No. 12 Mississippi (9-2, 5-2 SEC) at Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6), Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Line: Mississippi by 10, according to FanDuel.com Sportsbook.
Series record: Mississippi 64-47-6.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Ole Miss seeks its second 10-win regular season in three years, both under coach Lane Kiffin. Mississippi State aims for a second consecutive win in the Battle for the Golden Egg and to become bowl eligible in Greg Knox’s second game as interim coach.
KEY MATCHUP
Ole Miss not only has the SEC’s third-ranked offense (469.1 yards per game), but one that rarely coughs up the ball. The Rebels have committed a league-low seven turnovers, five on interceptions, to rank fourth in FBS. But they have allowed quarterback Jaxson Dart to be sacked 25 times, creating an opportunity for a Bulldogs pass rush that ranks eighth in the SEC with 26. MSU is coming off its stingiest defensive effort in a while as it held Southern Miss to just 246 yards and sealed last week’s 41-20 win over Southern Miss with a 60-yard pick-six by Marcus Banks.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Dart is a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award. Dart has accounted for 19 passing touchdowns and seven rushing, throwing for 2,889 yards. He is 41 rushing yards shy of becoming the third Ole Miss QB with 1,000 rush and 5,000 passing yards.
Mississippi State linebacker Nathaniel Watson is coming off a career-high 21 tackles including a sack against Southern Miss. Watson’s 116 stops are just one behind teammate and SEC leader Jett Johnson, and he leads the conference with 10 sacks.
FACTS & FIGURES
MSU has won three of the past five meetings, including 24-22 last year in what turned out to be the final game for Bulldogs coach Mike Leach, who passed away on Dec. 12 because of a heart issue. ... Bulldogs QB Will Rogers returned from a four-game injury absence and passed for 144 yards and two TDs against USM. ... Ole Miss is 58-30-5 in the Egg Bowl since the teams began playing for the trophy in 1927. That includes a 16-14-1 mark in Thanksgiving meetings. ... Kiffin can join John Vaught as the only Rebels coaches with multiple 10-win seasons.
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