The Golden Egg is coming home thanks to a 17-7 victory by #12 Ole Miss Thursday night at Davis Wade Stadium as the Rebels took a 65-47-6 advantage in the all-time series over in-state rival Mississippi State. The Rebels were led by another powerful outing by sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins, who ended the night with 119 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. Judkins passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season in the third quarter, making him just the ninth rusher in SEC history to repeat with a 1,000-yard season as a sophomore after doing so as a freshman.
His touchdown later that same drive helped propel him into even rarer company, making him one of eight in FBS history and one of two in SEC history alongside Herschel Walker with 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns in each of their first two seasons as freshmen and sophomores.
The Rebels are now 24-15-3 all-time in Starkville, including 11-4 on Thanksgiving. Ole Miss holds the 17-14-1 over the Bulldogs advantage all-time on the holiday.
The rivals have met 120 times over their history, this being the 96th Battle of the Golden Egg, the trophy being awarded to the winner since 1927. Ole Miss is 59-30-5 in the Egg Bowl. The road team has now won six of the last nine Egg Bowls.
The 24 combined points were the fewest in an Egg Bowl since 1996. The two teams were scoreless through the first quarter for the first time since 2013, and neither team reached the end zone in the first half—a first since 1990.
At 10-2 overall, Ole Miss now awaits to see which bowl game will extend an invitation. Ole Miss will now play in its fourth straight bowl game under Kiffin since 2020, the longest streak since the Rebels went to 15 straight from 1957 to 1971.
Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin met with the media following the Egg Bowl win. Video is courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics.