STARKVILLE — Hugh Freeze knew the odds were stacked against the Ole Mis football team playing on the road in the Battle for the Golden Egg.
But it didn’t seem to bother him or the Rebels.
“(I am) extremely pleased with taking the Egg Bowl back to Oxford,” Freeze said. “I was pleased with our preparation.”
Freeze and No. 19 Ole Miss won the Egg Bowl for a second-straight season thanks to a 38-27 victory against No. 23 Mississippi State on Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium.
The victory was the Rebels’ first in Starkville since 2003. Entering the game, the home team had won the last four meetings, and 14 of the last 16 times. The Bulldogs were the last team to win on the road — 31-23 in 2010 in Oxford.
Ole Miss has won two in a row in the series for the first time since it won three in a row from 2002-04.
Quarterback Chad Kelly, a former standout at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown in his first game in the series.
Kelly started his career at Clemson, but transferred to EMCC and helped the Lions win a National Junior College Athletic Association National championship last season. He transferred to Ole Miss in the spring and won the starting job.
To bring the Egg Bowl trophy back to Oxford means a great deal to Kelly.
“It’s huge to get a win in this game,” Kelly said. “It means everything to this university, to our players, and I am just excited to be a part of this great team.”
Ross breaks record
Junior wide receiver Fred Ross is having one of the best seasons in MSU history.
On Saturday, Ross had 12 catches for 117 yards. His effort helped him set a single-season record with 81 catches, breaking the record held by David Smith (74 passes for 987 yards in 1970).
“I just go out every game trying to win,” Ross said. “If records happen, they happen.”
The presence of junior De’Runnya Wilson has helped Ross. Wilson had a big sophomore campaign and teams have focused on stopping him, which has opened opportunities for Ross on the other side. He has taken advantage by posting double-digit catches in three of the last four games. He has double-digit catches in four games this season.
Ross, who has 933 receiving yards and four touchdowns, can become the second Bulldog to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season in the team’s bowl game.
Mardye McDole had 48 catches for 1,035 yards in 1978.
Big crowds
MSU fans have shown up in droves this season.
The crowd of 62,265 to see the Egg Bowl was the fourth-largest in Davis Wade Stadium history.
In seven home games, MSU set a single season attendance record of 432,490. That figure eclipsed the mark set last season, when MSU started 9-0 and rose to No. 1 for five weeks and had a total attendance of 427,892 in seven home games.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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