Ole Miss 20 - Mississippi State 17
My final memory of our final regular season game will be the diehard Ole Miss fans standing and singing in their endzone seats. They were watching the Mississippi players carry the Golden Egg off Hollingsworth Field just a few yards away from where the final field goal missed.
Everyone wearing red and blue seemed to forget that the Rebels just finished a 4-8 season. There will be no Bowl Game this year. It doesn't matter. The Egg Bowl is all these people cared about today.
And isn't that what this journey has really been about? Sure, we've paid attention to the football players and coaches, but really, we've been impressed with the thousands of fans who attend every game, regardless of their favorite team's record.
What a way to end our regular season. A classic rivalry, one of the oldest in college football. Fourteen points in the final 3:29. A fourth and inches stop by Mississippi State trailing by three points. A desperation Bulldogs drive that began at the Ole Miss 48 yard line with 42 second remaining. A 51 yard field goal attempt with hopes of forcing overtime that fell wide to the left. A three-point win for the home team, the Rebels of Ole Miss, 20-17.
"It was a very physical football game," Ole Miss Head Coach Ed Orgeron said, with his shiny gold trophy sitting over his right shoulder.
He's right. It wasn't pretty. There were few spectacular plays or players. If anyone deserves the headlines, it's punt returner Marshay Green. His 47 yard touchdown return late in the fourth quarter put Ole Miss up 20-10. A Mississippi win seemed like a foregone conclusion, but Sylvester Croom's Bulldogs had a lot of fight left in them.
They never gave up. Down by 10 with 3:16 to play at their own 27, the Bulldogs went 73 yards in only 8 plays. Quarterback Omarr Conner needed just 56 seconds to direct the touchdown drive. Conner, might I remind you, is supposed to be catching passes, not throwing them. But he filled in for the injured Michael Henig and did an effective job.
In the end, his effort was not enough. Ole Miss held on. It's something for the Rebels to build on heading into 2007.
"I'm happy for our team," Orgeron said. "We finally found a way to win a game at the end. We've been close. And I know our guys wanted to beat Mississippi State. It's a big rivalry for Ole Miss, and I'm just happy that we could get that done."
The two teams entered the locker room at halftime tied at 10. MSU running back Anthony Dixon had sliced and diced his way through the Rebels defense. Sixteen carries, 97 yards and a touchdown in just two quarters. But things changed in the second half.
"We just got a little tougher," Orgeron said.
Dixon carried nine times in the second half. He gained just 28 yards. Ole Miss stepped it up defensively, and that was the difference in the game.
That and Ole Miss' domination on special teams.
Both teams have a lot to look forward to. MSU has proven over the last few weeks that it can stop the run. The Bulldogs will have to replace some departing seniors, but there is defensive talent that will return next season.
Ole Miss showed that if a Rebels quarterback can play consistently, there will be a productive offense in Oxford next year. All you have to do is look at the last few box scores for Ole Miss and Mississippi State to realize that these two teams are on the rise.
Next year's Egg Bowl might have a lot more at stake.
This year's Egg Bowl was sloppy at times. There were five three-and-outs and one four-and-out in the fourth quarter alone. Punts were shanked and field goals were missed. I feel bad for the guy cutting highlights for this game (Glenn).
That's really not what matters though. Two teams with three wins and no hope to play postseason football played hard for 60 minutes. It came down to the last play of the game. What a great way to end our regular season.
Now we're off to the SEC Championship. What a great way to end the mission.
