Ulysses Bentley ran for 136 yards and a touchdown as No. 15 Ole Miss beat Mississippi State 26-14 on Friday in the Egg Bowl, keeping their slim College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Jaxson Dart completed 14 of 24 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown for the Rebels (9-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference). Dart became Ole Miss’ career passing yardage leader with a 17-yard pass to Jordan Watkins in the second quarter. He started the game 49 yards behind Eli Manning and finished the day with 10,213 career yards. Dart, who played at Southern Cal as a freshman, entered the game as the FBS leader in total offense and passing efficiency.
Despite a loss to Florida last week, Ole Miss still has a chance to make the CFP, but they will need some help from other games this weekend. The Rebels struggled against Mississippi State, which has the worst defense in the SEC. Ole Miss trailed twice in the first half before Bentley’s 89-yard touchdown run gave them a 17-14 lead with less than nine minutes left in the second quarter.
Ole Miss didn’t get a two-score lead until Dart passed 19 yards to tight end Caden Prieskorn with 9:56 left in the game.
“This is a huge game in his state, and I think we felt that early, even though we told them records don’t matter. Weird things happen in these Egg Bowls,” said Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin said he wouldn’t “politic” for a playoff spot but emphasized the strength of the SEC. “The SEC’s different. It’s different when you go on the road and play at these places,” Kiffin said. “Some teams in other conferences go the whole year without playing in places like that.”
Mississippi State (2-10, 0-8) ended its first winless SEC season since 2002. The Bulldogs have lost 12 straight conference games since October of last year. Michael Van Buren completed 17 of 32 passes for 280 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions.
Ole Miss failed to reach 400 yards of offense for the fourth time this season, partly because of Mississippi State’s defensive scheme, which often used three safeties, according to Kiffin. The Rebels rushed for 254 yards in the game.
Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby, who was Kiffin’s former offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, said his team didn’t take advantage of its chances. “We’ve got to make the layup,” Lebby said. “That’s something that’s critical. The turnovers were something that didn’t need to happen at all. You go on the road and play a rivalry game against a top-15 opponent, these things can’t happen.”
