The SEC hoped that Thursday night’s Egg Bowl would be without any fights or other big incidents. Until the last four seconds, the game was without incident beyond the usual rivalry “chippiness” until Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore lifted his leg to mimic a dog peeing after catching a TD that cut Mississippi State’s lead to 21-20. Moore was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, backing up the extra point attempt 15 yards. Luke Logan missed the long PAT.

On Friday, Ole Miss AD Keith Carter and coach Matt Luke released a joint statement on Moore’s celebration:

“We want to apologize formally as a program to the Ole Miss family for the disappointing and unacceptable action that occurred at the end of Thursday’s game. Elijah is a fine young man who lost control of his emotions in the moment. This incident does not reflect in any way the type of student-athletes on our football team or the culture of respect that permeates our locker room. Discipline is a staple of our program as evidenced by being the least penalized team in our league, and we will continue to uphold an uncompromising standard of behavior on and off the field. In maintaining our team’s high level of accountability, we will address the matter, and disciplinary action will be handled internally.”

The statement is in line with what Luke told reporters after the game in Starkville:

“Just disappointed. It’s not who we are. We’ve been a disciplined team all year. Just disappointed that it happened. I was disappointed – that’s not who he is. Elijah’s a good kid. He got caught up in the moment.”

Carter is only days into his job as the new Ole Miss athletic director. He probably wasn’t expecting to have to issue a public apology in his first week.