Jaxson Dart broke Eli Manning’s school passing record, Ulysses Bentley IV had the SEC’s longest run this season and No. 14 Ole Miss beat visiting Mississippi State 26-14 in the 121st annual Egg Bowl in Oxford, Miss., on Friday.
In eclipsing Manning’s mark of 10,119 yards set from 2000-03, Dart was 14-of-24 for 143 yards and a touchdown as the three-TD favorite Rebels (9-3, 5-3) struggled through the air.
Dart now has 10,213 yards and moved into 10th all-time in SEC passing yards. He also rushed for 77 yards on 13 attempts.
Bentley, who was healthy but did not play in last Saturday’s 24-17 loss at Florida, had a game-high 136 yards on 20 carries and a TD.
Ole Miss leads the all-time series at 66-46-6.
The Bulldogs’ Michael Van Buren rushed for a TD and was 17-of-32 passing for 280 yards and a touchdown pass to Kevin Coleman Jr. (six catches, 118 yards). Van Buren also threw two interceptions.
Mississippi State (2-10, 0-8) went winless in conference play for the first time since 2002 and lost its 12th straight SEC game.
On the first series, the Rebels’ Chris Paul Jr. stepped in and picked off Van Buren’s pass for his first career interception. Caden Davis soon drilled a 39-yard field for a 3-0 lead.
After converting a fake punt, the Bulldogs went for it again on fourth-and-7 at the Ole Miss 34. Van Buren hit Coleman on a shallow cross for a 7-3 Bulldogs lead at 7:54.
In the offensive backfield on third-and-1, defensive tackle JJ Pegues rumbled 5 yards for his seventh touchdown of the season at 2:16 to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive. Then on the quarter’s last play, Van Buren scampered in on a keeper from 6 yards to give Mississippi State a 14-10 lead.
Bentley ripped off the Rebels’ longest play of the season when he burst through the middle and sprinted 89 yards for a score and a 17-14 halftime lead.
After missing a 54-yard kick to end the half, Davis drilled one from 43 yards in the third after a muffed punt return by Coleman that was recovered by Suntarine Perkins.
In the fourth quarter, Caden Prieskorn made a juggling 19-yard TD catch at 9:56 to end an 87-yard drive. The TD put Ole Miss up two scores before its goal-line stand with 5:46 left.
–Field Level Media
