons at Florida Atlantic, has more than 10 years of head coaching experience, including eight years at the NCAA level where he has posted an all-time record of 64-38. In December 2016, Kiffin took over an FAU program that had won a total of nine combined games over the previous three seasons. Kiffin proceeded to take the Owls to new heights over the last three years, including two conference titles and two 10-win seasons. In his head coaching stops at USC, Tennessee and FAU, Kiffin has shown a propensity in helping turn programs around. In his first season at all three locations, Kiffin's team improved in win differential (+3.33), scoring (+10.2), passing (+34.5 ypg) and rushing (+51.3 ypg). Kiffin graduated from Fresno State in 1998 after playing quarterback for three seasons (1994-96) for the Bulldogs. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at Fresno State under Pat Hill in 1997 and 1998. He moved on to Colorado State in 1999 as a graduate assistant. He spent the 2000 season as defensive quality control assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars under Tom Coughlin.

MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH MIKE LEACH
Mike Leach (BYU, 1983) is in his first season at Mississippi State and is 2-5 in 2020. He owns a 141-95 mark in 19 seasons as a college head coach overall. Leach was tabbed Mississippi State's 34th head football coach on Jan. 9, 2020. Leach, a two-time national coach of the year, three-time conference coach of the year, is considered by many to be the mastermind behind the "Air Raid" offense. Leach has guided his squads to 16 bowl games, produced seven seasons of at least nine victories and captured two conference division titles. Leach arrives in Starkville after eight seasons at the helm of the Washington State program, where he compiled a 55-47 (.539) record and was named the 2018 American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year. A two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2015, 2018), Leach spearheaded WSU to a school-record six bowl appearances and became the first coach in school history to lead the Cougars to five consecutive bowl games. Leach previously spent 10 seasons as head coach at Texas Tech (2000-09) where his squads produced bowl appearances all 10 years. After graduating with honors from BYU in 1983, Leach earned a master's degree from the U.S. Sports Academy and his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University.

BULLDOG SCOUTING REPORT
Mississippi State is 2-5 overall entering this week's contest vs. Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are averaging over 329 yards of total offense per game, with 307 of that coming through the air. True freshman quarterback Will Rogers has started the last two games for the Bulldogs and is completing nearly 74 percent of his passes for 872 yards, three TDs and four interceptions. Jo'quavious Marks, a true freshman running back, leads Mississippi State in both rushing yards and receptions. Marks ranks fifth in the SEC in receptions per game (6.3) and has hauled in 44 catches for 184 yards. Osirus Mitchell leads the receiving corps in receiving yardage (389) and touchdowns (3). Defensively, the Bulldogs are ranked No. 4 in the SEC in total defense, allowing 367 yards per game, giving up 110 rushing yards per game and 257 through the air. Senior linebacker Erroll Thompson leads Mississippi State in tackles, averaging 9.0 stops per game. Five different Aggies have tallied interceptions for Mississippi State, including two from cornerback Emmanuel Forbes. Marquiss Spencer and Aaron Brule lead Mississippi State with seven and six tackles for loss respectively.

OLE MISS-MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES HISTORY
• This game will be the 117th meeting of one of the nation's most-played rivalries.
• Ole Miss holds a 62-46-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1901, including a 21-13-3 mark in Oxford.
• The original record is 62-48-6 in favor of Ole Miss ... The Rebels had wins in 2012 & 2014 vacated due to NCAA ruling, while Mississippi State forfeited wins in 1976 & 1977.
• This game will be the 93rd "Battle of the Golden Egg," as the two schools started playing for the trophy in 1927 ... Ole Miss holds a 56-29-5 advantage in the "Egg Bowl".
• The Ole Miss-Mississippi State series is tied with Michigan-Ohio State for the 15th-longest series in NCAA Division I history.
• The Rebels own the four longest separate winning streaks in the series (nine, six, six and five games).
• Including a pair of forfeit victories, Ole Miss posted a 38-7-2 record versus MSU from 1944-1990.
• From 1947-1963, 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.
• From 2004-2014, the home team won all but two games ... Since then, the road team has won four of the last five.

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. The cost of the $250 trophy was split between 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."

REBEL-BULLDOG CONNECTIONS
• Ole Miss' Dontario Drummond attended Laurel HS in with State's Charles Cross.
• K Cale Nation and WR Josh Ricketts attended Madison Central HS in Madison, Mississippi with MSU's OL Matt Stanic and WR Bo Brooks.
• Ole Miss' Jonathan Mingo and Jay Stanley went to Brandon HS with MSU's Scott Goodman and Will Rogers.
• Jon Haynes, Lakevias Daniel, Daylen Gill, Jamar Richardson and MSU's Fred Peters, Brodie King and Reed Buys all attended Jones College.
• Ole Miss' John Rhys Plumlee and MSU's Jack Harris and Jaden Crumedy all went to Oak Grove in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
• Rebels' WR Dontario Drummond and DB C.J. Terrell attended East Mississippi CC with MSU's LaQuinston Sharp.
• Rebels' WR Jordan Jernigan and LB Tavario Standifer both attended Tupelo HS in Tupelo, Mississippi with Mississippi State's Hayes Hammond, Jett Johnson and Trip Wilson.
• DB Jakwaize Walker and MSU DT James Jackson were teammates at Pascagoula HS in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss' Amani Johnson went to Lafayette HS in Oxford, Mississippi with State's Tyler Williams.
• DL Quentin Bivens attended Wayne County HS with Mississippi State DT Armondous Cooley.
• RB Kentrel Bullock and MSU S Fred Peters were teammates at Columbia HS in Columbia, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss' Jacob Carter attended Pontotoc HS in with State's Cole Smith.
• Ole Miss LB Austin Keys went to Klein Cain HS in Houston, Texas, with Mississippi State's Aidan Martin.
• DB Isaiah Woullard and MSU WR Camp Tice were teammates at Presbyterian Christian School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

SENIOR SALUTE
Saturday's game will serve as Senior Day and 14 student-athletes will be honored before the final home game of the 2020 season: DL Ryder Anderson, P Mac Brown, WR Jared Farlow, K Casey Griffith, DL Nick Haynes, K Luke Logan, OL Royce Newman, TE D'Vaughn Pennamon, LS Jack Propst, WR Josh Ricketts, WR Braylon Sanders, LB MoMo Sanogo, DL Tariqious Tisdale and TE Kenny Yeboah.

CORRAL ETCHES NAME IN RECORD BOOK
In the Rebels' 59-42 win over South Carolina on Saturday, QB Matt Corral set the Ole Miss single game record with 513 passing yards, surpassing Shea Patterson's mark of 489 set in 2017. Corral finished the game 28-of-32 for 513 yards and four touchdowns. Corral's 533 total yards are the second-most in school history, behind Archie Manning's 540 total yards in 1969. It was Corral's fifth 300-yard passing game of the season, tied for third-best in school history.

HARD TO CORRAL
In his last two games, quarterback Matt Corral has put up video game-like numbers as he's helped lead the Rebels to back-to-back wins. Corral combined to complete 89.4 percent of his passes for 925 yards against Vanderbilt and South Carolina. The Ventura, California, native had more touchdowns (10) than incompletions (7) in that time span.

MOORE OF THE SAME
WR Elijah Moore continues to haunt opposing secondaries in 2020. Moore has recorded 10 or more receptions in six of Ole Miss' seven games this season. He became the first receiver in Ole Miss history to accomplish that feat in four straight contests earlier this season. Moore ranks top ten in the country in receiving yards (1^st, 1,054), receptions per game (1^st, 10.6), receiving yards per game (3^rd, 150.6) and receiving touchdowns (8^th, 8).

RETURN OF THE MAC
Punter Mac Brown is no stranger on Rebel special teams. The senior from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has appeared in 35 career games for Ole Miss and continues to be a special weapon for the Rebels. Brown is averaging 46.3 yards per punt, with eight punts greater than 50 yards.

REESE RULED ELIGIBLE
Defensive back Otis Reese was recently granted a transfer waiver and eligible to play for the remaining games of the 2020 football season. After Reese' original waiver request was denied, a waiver was resubmitted on different grounds and was granted. Reese, a transfer from Georgia, saw action in 25 career games with the Bulldogs during his two seasons in Athens. The Leesburg, Georgia, native finished his UGA career with 16 career tackles.

DYNAMIC DUO
WR Elijah Moore and RB Jerrion Ealy are averaging a combined 289.3 all-purpose yards per game, more than any other duo in the SEC. That mark is third among Power 5 teams. Oregon State's Jermar Jefferson and Champ Flemings rank No. 1 (304.7), while Washington State's Travell Harris and Deon McIntosh are second (303.0). Moore and Ealy have held their high average over the course of seven contests, compared to three games by Oregon State and two from Washington State.

MOORE ADDED TO MAXWELL AWARD WATCH LIST
Junior wide receiver Elijah Moore was recently added to the Maxwell Award watch list. The Maxwell Award has been presented to the outstanding collegiate football player in America since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert W. "Tiny" Maxwell. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow won last year's Maxwell Award. Moore, also a member of the Biletnikoff Award watch list, leads the country in both receiving yards (1,054) and receptions (74). He has more yards thru the first seven games of the season than any receiver in SEC history. He ranks No. 4 nationally with eight receiving touchdowns and No. 14 in all-purpose yards (159.3 ypg).

MOVIN' UP THE RECORD BOOK
K Luke Logan continues to move his way up the Ole Miss record books. The senior from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is fourth in Rebel history in PATs made (122) and fifth in career points kicking (236).

200-YARD KING
Wide receiver Elijah Moore is the only Rebel in school history to surpass the 200-yard receiving mark three times in a career, all of which have come in 2020 for the junior. A.J. Brown is the only other Rebel to accomplish this feat multiple times. Brown had a 200-yard game once in 2017 and then again in 2018.

BIG PLAY POTENTIAL
Seven games into the 2020 season, Ole Miss leads numerous explosive play categories. The Rebels are averaging over 20 plays a game greater than 10 yards. In total, the Rebels have 146 plays of 10 or more yards. Ole Miss also ranks No. 6 in the country with eight plays greater than 50 yards.

MAC BROWN RAISES OVER 100K FOR ALS RESEARCH
When he was in seventh grade, Ole Miss punter Mac Brown had a modest goal of raising $500 for a childhood friend's dad who had been diagnosed with ALS. Along with a group of neighborhood friends, Brown started a lemonade stand, Awesome Lemonade Stand, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to help his friend's family. Eight years later, that $500 goal has ballooned to over $100,000 raised by Brown and his friends for ALS research. The Awesome Lemonade Stand is held on a late day in June, and this year's fundraiser raised more than $30,000 alone.

REBEL DEBUTS
Twenty-one different Rebels have made their Ole Miss debuts this season: Eli Acker (OL), Derek Bermudez (DB), Marc Britt (DB), Jakivuan Brown (LB), Kentrel Bullock (RB), Demon Clowney (OLB), Carter Colquitt (OL), Lakevias Daniel (DB), Jalen Denton (DB), Daylen Gill (LB), Cedric Johnson (OLB), Austin Keys (LB), Deane Leonard (DB), Brandon Mack (OLB), Henry Parrish Jr. (RB), Jamar Richardson (DB), Tavius Robinson (OLB), Chase Rogers (TE), Urriah Shephard (RB), Jakwaize Walker (DB), Kenny Yeboah (TE).

FIRST-TIME STARTERS
Fourteen different Rebels have started their first game in an Ole Miss uniform this season: Nick Broeker (OL), Sincere David (NT), A.J. Finley (FS), Daylen Gill (LB), Jakorey Hawkins (CB), KD Hill (NT), Jeremy James (OL), Deane Leonard (CB), Brandon Mack (Buck), Reece McIntyre (OL), Hal Northern (DE), Tavius Robinson (Buck), Caleb Warren (OL), Kenny Yeboah (TE). QB John Rhys Plumlee, who started eight games at quarterback in 2019, registered his first career start at wide receiver in the season opener vs. Florida.

STRONGER TOGETHER INITIATIVE
During the 2020-21 academic year, college and university athletics programs in Mississippi will incorporate a special logo on their uniforms, equipment, warm-up gear or bags. The logo will serve as a visual representation of the state's schools coming together and will feature school-specific branding with the words "Stronger Together" inside the outline of Mississippi. Alcorn State, Blue Mountain College, Delta State, Jackson State, Millsaps College, Mississippi College, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Millsaps College, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi Valley State, Rust College, Tougaloo College and William Carey University are among the schools that are taking part in the "Stronger Together" initiative this season.

KIFFIN'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW ON THURSDAYS
RebTalk, the official weekly radio show of Ole Miss Athletics, is moving to a new day and location for this season. RebTalk will be broadcast each Thursday this fall at Bouré in downtown Oxford from 6-7 p.m. The show, which is hosted by the "Voice of the Rebels" David Kellum and includes special guests, will air live on the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network. Ole Miss Football head coach Lane Kiffin and select players will join the broadcast each Thursday throughout the season.

SEC CREATES COUNCIL ON RACIAL EQUITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE
The Southeastern Conference recently announced the creation of the SEC Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice, a league-wide body consisting of a diverse group of student-athletes, administrators, coaches and SEC staff. LB MoMo Sanogo and punter Mac Brown will represent Ole Miss on the council that will identify resources, outline strategies and assist with implementation of efforts that, when taken together, will promote racial equity and social justice. The council will also foster diversity, helping overcome racism and pursuing non-discrimination in intercollegiate athletics.

COVID CAUSES ATTENDANCE CHANGES
As established by the State of Mississippi's latest executive orders, Ole Miss home football games are at 25 percent capacity in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to begin the 2020 season. Ole Miss' attendance plan is based on guidelines from the state and the Southeastern Conference in response to COVID-19. Key components include face covering requirements throughout the stadium, social distancing between households and no tailgating on campus.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Eli Acker

Ryder Anderson

Derek Bermudez

Quentin Bivens

Nick Broeker

A.J. Brown

Jakivuan Brown

Mac Brown

Kentrel Bullock

Jacob Carter

Demon Clowney

Carter Colquitt

Matt Corral

Lakevias Daniel

Sincere David

Jalen Denton

Dontario Drummond

Jerrion Ealy

Jared Farlow

AJ Finley

Daylen Gill

Casey Griffith

Jakorey Hawkins

Jon Haynes

Nick Haynes

KD Hill

Jeremy James

Jordan Jernigan

Amani Johnson

Cedric Johnson

Austin Keys

Deane Leonard

Luke Logan

Brandon Mack

Reece McIntyre

Jonathan Mingo

Elijah Moore

Cale Nation

Royce Newman

Hal Northern

Henry Parrish Jr.

Shea Patterson

D'Vaughn Pennamon

John Rhys Plumlee

Jack Propst

Otis Reese

Jamar Richardson

Josh Ricketts

Tavius Robinson

Chase Rogers

Braylon Sanders

MoMo Sanogo

Urriah Shephard

Tavario Standifer

Jay Stanley

CJ Terrell

Tariqious Tisdale

Jakwaize Walker

Caleb Warren

Isaiah Woullard

Kenny Yeboah

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