OXFORD — Ole Miss started Thursday’s game with a quick crossing route to A.J. Brown before testing Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram deep. The Rebels hit tight end Dawson Knox on a similar concept before going deep again, this time testing cornerback Cameron Dantzler.
Both deep shots were incomplete, but the message had been sent. The Rebels were going to dare No. 22 MSU to handle a deep passing game.
The Rebels dared a defense with a strong pass rush to do it against them and dared a talented secondary to showcase that talent against them; both units delivered. Four sacks, four quarterback hurries, five pass breakups and an interception were more than enough to what to date had been the Southeastern Conference’s most explosive passing attack.
It was also enough to win the Egg Bowl in convincing fashion, 35-3. It was the first time this season Ole Miss (5-7, 1-7 SEC) was held without a touchdown.
“It felt like a personal challenge. We knew they were going to try to air the ball out with the receiving corps they got, we took it as a challenge,” linebacker Erroll Thompson said.
Few responded to that challenge as well as cornerback Maurice Smitherman. Thrust into a bigger role with the ejection of cornerbacks Cameron Dantzler and Jamal Peters, he was able to finish the job of holding the Rebels out of the end zone — after securing his first interception of the season.
A ball bound for DaMarkus Lodge in the end zone was on target, but ripped out of Lodge’s arm by Smitherman.
“He kind of beat me off the line, so I was trying to recover and I saw his arm. He went up for the ball and I just took it out of his hand,” Smitherman said.
Dear’s chance at return man
Kick and punt returning has not been a strong of MSU’s this year, for myriad reasons, so MSU (8-4, 4-4 SEC) gave someone else a shot at it: junior wide receiver Malik Dear.
Dear had not returned a punt this year and had only one kick return entering Thursday, but he was the only Bulldog to field a punt and took his one kick return for 27 yards.
The change comes after a moment in last week’s game against Arkansas when Deddrick Thomas — MSU’s second-most used returner on both punts and kickoffs — had a miscommunication on one punt that almost led to a muff and another close call on a catch.
Different voice
By this point in the season, a routine has settled in well. Moorhead wanted to mix that up a little bit this week, to drive a point home.
“Right before we leave the hotel we have a team meeting, normally my message is about what we need to do to win and some motivation,” Moorhead said. “I had (team captains, quarterback) Nick (Fitzgerald) and (defensive end) Gerri (Green) talk to the team: I’ve not been through this before, so I can’t sit in front of you and say this is what we need to do to win an Egg Bowl because I haven’t been through one.”
Making history
In winning his eighth game of the season, Moorhead became the first coach to win eight games in his first season at MSU since Allyn McKeen in 1939. His predecessors, Dan Mullen and Sylvester Croom, combined for eight wins in their first seasons on the job.
Fitzgerald, in running for 117 yards and two touchdowns, notched his 20th 100-yard game of his career and tied himself for fourth in SEC history for career rushing touchdowns with 45, tying former Auburn running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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