Contact: Athletic Dept. Staff
STARKVILLE, Miss. - In below freezing temperatures and in front of a raucous home crowd, Mississippi State powered its way to an overtime victory against arch rival Ole Miss Thursday night, winning the 110th edition of the Egg Bowl 17-10 at Davis Wade Stadium to close out the 2013 regular season.
It was Dan Mullen's fourth victory in the Battle for the Golden Egg in his five years at MSU and his Bulldogs are now bowl-eligible for the fourth-straight year under his guidance.
For the second-straight week, it was MSU's defense being a key in securing an overtime victory for State, stripping the ball away from Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace and recovering it in the end zone to end the game.
Sophomore quarterback Dak Prescott didn't make an appearance until the fourth quarter, but his late-game drive led to the tying field goal at 10-10 and then he took the ball into the end zone himself in overtime to score the winning points, before the drive on which the Rebels' Wallace fumbled. Prescott, who was not expected to play the game at all, relieved freshman Damian Williams, who put up a very solid effort in his first start under center ever for MSU. Williams played three-and-half quarters before Prescott entered the lineup.
Sophomore cornerback Taveze Calhoun played the best game of his young career, racking up a team-high 11 tackles, including nine solo. Nickoe Whitley, Justin Cox and Richie Brown all had interceptions of Wallace, who the MSU defense kept in pretty solid check all night long. Brown and Chris Jones also notched sacks in the contest.
Prior to the winning TD in overtime, State got a touchdown in the second quarter on a 1-yard Josh Robinson run and the tying field goal from Evan Sobiesk with just 2:21 left in regulation.
The Bulldogs will wait to hear their postseason future when bowl selections are announced in early December. Fans can pre-order bowl tickets now by visting www.HailState.com/tickets. Deadline for pre-orders is December 6 at 4:30 p.m. CT.