Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss: Prediction and preview

Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach will lead the Rebels and Bulldogs this week into the 119th meeting of one of the nation’s most-played rivalries. Ole Miss holds a 64-46-6 edge in the series that dates to 1901.

Thursday’s game will be the 95th version of the “Battle of the Golden Egg,” as the trophy was first played for in 1927. Ole Miss holds a 58-29-5 advantage in the “Egg Bowl.”

For the Bulldogs, they’re looking for their first 8-win season since 2018. That was also the last year that the Bulldogs won the Battle for the Golden Egg in Oxford.

In one of the most entertaining rivalries in the country, the Egg Bowl is 15-15 over the last 30 meetings, which dates back to 1991.

Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss: Prediction and preview

Kiffin is the biggest storyline leading into the game, as he faces, and swirls himself, rumors about the Auburn job, and if he would leave Ole Miss.

Both teams have stellar running backs who will likely play a role in how the game is decided.

State’s Jo’quavious Marks has caught a pass in 34 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the SEC and tied for No. 11 nationally. The school record is 35 games set by Fred Ross (2013-16). Marks has at least 1 catch in every game of his career.

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For the Rebels, Quinshon Judkins leads all SEC running backs in both rushing yards (1,385) and rushing touchdowns (16) and those touchdowns are the most ever by an Ole Miss player.

Marks and Judkins aren’t the only playmakers in the backfield.

While Marks has caught 44 passes, which is tied for the SEC lead among running backs, teammate and RB Dillon Johnson is tied for second among SEC backs with 40 receptions. For the Rebels, Zach Evans is fifth in the SEC with 899 rushing yards.

But another key player will be Will Rogers, the State QB who last week passed former Ole Miss star Eli Manning for ninth place all-time in SEC passing (10,189 yards) after his 301-yard, 5-touchdown game against ETSU. Rogers leads the SEC in completions (1,103) and averages a league-best 315.8 yards per game and has passed for 32 TDs with just 5 interceptions.

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But if that’s enough for the Ole Miss defense, the State defense must contend with an Ole Miss offense that is the only FBS team that has collected more than 5,000 yards of total offense and 2,500 rushing yards.

A ceremonial note for the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is that Ben Williams, the first black player to appear in a varsity football game for Ole Miss, will have his No. 74 jersey number retired.

Prediction: Mississippi State 28, Ole Miss 24