2015 Egg Bowl: Game Grades, Analysis for Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State

The No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels (9-3, 6-2) won the 112th edition of the Egg Bowl with a 38-27 victory over the No. 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4, 4-4) Saturday night in Starkville, Mississippi.

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly was terrific, passing for 236 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 74 yards and another score. Overall, the Rebels finished with 479 yards of total offense.   

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Second-Half Grade
Pass Offense	A-	B
Run Offense	B	B+
Pass Defense	A	B-
Run Defense	A-	B+
Special Teams	C	B-
Coaching	A	A-

Pass Offense: Kelly was outstanding all night, but especially in the first half when he completed 80 percent of his passes and rushed for more than 50 yards. He was good in the second half and most importantly took care of the football and did not turn it over. 

Run Offense: Kelly, Jaylen Walton and Jordan Wilkins combined to help the Rebels rush for 243 yards and two touchdowns. Most of Ole Miss' rushing yards came in the second half when Walton and Wilkins took over. 

Pass Defense: Ole Miss had a pick-six in the first half and made Dak Prescott throw underneath the entire evening. The Rebels, led by Robert Nkemdiche, sacked Prescott seven times. 

Run Defense: The defense allowed 148 yards on 34 carries, but much of it was Prescott scrambling when his receivers were covered. Mississippi State did not have a strong running game, especially in the first 30 minutes. 

Special Teams: The Rebels averaged just 22.7 yards per punt; fortunately, they only had to punt three times. Kicker Gary Wunderlich missed two chip shots before hitting a 48-yarder in the second half. Ole Miss had nine total return yards. 

Coaching: The Rebels had an excellent offensive game plan. They came out throwing the football, which allowed Kelly to make some plays with his legs. Defensively, Ole Miss made Prescott try to beat the defense with short throws. He couldn't.  

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Second-Half Grade
Pass Offense	C-	C+
Run Offense	C-	C
Pass Defense	C	B-
Run Defense	C+	C+
Special Teams	B	B+
Coaching	C	C+

Pass Offense: Prescott finished with 254 yards passing, but much of that was in the second half. MSU's receivers struggled to gain separation, which forced Prescott to run more often than he would have liked. Mississippi State's offensive line allowed seven sacks. 

Run Offense: Prescott led the Bulldogs with 63 yards rushing and a touchdown. That's normal. While Brandon Holloway finished with 55 yards—most of it in the second half—the game was already out of reach. 

Pass Defense: The Bulldogs' pass defense was overmatched in the first half. However, they did a much better job in the second half. There wasn't enough pressure on Kelly, though. Ole Miss' stud receiver, Laquon Treadwell, had just four catches for 22 yards. MSU did a nice job of containing him. 

Run Defense: Mississippi State struggled to stop the run all night. Kelly beat the Bulldogs in the first half, while the running backs took over in the second half. Too often when Ole Miss needed a few yards, it easily attained them. 

Special Teams: Westin Graves hit both of his field goals, and Logan Cooke averaged 49 yards per punt. The Bulldogs were outstanding in coverage. Fred Ross had a nice punt return to set up Mississippi State's first touchdown in the third quarter. 

Coaching: The Bulldogs were behind from the start and never showed a sense of urgency. That's on Dan Mullen. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz didn't make any adjustments until the third quarter. When he decided to send additional pressure on Kelly, it worked. Where was this earlier in the game?