STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s drive midway through the third quarter of Thursday’s Egg Bowl rivalry game with Ole Miss took just four seconds off the clock.
Quarterback Will Rogers was strip-sacked by the Rebels’ Tavius Robinson, fumbling the football and allowing Ole Miss to take possession.
The Bulldogs trailed the Rebels 16-14 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and had struggled to score since halftime. In the third quarter, MSU’s possessions ended in a turnover on downs at the Ole Miss 28, a punt and Rogers’ fumble.
But when Mississippi State badly needed points, the Bulldogs found them.
Here’s how MSU put together a 13-play, 78-yard drive to pull ahead — and later win — the Egg Bowl.
Play No. 1: First and 10 at the Mississippi State 6-yard line. MSU took possession after safety Jalen Green broke up a fourth-down pass in the red zone, forcing Ole Miss into a turnover on downs. Running back Jo’quavious Marks takes a shotgun handoff but is met at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Marks had 14 carries for 76 yards for the Bulldogs on Thursday.
Play No. 2: Second and 10 at the MSU 6. Rogers fakes a handoff to Marks, who leaks out of the backfield to the left. Finding no other options, Rogers hits Marks behind the line of scrimmage, and the running back sprints forward for a 7-yard gain on the catch. Marks’ only catch of the game ties him for the program record for most consecutive games with a reception at 35. It’s the longest active streak in the Southeastern Conference.
Play No. 3: Third and 3 at the MSU 13. Already facing third down and the prospect of another failed drive, the Bulldogs convert on a major opportunity. Rufus Harvey finds an opening a few yards past the line of scrimmage, and Rogers hits Harvey for a 7-yard gain. Harvey finished with 43 receiving yards Thursday, tied for the most of any MSU wide receiver; running back Dillon Johnson had 46 yards.
Play No. 4: First and 10 at the MSU 20. Marks makes a nice cut around right tackle Albert Reese IV and runs for a 3-yard gain. Reese replaced Kameron Jones, who was injured during the game. It is Marks’ second and final carry of the drive.
Play No. 5: Second and 7 at the MSU 23. Harvey is left open on a crossing route and catches a short pass from Rogers over the middle. The Starkville native falls forward to the 29, setting up another short third down in MSU territory. MSU converts on an offsides penalty on Ole Miss’ Jared Ivey. The Bulldogs went 8 of 16 on third down in the game compared to Ole Miss’ 4-for-17 mark.
Play No. 6: First and 10 at the MSU 34. Marks comes off after being injured on the previous snap, which resulted in the penalty on the Rebels. Johnson replaces him, and Rogers finds his running back in the flat while under pressure. Johnson takes the ball down to the 40-yard line.
Play No. 7: Second and 4 at the MSU 40. Rogers rolls left out of the pocket but manages to make a nice play on the run. He waits for Harvey to find space in between three defenders and tosses an accurate throw to his target along the left hash marks. The 16-yard play — the longest of the whole drive — puts the Bulldogs into Ole Miss territory.
Play No. 8: First and 10 at the Ole Miss 44. Johnson slips through a narrow hole created by his offensive line, racing forward for a 9-yard gain up the middle. He and Marks combined for 149 rushing yards on 26 carries, a 5.7-yard average.
Play No. 9: Second and 1 at the Ole Miss 35. With less than 1:20 remaining in the third quarter, the Bulldogs turn to tempo to move the chains. Johnson bounces out to the right and pushes his way down to the 23 before AJ Finley shoves him out of bounds. The running back benefits from a nice block from Harvey on the outside.
Play No. 10: First and 10 at the Ole Miss 23. Despite initial resistance, Johnson still makes something out of nothing on his third consecutive run. He picks up 4 yards on the play — despite dealing with a hip pointer as well as a lingering knee injury that sidelined him against Alabama and East Tennessee State. “I wasn’t healthy at all,” Johnson admitted postgame.
Play No. 11: Second and 6 at the Ole Miss 19. Mississippi State begins the fourth quarter inside the red zone for the first time in the second half. He hits Johnson in the right flat, but the running back is too close to Ole Miss defensive lineman Pegues. Pegues — who made a 1-yard touchdown catch earlier in the game — flattens Johnson for a 3-yard loss to back up the Bulldogs.
Play No. 12: Third and 9 at the Ole Miss 22. Seeing nothing open, Rogers tries to escape up the middle and pick up a first down. He outpaces one defender but can’t evade Troy Brown, who levels Rogers short of the line to gain. Rogers loses the ball and the play is ruled a fumble, but on review, Rogers was down before giving up the ball. The overturned call keeps the Bulldogs in possession.
Play No. 13: Fourth and 3 at the Ole Miss 16. Needing two points to tie the game, Mike Leach opts to send out kicker Massimo Biscardi for a 34-yard field goal. Biscardi makes the kick, converting on five of his final six attempts during the regular season. The field goal puts Mississippi State ahead as the Bulldogs go on to win, 24-22.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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