The Season - Ole Miss Football

Egg Bowl (2012x13)

Air date: Nov 29, 2012

Mississippi State's invincibility in the Egg Bowl under coach Dan Mullen finally died in year four. Mississippi used a huge second half to beat the No. 25 Bulldogs 41-24 on Saturday night, ending Mississippi State's three-game winning streak in the series. Mullen has spent much of his four-year stint in the Magnolia State talking trash about "The School Up North" when given the chance -- and he earned it with three straight wins - but now he is on the losing end for the first time. "Our kids prepared to go play, but we didn't execute very well, we didn't play very well," Mullen said. "We had a good week of practice, but you never know exactly how it's going to play out until you get to gameday and start doing it on the field." Mississippi State's defense simply couldn't find a way to stop Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace or receiver Donte Moncrief. Wallace threw for 294 yards and five touchdowns - including three to Moncrief. It was a sweet win for Ole Miss (6-6, 3-5 Southeastern Conference), which won the Egg Bowl for the first time since 2008. The Rebels also earned bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009. "This game was personal," Moncrief said. "I've been hearing through Twitter and other media that we were soft and a lot of noise. I know I could make plays and that's what I did." Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4) made a field goal late in the second quarter to tie the game at 17-17 going into halftime. But the Rebels reeled off 24 straight points in the second half to push past the Bulldogs. Moncrief caught seven passes for 173 yards and tied a school record with three receiving touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 216-pound sophomore used his wide body and sure hands to dominate against Mississippi State's secondary, which simply couldn't stop the Wallace-to-Moncrief connection. Moncrief caught touchdown passes of 77, 21, and 16 yards. Jeff Scott added 111 rushing yards on 28 carries. Ole Miss finished with 527 total yards. "We just p