The Egg Bowl this season gained even more attnetion this week with the looming Lane Kiffin decision that will come on Saturday. In what might have been his last game as the Ols Miss Rebels coach, we got quite the match up against the Mississippi State Bulldogs .
Let's dive into the winners and losers from the Egg Bowl, with Ole Miss defeating its hated rival.
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
The offense must revolve around Kewan Lacy in the College Football Playoff. He opened the scoring up on Friday with a 31-yard touchdown run, immediately putting the Bulldogs in an early hole. On the Rebels' first two touchdown drives, Lacy turned 6 carries into 45 yards, and he moved that total to 12 carries for 69 yards on the first three drives. However, Kiffin did move away a bit from Lacy after that, and the Rebels offense was inconsistent until the fourth quarter. What he's shown over the last month, though, is that he should be more of a focal point, and we'd expect that to happen for Mississippi regardless of who is the program's head coach.
Kewan Lacy stats vs Mississippi State :143 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 1 touchdown
Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Lane Kiffin made the Egg Bowl about himself. What could've been a broadcast focused on one of the best rivalry games in college football and a spotlight for the Rebels' remarkable success heading into the College Football Playoff, instead became centered on Kiffin's future. Will he go to LSU ? Would Kiffin save his reputation by staying with the Rebels? All of that overshadowed what happened on the field in the Egg Bowl. Quite frankly, whatever decision he makes now will still do damage to his national reputation because of how he handled this entire process. The only form of damage control is announcing a new contract with Ole Miss after beating Mississippi State.
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Why did it take so long for Kamario Taylor to see the field? A 247 Sports' four-star recruit, the true freshman quarterback made his first career start in the Egg Bowl. It's quite the firestorm to throw a teenager into, but you certainly wouldn't have known it was his first start based on his performance against the No. 7 team in the country. Taylor led the team in rushing, ripping off multiple explosive runs, and he made some nice plays with his arm. The lone interception he threw, while costly, happened because a deflected pass bounced off Fluff Bothwell 's hands and then got snagged out of the air. Taylor might not have gotten the win, but he absolutely looked like someone with a lot of potential, and the Bulldogs should be elated about what he could do in 2026.
Kamario Taylor stats in Egg Bowl :15-of-31, 178 pass yards, 5.7 ypa, 0-1 TD-INT, 173 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Ole Miss absolutely looked like the superior football team against Mississippi State; that's not a surprise. However, the Rebels' vertical passing game felt a bit disjointed on Friday. Trinidad Chambliss missed multiple shots downfield when he had a wide receiver wide open for a would-be touchdown. When he did deliver pinpoint accuracy throwing vertically, the football bounced off receivers' hands. This is technically nitpicking given the results and we did see the explosive plays through the air start coming in the fourth quarter, so there's something to build on for the College Football Playoff.
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
A year ago, Trinidad Chambliss was putting the finishing touches on an unbelievable season at Ferris State. He transferred to Ole Miss and found himself stuck behind Austin Simmons as the backup quarterback. An injury opened the door for him to see the field, and he's never looked back. Chambliss wasn't flawless on Friday in the Egg Bowl, but he once again showcased his composure and playmaking ability in a big game. He finished off the regular season being instrumental in Ole Miss winning 11 games for only the second time in school history. Best of all, he's already expressed his desire to return to the program in 2026.
Trinidad Chambliss stats vs Mississippi State : 23-of-34, 359 pass yards, 10.6 ypa, 4-0 TD-INT
Related Headlines
