It had to overcome a shaky start on offense, but No. 9 Ole Miss pulled away from its in-state rival on Thursday night and quite possibly pulled into a New Year's Six bowl appearance with a 31-21 win over Mississippi State.
Ole Miss (10-2, 6-2 SEC) secured its first 10-win regular season in program history with the victory. The Rebels led 10-6 at halftime behind a late touchdown run by Snoop Conner, who found the end zone twice on the night, and a field goal from Cale Nation. Alongside Conner's two rushing scores, Jerrion Ealy provided the dagger in the fourth quarter with a receiving touchdown.
Matt Corral had one score through the air and one on the ground from five yards out in the fourth quarter to put the Rebels up three scores. He was also intercepted partway through the fourth quarter, a turnover that led to a Bulldog touchdown.
The story of the night, however, was the Ole Miss defense. Coming into the game, Mississippi State was averaging 31.8 points per game, and despite getting into the red zone multiple times throughout the night, the Bulldogs failed to find points when they needed them most.
Ole Miss was also assisted by some Mississippi State miscues in the first half. The Bulldogs had four drops of would-be touchdown passes from quarterback Will Rogers, three that came on the same drive before halftime, and Mississippi State missed a field goal that would have cut the Ole Miss lead to 10-9 at the half.
Even with the help of some mistakes from the Bulldogs, Ole Miss was able to cause some havoc in the backfield in the second half. Sam Williams secured two sacks of Will Rogers in the win, pushing his season total to 12.5.
Now, Ole Miss will await its bowl game fate, but all signs seem to indicate that a New Year's Six bowl is in its future. With the win on Thursday, Ole Miss now leads Mississippi State all-time in the rivalry 64-48-6.
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