No. 6 Ole Miss beats Mississippi State in Battle for the Golden Egg; Kiffin decision up next

“It’s an unbelievable job by these players. We only returned two starters from last year, so, for these guys to overcome adversity throughout the year, play really well — they played a great second half today,” Kiffin said. “I’m just happy for our fans, for our players. All the stuff they dealt with all week from outside people saying they were distracted, there was noise. This is what these guys do. They’ve been doing it for a long time. I think it actually brings them together and they play (well) because of all the stuff outside.”

Chambliss led an offense that racked up 546 yards. The senior transfer from Division II Ferris State was 23 of 34 passing. De’Zhaun Stribling had two of those touchdowns and four catches for 66 yards. Deuce Alexander had two catches for 94 yards, including a 88-yard score in the fourth quarter that put the game away.

The Rebels (11-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) also had a big day on the ground, rushing for 187 yards on 39 carries, with Kewan Lacy accounting for 143 yards on 27 carries.

After Ole Miss built a 14-7 lead in the first quarter, the Bulldogs' defense picked up and gave the team a chance in the second to gain some momentum. Mississippi State drove the ball inside the red zone and was held to a field goal that made it 14-10.

Over the final 1:45, the Rebels drove the ball down the field and Chambliss hit Stribling for a tough catch and touchdown in the final seconds to take a 21-10 lead at the half.

“The first two drives and the way we started were not what we anticipated or what we wanted,” MSU coach Jeff Lebby said. “We settled in and I think the next four drives we played really well. They were able to go down and score a touchdown in a two-minute drive with 11 seconds left which is not what we wanted. The explosive plays and the way they were able to throw and catch was what gave them the ability to go away from us.”

The Bulldogs had over 400 yards of offense themselves. Jeff Lebby made the surprise change at quarterback and played talented freshman Kamario Taylor the entire game. The Macon native finished his first start 15 of 31 passing for 178 yards and had 20 carries for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

Mississippi State (5-7, 1-7 SEC) finished with 440 total yards on 74 plays with 262 of those on the ground. Fluff Bothwell rushed 17 times for 80 yards and Brenen Thompson had six catches for 80 yards.

The Bulldogs' defense was the issue in the game as Coleman Hutzler’s unit gave up over 500 yards for the sixth time in two seasons.

It’s now decision time for Kiffin. The coach is set to make a decision on his future on Saturday and will announce whether he will go to LSU or stay in Oxford, but his decision was not made by the end of the game on Friday.

“I’ve got a lot of praying to do to figure that out (Sunday),” Kiffin said. “But right now I’m just going to go enjoy these players. I told them last night. You’re going to win your 11th game and all I want to do is experience joy watching you.”

The takeaway

Ole Miss: The Rebels had a lot of distractions coming into the week with the status of Kiffin being up in the air. Despite the coach being rumored to be the next head man at either Florida or LSU, the Rebels didn’t play like a team distracted and should have sealed up a playoff berth.

Mississippi State: After a 4-0 start this season, the Bulldogs closed the regular season 1-7 and will likely miss out on a bowl for the third-straight season. Jeff Lebby has started his coaching career 7-17 and is now 1-15 in SEC play with zero home conference wins.

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