Will he stay in Oxford? Or will he put down new roots in Baton Rouge or Gainesville? We will find out soon what the future holds for Lane Kiffin, but first, we will find out if Ole Miss will clinch a place in this year’s College Football Playoff with an Egg Bowl win vs. rival Mississippi State (12:00 p.m. ET, ABC).
The seventh-ranked Rebels (10-1, 6-1 SEC) have already locked up their fourth 10-win campaign in the last five seasons, and with a victory in Starkville, a spot in the CFP bracket will be theirs. Also, if both Alabama (at Auburn) and Texas A&M (at Texas) both lose their rivalry matchups on the road, Ole Miss will reach the SEC Championship Game for the first time.
SEC Football Standings
- No. 3 Texas A&M 7-0 (11-0)
- No. 4 Georgia 7-1 (10-1)
- No. 7 Ole Miss 6-1 (10-1)
- No. 10 Alabama 6-1 (9-2)
The success that the program has had under Kiffin, who is 54-19 in Oxford (31-17 in the SEC), has made him a hot name in coaching rumors in recent seasons. This year, the focus is squarely on the open jobs at LSU and Florida.
Will he choose to take one of those opportunities, or will he remain with the Rebels? An announcement about his future is set for shortly after the Egg Bowl, according to Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter, which can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on which side of the situation you occupy.
Whatever the announcement is, showing up and showing out vs. Mississippi State is the immediate priority for Ole Miss in this moment.
While the Rebels are looking to clinch a CFP spot, the Bulldogs (5-6, 1-6 SEC) are looking to bag a second major upset this season and book a bowl berth for the first time since 2022.
That was also the last time MSU won the Egg Bowl, and it proved to be Mike Leach’s final game before his untimely death that December.
The Bulldogs have made some positive strides this season after a 2-10 campaign last season, but agonizingly missing out of potential wins against Tennessee, Florida, and Texas will see their season end if they cannot get it done against the favored Rebels.
Who will celebrate with the Golden Egg in Starkville? Read on for our Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State prediction and best bets, as well as the best Egg Bowl betting odds from top online sportsbooks such as BetOnline.
Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Prediction and Best Bets
Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Prediction: Ole Miss to win
Based on what we have seen from the Bulldogs recently, this looks like a straightforward win for the Rebels.
Mississippi State is better late-game execution from being 8-3 and likely ranked somewhere in the top 25. In fact, had they been 8-1 like they could have been after defeating Arkansas, MSU might have put forth better efforts in blowout losses to Georgia and Missouri.
Alas, they are in must-win mode for the Egg Bowl, and the odds are not at all favorable even with a relatively close spread.
Last time out against Missouri, the Bulldogs were put in a blender by Mississippi native Ahmad Hardy, who ran for exactly 300 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries in the Tigers’ 49-27 win in Columbia.
Hardy is one of three finalists for this year’s Doak Walker Award. Heisman Trophy hopeful Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame is one of the others, and the third is Ole Miss’s Kewan Lacy.
Last time he was on the field, Lacy ran for a career-best 224 yards on 31 carries and tallied his third three-touchdown game of the season in the Rebels’ 34-24 win over Florida.
The Bulldogs rank last in the SEC in rushing yards allowed per attempt (5.0) and per game (189.8), but the last three games against Arkansas, Georgia, and Missouri have been especially horrid, as they allowed 239 yards to the Razorbacks, 303 to the other Bulldogs, and 326 to the Tigers.
That bodes well for Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State, as the Rebels also possess the running threat of quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who has run for 50+ yards five times in nine starts this season.
Ultimately, even with distractions present for Ole Miss, it looks like a long day is ahead for Mississippi State.
Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Best Bets
Mississippi State First Quarter Team Total Over 6.5 (-108 at Lucky Rebel)
The Bulldogs may well come out on the losing end, but they have at least done a good job of scoring early. To date, the only game in which they have failed to score a first-quarter touchdown is their 31-9 loss at Texas A&M.
Davon Booth (Mississippi State) to Score a Touchdown Anytime (-136 at Lucky Rebel)
Booth is Mississippi State’s leading touchdown scorer this season with seven rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns, and he will be playing his final home game today. I like his chances to find the end zone at least once, and if Jeff Lebby can push aside his penchant for head-scratching playcalling—such as running his two quarterbacks repeatedly when it wasn’t working at all against Missouri—Booth should get some opportunities to add to his touchdown tally.
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