Mississippi State and Ole Miss enter the eighth week of the college football season coming off their first conference wins.
The Bulldogs, who rose two spots to No. 22 in the Associated Press poll on Sunday, defeated Auburn 23-9 on Oct. 6 then enjoyed a weekend off.
The Rebels secured their initial SEC victory as they beat Arkansas 37-33 on Saturday night.
Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2 SEC) erased a 17-point deficit and scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take down the Razorbacks in Little Rock. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu orchestrated a seven-play, 97-yard drive to score the game-winning touchdown from Scottie Phillips from five yards out.
Any chance of an Arkansas rally was thwarted as Zedrick Woods picked off a first-down pass and the Rebels ran out the remainder of the clock.
“I’m just glad we’re on the winning side of this game,” said Ole Miss coach Matt Luke. “We kind of got the hog off our back, so to speak. We have veteran offensive lineman and a veteran quarterback. I think that showed down the stretch.”
But it was a costly win as receiver DK Metcalf was lost for the season with a neck injury that will likely require surgery.
“Long-term he’s going to be fine, but I think it’s going to require surgery,” Luke said. “It has nothing to do with his spine.”
Luke was hopeful Metcalf’s injury was “whiplash,” but MRI results Sunday night revealed more.
Next up for Ole Miss is a home date with Auburn on Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN. The Tigers are 4-3 overall and 1-3 in conference and coming off back-to-back losses. Auburn dropped a 30-24 decision to Tennessee at home on Saturday.
Auburn beat the Rebels 44-23 in Oxford last season by rolling up 561 yards of offense, 326 on the ground.
MSU (4-2, 1-2 SEC) took a three-day break before starting preparations on Sunday to play No. 5 LSU. The Bulldogs and Tigers battle in Baton Rouge on Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
LSU is coming off a 36-16 victory upset of then-No. 2 Georgia in Death Valley over the weekend.
Mississippi State rolled over the Tigers 37-7 in Starkville last season with Aeris Williams rushing for 146 yards and Nick Fitzgerald accounting for four touchdowns.
n Ta’amu honored: Ta’amu has been named co-offensive player of the week by the SEC.
Ta’amu shares the award with Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano.
Ta’amu amassed 528 total yards as the Rebels rallied from deficits of 17-3 and 30-17 to defeat Arkansas 37-33.
Ta’amu rushed for 141 yards and a score and passed for 387 yards and two more scores.
He has three rushing touchdowns in the last two weeks and has passed for 2,298 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season.
