OXFORD — Mississippi State’s defense was beating back the odds, keeping the Bulldogs close in Friday’s Egg Bowl that had no right to be a competitive game.
In nine drives spanning the entire second and third quarters, Ole Miss punted six times — three of which were three-and-outs — and also missed a long field goal at the end of the first half and could only manage a field goal after starting inside MSU’s 25-yard line. But the No. 14 Rebels did have one big play during that stretch, and it made all the difference on a day when the Bulldogs’ offense was held scoreless over the final 45 minutes.
After Ole Miss’ ferocious defensive front landed its first sack of the game on MSU quarterback Michael Van Buren and forced a punt, Rebels running back Ulysses Bentley IV burst through a big hole and sprinted past the secondary, going all the way for an 89-yard touchdown without a Bulldog laying a hand on him. The score gave Ole Miss the lead for good in a 26-14 MSU loss that kept the Golden Egg trophy in Oxford for the fourth time in five years.
“Our (defensive line was) getting knocked back,” safety Isaac Smith said. “We worked on them running the ball all week. We knew they would try to run the ball in our three-safety shell, so it was just a matter of rallying to the ball and getting the guy on the ground.”
The day could not have started much worse for Van Buren, who threw an interception straight to linebacker Chris Paul Jr. on the third play of the game. But the Bulldogs’ defense dug in after one Rebels first down and held Ole Miss to a field goal, and then MSU (2-10, 0-8 Southeastern Conference) produced a game-changing play on special teams.
A fake punt pass from Nick Barr-Mira to Justin Ball kept the Bulldogs’ second drive alive, and they took the lead on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Van Buren to Kevin Coleman on another fourth down. Coleman finished with 118 yards on six receptions, and he completed his first year at MSU with 74 catches for 932 yards and six touchdowns.
“He’s meant a ton, and he’s just getting started,” Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby said. “He’s a guy who is incredibly competitive, has played the game in a really tough way, and is a guy we’re going to continue to push to the front to lead by example, to create accountability inside our locker room and to get done what we need to get done.”
The Rebels (9-3, 5-3) retook the lead with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that finished on a 5-yard touchdown run by defensive lineman JJ Pegues, who carried safety Hunter Washington with him into the end zone. MSU responded, with Van Buren’s long pass to Jordan Mosley setting up a 6-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper that gave the Bulldogs their first lead at the end of the first quarter or later in a conference game all season.
Van Buren hit on a couple more big plays later in the game, but MSU punted on six of its next seven drives, and Van Buren threw his second interception of the day on the first drive of the second half. Running back Davon Booth leaked open downfield behind safety Trey Washington, but Van Buren’s pass floated in the air a second too long and Washington pulled it down.
“The guy plays the game the way you want him to play,” Lebby said. “There were so many things throughout that game that give us a chance for a different outcome. If we play a little cleaner, if we execute a little cleaner, if we do some things a little differently. There were frustrating moments. That’s part of (Van Buren) being as young as he is, playing against people who he’s having to play against. There’s going to be incredible growth from this for him.”
Bentley’s touchdown put Ole Miss up 17-14 at halftime, and the Rebels could only extend the lead by three after recovering a muffed punt by Coleman in the third quarter. So the Bulldogs were within one score heading into the fourth before a 10-play, 87-yard drive for Ole Miss ended with a 19-yard pass from Jaxson Dart to Caden Prieskorn, who made an acrobatic catch in the back of the end zone.
MSU made a season-high eight tackles for loss, and linebacker Zakari Tillman sacked Dart twice to continue his strong run of play late in the year.
“He’s a baller. He’s electric,” linebacker Nic Mitchell said. “He can change the game at the linebacker position. He’s getting smarter and smarter, so he’s going to keep getting better.”
The Bulldogs were poised to cut into the deficit after Van Buren connected with Booth for a 20-yard gain, then found Coleman deep down the left sideline for a 44-yard pickup that put MSU just shy of the goal line. But on four plays, the Bulldogs could not punch it in. Booth and Van Buren went nowhere on the ground, and Coleman couldn’t haul in Van Buren’s quick pass on fourth down.
The Rebels ran out the clock from there, putting themselves over 250 rushing yards on the day.
A critical offseason lies ahead for MSU, which hit rock bottom in Lebby’s first season in Starkville. The head coach will need to make decisions regarding his staff, and with national signing day and the opening of the transfer portal right around the corner, a good chunk of the Bulldogs’ 2025 roster will fall into place within the next month.
“There are going to be guys at every single position who have the ability to come in here and make an impact,” Lebby said. “We are looking to constantly upgrade. We want to make our roster as good as we possibly can (and) as fast as we possibly can. We have the ability to do that, and our staff and myself are ready to work incredibly hard to go do it and get it done.”
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