OXFORD – It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but the No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels secured their second straight Egg Bowl victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Friday with a final score of 26-14.

The rivalry win for the Rebels (9-3, 5-3 SEC) is their fourth of the last five in the series.

The game started with an interception from Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren to linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul, and Ole Miss was able to capitalize with a field goal to claim a 3–0 lead. State would respond with a 34-yard passing score from Van Buren to Kevin Coleman, but a rush by the Rebels’ JJ Pegues from six yards out gave Ole Miss a 10-7 lead midway through the first quarter.

Van Buren would then add a six-yard rushing score to give the Bulldogs a 14-10 lead at the end of the first, and that score stayed in place until Ole Miss running back Ulysses Bentley IV scored an 89 rushing touchdown meter broke that gave the Rebels a 17-14 lead at halftime.

The only score of the third quarter came from the leg of Caden Davis (who was 2-for-3 on field goals that day) that made it 20-14 in the final frame. With just under 10 minutes left in the game, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart connected with Caden Prieskorn, who made a juggling catch in the end zone to give the game its final final score.

Ole Miss struggled on offense during Friday’s game, but did enough to secure the win. The Rebels totaled 397 yards of offense, 254 of which came on the ground, and they were forced to punt six times in the win.

Still, quarterback Jaxson Dart’s 143 passing yards were enough to make him the all-time rushing leader in Ole Miss history, surpassing Eli Manning. Bentley led the team in rushing with 136 yards, and Prieskorn was the leading receiver with 53.

Defensively, tackle Walter Nolen led Ole Miss in tackles with eight, and Pooh Paul and Trey Washington both had interceptions for the Rebels.

With nine wins, Ole Miss now awaits its postseason destination in the coming weeks.