Wild and whacky.
A lot of Egg Bowls can be described that way, but this one has to rank right up there with the zaniest of all times
Mississippi State defeated Ole Miss 21-20 Thursday night in Starkville in a wild and crazy Egg Bowl finish for the ages.
Ole Miss scored with four seconds remaining on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Matt Corral to Elijah Moore to cap a 12-play, 82-yard drive.
However, Moore was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty with his indecent celebration in the end zone. Because of the 15-yard flag, Ole Miss kicker Luke Logan missed wide on his 35-yard extra point attempt, setting off a cowbell-ringing celebration. Moor was penalized for pretending to urinate like a dog, and Mississippi State ended up with a 21-20 victory Thursday night in the 116th Egg Bowl.
State improved to 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC and clinched an opportunity to play in a postseason bowl under second-year head coach Joe Moorhead, who has been the source of rumors that he wasn’t the right man for the job.
“This is my team, my school, my program,” a passionate Moorhead said postgame.
Ole Miss saw its season end at 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the SEC.
The teams combined for seven sacks and 17 tackles for loss, and Mississippi State won the turnover battle 3-1.
State’s Garrett Shrader was the standout freshman quarterback on this night, not the heralded Ole Miss running rookie, John Rhys Plumlee.
Shrader, subbing for injured senior starter Tommy Stevens, completed 10 of 14 passes for 108 yards. He rushed for two touchdowns, including the eventual game-winner on a 5-yard scamper with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter.
State’s defense held Plumlee in check. He rushed 18 times for 34 yards and scored one TD. He passed for 121 yards on 9 of 14 attempts. He finished the season with 1,023 yards rushing.
The Bulldogs scored two first-half touchdowns, the first on Nick Gibson’s 27-yard run and the second on the next possession on quarterback Garrett Shrader’s 1-yard run. Ole Miss responded with two touchdowns of its own, with J.R. Plumlee scoring on a 2-yard run and Jerrion Ealy on a 5-yarder to tie it at 14 at the half.
Midway through the third quarter, the Bulldogs sacked Plumlee three times on the same drive, the third forcing a fumble. Seven plays later, Shrader scored on a 5-yard run to put Mississippi State up 21-14.
On the final drive of the game, Mississippi State committed three of its five total penalties and Ole Miss ran nine plays inside the 15 before eventually connecting for the touchdown.
After a long season that fell well short of expectations, an emotional home win over a hated rival might just be enough to keep second-year head coach Joe Moorhead from losing his job. But maybe not.
