Game Primer: Ole Miss at Mississippi State

			OLE MISS (4-7, 2-5 SEC) at MISSISSIPPI STATE (5-6, 2-5 SEC) Thursday, Nov. 28 • 6:30 p.m. • Starkville, Miss. Davis Wade Stadium (61,337)
Watch • Live Stats • Listen • Buy Tickets Ole Miss Game Notes (PDF) • Mississippi State Game Notes (PDF) • SEC Game Notes (PDF)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• This game is the 116th meeting of one of the nation's most-played rivalries ... Ole Miss holds a 62-45-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1901.
• The original record is 62-47-6 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.
• Thursday's game will be the 92nd "Battle of the Golden Egg," as the two schools started playing for the trophy in 1927 ... Ole Miss holds a 56-28-5 advantage in the "Egg Bowl".
• This will be the 26th time the series has been played on Thanksgiving Day ... Ole Miss holds a 14-10-1 advantage in Thanksgiving games, including an 8-4 mark in games played in Starkville.
• 88.1 percent of Ole Miss' offense (4,367 of 4,959 yards) have come from freshmen, the most by any team in the country.
• Ole Miss ranks third in the SEC and 31st nationally in total offense per game (450.8).
• Ole Miss has rushed for 200 or more yards in six of their last seven contests.
• QB John Rhys Plumlee's 989 yards rushing on the season are a program record by an Ole Miss freshman and rank No. 3 in the country by a QB.
• Plumlee's 11 rushing TDs rank seventh in Ole Miss' season record books.
• RB Jerrion Ealy has three 50-yard rushes this season, the fifth-most in the country.
• ILB Lakia Henry ranks eighth in the conference in tackles per game (7.5).

OLE MISS HEAD COACH MATT LUKE
Matt Luke (Ole Miss, 2000) is in his 12th season at Ole Miss and third season at the helm, taking the reins of his alma mater as the 38th head coach in program history. He was born a Rebel as his family has ties to Ole Miss that span three generations. During his 25 years as a player and coach at the collegiate level, Luke has risen through the ranks while learning from a number of successful veteran coaches. He has worked alongside national champion Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe and former Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville, among others. Luke, a four-year center for the Rebels (1995-98), spent five seasons as the team's co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before being promoted to interim head coach for the 2017 season. During his first stop in Oxford (2002-05), he served four seasons coaching the Ole Miss tight ends and offensive line under Cutcliffe. Following his playing career, he served as a student assistant coach at Ole Miss in 1999, helping the Rebels to an 8-4 mark with regular-season wins against Auburn, South Carolina, LSU and Arkansas as well as a 27-25 triumph over Oklahoma in the Independence Bowl.

MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH JOE MOORHEAD
Joe Moorhead (Fordham, 1996) is in his second year as Mississippi State's head coach and owns a 42-24 record in his seven years as a head coach, including a 5-6 mark so far this season. In his first season in Starkville, he was 8-5 on the field. Those wins were later vacated due to NCAA ruling. Moorhead is in his 22nd year in collegiate coaching and spent 2016-17 as the offensive coordinator at Penn State before coming to Starkville. Moorhead transformed the Nittany Lions offensively and spearheaded them to a combined 21-5 record, a 17-3 mark in Big Ten regular season play, the 2016 Big Ten Championship, two New Year's Six bowls and back-to-back top 10 national rankings. The 2017 campaign saw the Nittany Lions rank in the top 25 nationally in seven different offensive categories. Prior to Penn State, Moorhead spent four seasons as the head man at his alma mater Fordham. where he posted a 38-13 record.

BULLDOG SCOUTING REPORT
Mississippi State is 5-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play entering this week's game with Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are averaging just over 410 yards of total offense per game, with 228.5 yards coming on the ground, third in the SEC. Junior running back Kylin Hill leads the SEC and ranks 12th nationally with 1,215 yards rushing on the season. The Columbus, Mississippi, native is averaging 5.8 yards per carry and has tallied 10 TDs on the season. Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens has started eight games at the quarterback position this season for the Bulldogs. Stevens is completing 59.3 percent of his passes and has nine passing touchdowns on the season. True freshman Garrett Shrader has also seen time under center. Shrader is the Bulldogs' second leading rusher, tallying 568 yards and four TDs on the ground. Osirus Mitchell is MSU's leading receiving, hauling in 27 catches for 383 yards and five touchdowns this year. Defensively, the Bulldogs come in with a defense allowing 390 yards of total offense per game. Mississippi State is third in the SEC and No. 17 nationally with 20 turnovers forced.

OLE MISS-MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES HISTORY
• This game will be the 116th meeting of one of the nation's most-played rivalries.
• Ole Miss holds a 62-45-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1901, including a 22-14-3 mark in Starkville.
• The original record is 62-47-6 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.
• Thursday's game will be the 92nd "Battle of the Golden Egg," as the two schools started playing for the trophy in 1927 ... Ole Miss holds a 56-28-5 advantage in the "Egg Bowl".
• This will be the 26th time the series has been played on Thanksgiving Day ... Ole Miss holds a 14-10-1 advantage in Thanksgiving games, including an 8-4 mark in games played in Starkville.
• 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 straight.

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 and Octavius Cooley both attended Laurel HS in with State's Charles Cross.
• WR Elijah Moore and MSU CB Cameron Dantzler were teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas HS in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• K Cale Nation and MSU OL Matt Stanic both attended Madison Central HS in Madison, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss' Jonathan Mingo, Dallas Smith and Jay Stanley went to Brandon HS with Mississippi State's Scott Goodman and Fletcher Adams.
• Jon Haynes, Scottie Phillips and Jamar Richardson and MSU's Fred Peters all attended Jones Country Junior College.
• Ole Miss' Josh Ricketts attended Madison Central HS in Madison, Mississippi, with State's Matt Stanic.
• 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 MSU's Brian Cole II, Taury Dixon, Tyre Phillips and Chauncey Rivers all attended East Mississippi CC.
• QB Kinkead Dent and MSU OL Evans Wilkerson both attended Jackson Academy in Jackson, Mississippi.
• Rebels' WR Jordan Jernigan and LB MSU LB Tavario Standifer both attended Tupelo HS in Tupelo, Mississippi with Mississippi State's Jett Johnson.
• DB Jakwaize Walker and MSU DT James Jackson were teammates at Pascagoula HS in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss' Eric Jeffries, Amani Johnson and Eli Johnson all went to Lafayette HS in Oxford, Mississippi with State's Tyler Williams.
• Rebels' P Spencer Cole and MSU's Jarrian Jones and Joshua Short all attended Northwest Ranking HS in Flowood, Mississippi.

MR. RECORD BREAKER
QB John Rhys Plumlee has set nearly every single-season school rushing record for a freshman:

SINGLE-SEASON RECORD	PLUMLEE	RECORD	PREV. RECORD	RECORD HOLDER/YEAR
Most Rushing Yards - Freshman	989	989	612 (McSwain)	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)
Most Rushing Yards by a QB	989	989	544 (Masoli)	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)
Most Rushing TDs by a Freshman	11	11	6 (Gunn)	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)
Most Total TDs by a Freshman	15	15	7 (Metcalf/Ellis)	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)
Consecutive 100-Yard Rushing Games by a QB	3	3	--	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)

RUNNING WILD
Ole Miss ranks first in the SEC and seventh nationally in rushing offense, averaging 261.5 yards per game. In SEC play, the Rebels have run for a league-best 1,952 yards and 17 touchdowns. Ole Miss has averaged 47.1 carries per conference game, just under 12 carries per game more than the league average (35.2). In its last game, Ole Miss rushed for 402 yards against top-ranked LSU. The 447 rushing yards vs. New Mexico State were the fifth-most in school history and the most since 1962 (Chattanooga, 454). Ole Miss also rushed for 413 yards vs. Vanderbilt during Week 6, the most by Ole Miss against an SEC opponent since 1979 (Vandy, 443). It's the first time in school history that Ole Miss has surpassed the 400-yard rushing mark three times in the same season.

THANKSGIVING DAY HISTORY VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
• This will be the 26th time the series has been played on Thanksgiving Day ... Ole Miss holds a 14-10-1 advantage in Thanksgiving games, including an 8-4 mark in games played in Starkville.

WE WERE MERELY FRESHMEN
• 88.1 percent of Ole Miss' offense (4,367 of 4,959 yards) have come from freshmen, the most by any team in the country.
• Thirty-three of Ole Miss' 38 touchdowns on the season have involved freshmen, including 18 straight.
• The 51 total freshmen (36 true, 15 redshirt) on Ole Miss' roster account for over 43 percent of the roster, the third-most in the SEC.
• Seven different freshmen have started at least one game this season for the Rebels.
• Thirty-seven freshmen (27 true, 10 redshirt) have seen action for Ole Miss at least once during 10 games of the season, the second-most in the NCAA. Those freshmen include: WR Miles Battle (RS), DE Quentin Bivens (RS), OL Nick Broeker (True), ILB Ashanti Cistrunk (True), RB Snoop Conner (True), QB Matt Corral (RS), DE LeDarrius Cox (True), OL Jalen Cunningham (RS), QB Kinkead Dent (True), RB Jerrion Ealy (True), DB A.J. Finley (True), WR Demarcus Gregory (RS), OL Hamilton Hall (RS), DB Jakorey Hawkins (RS), DT KD Hill (RS), WR Dannis Jackson (True), WR Jadon Jackson (True), OL Jeremy James (True), WR Jordan Jernigan (True), QB Brice Johnson (True), DB Jalen Jordan (True), TE Casey Kelly (True), OLB Luke Knox (RS), NT Patrick Lucas, Jr. (True), OL Reece McIntyre (True), WR Jonathan Mingo (True), WR Mario Padilla (True), QB John Rhys Plumlee (True), DB Deantre Prince (True), OL Bryce Ramsey (True), QB Sellers Shy (True), RB Dallas Smith (True), DB Jay Stanley (True), QB Grant Tisdale (True), OL Caleb Warren (True), WR Jack White (True), WR Nevin Wells (RS).

MOORE KEY IN PASSING ATTACK
Elijah Moore has unquestionably been the top option in the Ole Miss passing game this season. Moore's 64 catches on the year are more than the rest of the team's WR corps combined (52 catches across eight WRs). His 108 targets this season not only lead the team, but also all SEC players through Week 13. Two areas in which Moore has added value this year are forcing missed tackles and explosive plays. Moore currently ranks ninth among SEC WRs with 11 missed tackles forced after the catch. That figure goes hand in hand with his tally of 17 explosive plays (catches on 15+ yards), which is tied for eighth in the conference among WRs.

RUN-JRP
QB John Rhys Plumlee has put up some record-breaking numbers on the ground in his first collegiate season. Plumlee has the school record for most rushing yards by a freshman (989), rushing yards by a QB (989), rushing touchdowns by a freshman (11) and total TDs by a freshman (15). Plumlee is the only Ole Miss quarterback in school history to rush for 100 yards in three straight games. In SEC contests, Plumlee ranks second in the conference in rushing touchdowns (11) and rushing yards per game (126.5). The Hattiesburg, Mississippi, native is third in yards per carry (6.3) in conference games. Plumlee rushed for a freshman QB record of 212 yards and four touchdowns against No. 1 LSU.

SURPASSING THE 1K MARK
Despite just playing in eight games this season, John Rhys Plumlee has the 1,000-yard rushing mark in sight. Plumlee, a true freshman from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is just 11 yards short of becoming just the sixth Ole Miss player – first quarterback – to go past 1,000 yards rushing. It would mark the eighth time in Ole Miss history for a Rebel to reach that mark. BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Kayo Dottley both accomplished the 1,000-yard mark twice in their careers.

BEYOND THE NUMBERS: PLUMLEE'S RUSHING EFFORTS
QB John Rhys Plumlee has not only been one of the most prolific runners at the QB position since taking over the starting QB job for Ole Miss in Week 5, but one of the most prolific running options in the entire country. From Week 5 to the present, Plumlee ranks ninth in the entire country in total rushing yards (967). He has also gained that yardage on a very impressive 7.5 yards per carry (second among all FBS QBs with 50+ rushes during that span). The level of competition Plumlee has faced is also something to consider in this instance. Among all QBs in the 2019 season, only Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma has more yardage against Power 5 competition than Plumlee's 843 yards. When looking strictly at designed runs, Plumlee's 743 yards are the most of any FBS QB this season.

EALY-SIVE
RB Jerrion Ealy has been a force for the Rebels on the ground this year and his role only continues to grow. Ealy has done an excellent job of making defenders miss routinely and maximizing his carries. Through Week 13, Ealy leads all SEC RBs with a missed tackle rate of 0.38 forced missed tackles per carry. He ranks tied for eighth among all players in the SEC with 33 missed tackles forced. To go with his outstanding rate of forcing missed tackles, Ealy also consistently gains yards after contact. Of Ealy's 7.3 yards per carry, 4.8 of them have come after contact. Ealy's 4.8 YAC/carry are tied for third best among SEC RBs.

A FORCE IN THE MIDDLE
DT Benito Jones leads the team in QB pressures (27), while ranking second on the team in defensives stops (tackles constituting a "loss" for the offense), with 21. Jones' 27 pressures rank tied for sixth among all SEC interior defensive linemen. Interestingly, 20 of Jones' 27 pressures have come lined up at his natural position of nose tackle. That is the most pressure lined up as a NT of anybody in the SEC, and the second most of any player in the country lined up at NT. 17 of Jones' 21 defensive stops have come lined up as a NT, which also leads the SEC and ranks fifth among all FBS defenders.

SNOOP-A-LOOP: HE'S GOING STREAKING
A fantastic compliment to John Rhys Plumlee and Jerrion Ealy in the run game has been RB Snoop Conner. Conner has been one of the most difficult backs in the country to tackle this season. While his 6.9 yards per carry is impressive on its own, Conner has gained 5.1 yards after contact per carry this year, which leads all SEC RBs and all qualifying FBS true freshmen RBs. When compared to all Power 5 RBs with 50 or more carries this year, Conner's 5.1 YAC/carry ranks fourth.

MAC BROWN RAISES NEARLY 75K FOR ALS
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 nearly $75,000 raised by Brown and his friends for ALS research. This year alone, the Awesome Lemonade Stand has raised more than $21,000 alone, including $4,500 during the Vanderbilt game when the stand was set up outside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE
After the 2018 campaign, Matt Luke found himself in the market for both an offensive and defensive coordinator, and he delivered in a big way. Mike MacIntyre, a two-time national coach of the year and coaching veteran with nearly three decades of experience, will take over the reigns as the Rebels' defensive coordinator while Rich Rodriguez, considered one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football, will serve as Ole Miss' offensive coordinator. Ole Miss is one of only two teams in the nation, along with Alabama, to have three coaches with Power 5 head coaching experience.

CHUCKY MULLINS COURAGE AWARD
In the spring, senior DE Austrian Robinson became the 29th different Rebel to be awarded the Chucky Mullins Courage Award, which goes to a standout defensive player each year. The award honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away May 6, 1991. Robinson wears the No. 38 jersey in Mullins' honor this season.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Ole Miss ranks third in the SEC and 31st nationally in total offense per game (450.8).
• The Rebels' 278.9 yards rushing per game in SEC contests lead the conference ... In SEC play, the Rebels have run for a league-best 1,952 yards and 17 touchdowns.
• Ole Miss has averaged 47.1 carries per conference game, 12 more carries per game more than the league average (35.2).
• 88.1 percent of Ole Miss' offense (4,367 of 4,959 yards) have come from freshmen, the most by any team in the country ... 33 of Ole Miss' 38 touchdowns on the season have involved freshmen.
• QB John Rhys Plumlee's 989 yards rushing on the season are a program record by an Ole Miss freshman and rank No. 3 in the country by a QB.
• Plumlee needs just 11 yards to become the eighth Ole Miss player to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season.
• Plumlee is the only Ole Miss quarterback in school history to rush for 100 yards in three straight contests and the first SEC quarterback to do so since 2009 when Tim Tebow tallied four such games.
• He's the first Power 5 QB to rush for 100+ yards in each of his first three starts since Nebraska's Taylor Martinez and Michigan's Denard Robinson in 2010.
• The Rebels have started the same five offensive linemen in all 11 games this season.
• RB/KR Jerrion Ealy has three 50-yard rushes this season, the fifth-most in the country.
• Ealy leads all SEC RBs with a missed tackle rate of 0.38 forced missed tackles per carry.
• WR Elijah Moore leads the SEC with 108 targets.
• RB Snoop Conner has gained 5.1 yards after contact per carry, which leads all SEC RBs and all true freshmen RBs.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 30th in the NCAA with 2.7 sacks per game.
• Ole Miss has forced at least one turnover in nine of its 11 games this season.
• The Rebels currently rank 34th in the NCAA in rushing defense, allowing 132.0 yards per game.
• Ole Miss has held five opponents to under 70 yards rushing this season, including limiting the New Mexico State to just 66 yards on the ground in the Rebels' win over the Aggies.
• In Weeks 2, 3 and 4, the Rebels held their opponents to 61, 66 and 60 yards, respectively. It was the first time since 1999 that Ole Miss had allowed 70 or less rushing yards in three straight games.
• The three points and 193 yards allowed vs. NMSU were the fewest since 2015 when the Rebels beat Texas A&M 23-3.
• Eight different Rebels have tallied at least one interception in 2019.
• ILB Lakia Henry ranks eighth in the conference in tackles per game (7.5).
• 17 of Benito Jones' 21 defensive stops have come lined up as a NT, which leads the SEC and ranks fifth in the NCAA.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• P Mac Brown is fifth in the SEC and No. 22 in the NCAA in punting average (44.3).
• Eleven of Brown's 52 punts this season have been more than 50 yards ... He had six punts that surpassed 50 yards last season.
• Logan has made at least one field goal in eight of the 11 games this season.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Miles Battle

Quentin Bivens

Nick Broeker

Mac Brown

Ashanti Cistrunk

Spencer Cole

Snoop Conner

Octavius Cooley

Matt Corral

LeDarrius Cox

Jalen Cunningham

Kinkead Dent

Dontario Drummond

Jerrion Ealy

AJ Finley

Demarcus Gregory

Hamilton Hall

Jakorey Hawkins

Jon Haynes

Lakia Henry

KD Hill

Dannis Jackson

Jadon Jackson

Jeremy James

Eric Jeffries

Jordan Jernigan

Amani Johnson

Brice Johnson

Eli Johnson

Benito Jones

Jalen Jordan

Casey Kelly

Luke Knox

Reece McIntyre

Jonathan Mingo

Elijah Moore

Cale Nation

Mario Padilla

Scottie Phillips

John Rhys Plumlee

Deantre Prince

Bryce Ramsey

Jamar Richardson

Josh Ricketts

Austrian Robinson

Sellers Shy

Dallas Smith

Tavario Standifer

Jay Stanley

Jakwaize Walker

Caleb Warren

Nevin Wells

Jack White

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