POSTGAME NOTES
GAME 12 • #18 OLE MISS (9-3, 6-2 SEC) AT #21 MISSISSIPPI STATE (8-4, 4-4 SEC) • NOV. 28, 2015 • DAVIS WADE STADIUM
TEAM NOTABLES
• Mississippi State dropped to 43-63-6 all-time against Ole Miss, losing the Battle for the Golden
Egg at home for the first time since 2003.
• The crowd of 62,265 was the fourth-largest crowd in Davis Wade Stadium history.
• A total of 432,490 football fans attended games at Davis Wade Stadium this fall, a new singleseason attendance record.
• The average attendance of 61,784 fans per home game also marked a new school record.
• State has passed for 3,733 yards, a new single-season school record.
PLAYER NOTABLES
• By totaling 317 yards of total offense Saturday, senior quarterback Dak Prescott now ranks third
in SEC history with 11,470 career yards of total offense, passing Georgia’s David Greene (11,270
from 2001-04) and Florida’s Chris Leak (11,380 from 2003-06).
• With one rushing touchdown, Prescott joined Tebow and Colin Kaepernick as the only three
quarterbacks in the last two decades to rush for 10 touchdowns in three straight seasons.
• Prescott rushed for 63 yards, passing James Johnson (2,452 from 1997-98) for seventh most in
school history (2,474).
• Prescott broke the Egg Bowl record for most pass completions (31).
• Prescott’s school record streak of five straight games with 300-plus yards passing came to an
end. He was the first SEC player since Ryan Mallett in 2010 to accomplish the feat.
• Prescott threw for 254 yards, his 16th career game with at least 250 yards through the air (8th in
2015, 6th straight).
• With a career-high 12 receptions, junior wide receiver Fred Ross broke the school record for
most receptions in a single season (81).
• Ross’ 12 receptions tied for the third most in a single game in school history and marked the
most by a Bulldog since Eric Moulds pulled down a school-record 15 catches against Tennessee
on Sept. 23, 1995.
• Ross tallied 100 yards receiving yards for the seventh time in his career and has done it in a
school-record four straight games.
• Ross tied a school record with five 100-yard receiving games in a single season.
• True freshman wide receiver Malik Dear tallied a career-high two receiving touchdowns.
• Redshirt freshman safety Brandon Bryant registered a career-high 10 tackles (8 solo).
• Junior linebacker Richie Brown finished with 12 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, narrowly missing
career highs in both categories.
REBEL FOOTBALL
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POSTGAME NOTES
#18 OLE MISS 38, #21 MISSISSIPPI STATE 27 - 11/28/15
SERIES INFORMATION
• This was the 112th all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Mississippi State ... The Rebels now hold a 63-43-6 advantage in the series, dating back to 1901.
• This was the 88th “Battle for the Golden Egg,” which Ole Miss now leads 57-26-5, dating back to 1927.
• This was the Rebels’ first win in Starkville since 2003, snapping a five-game losing streak there ... First time the road team has won the Egg Bowl since 2010.
• Ole Miss has consecutive Egg Bowl victories for the first time since winning three straight from 2002-04.
• The Rebels’ 38 points were their most scored in Starkville since a 48-0 win in 1971.
• Ole Miss’ 25-point halftime lead (28-3) was its largest in the Egg Bowl since a 31-0 halftime lead in 2008.
CAPTAINS
(All): Justin Bell (Sr., OL), Evan Engram (Jr., TE), Mike Hilton (Sr., DB), C.J. Johnson (Sr., LB)
GENERAL NOTES
• Attendance at Davis Wade Stadium was a sellout crowd of 62,265.
• The Rebels’ 9-3 record matches their regular-season record from last year, which was the best since 2003 ... First time with 9+ regular-season wins in back-to-back years
since 1961-62.
• The final 6-2 Southeastern Conference record is the team’s best since a 7-1 ledger in 2003.
• Ole Miss finished second in the SEC West, its highest place in the West standings since it was co-champion in 2003.
• The Rebels’ 11 SEC wins in the last two years are the most in a two-year span since they also had 11 in 1962-63.
• The 2015 senior class posted their 33rd win over the last four years, the most since Ole Miss players began playing all four years in the early 1970s.
• Ole Miss improves to 4-2 against ranked teams this season ... The Rebels are 9-12 vs. top-25 teams under Hugh Freeze.
• The Rebels have four wins over ranked teams for the first time since 1969 (4) and two road wins over ranked teams for the first time since 2008 (2).
• The Rebels now own an all-time record of 654-504-35 (.563 winning percentage) and a 33-18 record under Hugh Freeze (.647 winning percentage).
• Ole Miss improves to 29-5 when scoring first, 26-4 when leading at halftime and 28-3 when rushing for 150+ yards under Freeze.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• With 479 total yards of offense, Ole Miss broke the 2013 team’s previous school record for total yards (6,153) ... This year’s team has 6,177 heading into bowl game.
• With two passing touchdowns, Ole Miss tied the school record for passing touchdowns in a season (31), which was set in 2001.
• Junior QB Chad Kelly completed 21 of 30 passes for 236 yards with two TDs and no INTs ... He added 74 rushing yards and a season-long 27-yard TD run.
• Kelly broke Eli Manning’s school record for passing yards in a season ... Manning had 3,600 in 2003, and Kelly has 3,740 heading into a bowl game.
• Kelly moved into the top five in SEC history in total yards (5th, 4,167) and top 10 in passing yards (8th, 3,740) ... He’s the fifth SEC player to ever have 4,000 total yards in a
season, joining Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M), Cam Newton (Auburn), Tim Tebow (Florida) and Tim Couch (Kentucky).
• This was Kelly’s third straight game without a turnover ... In those three games, he accumulated 13 total touchdowns (7 passing, 6 rushing)
• Kelly’s nine regular-season wins are the most by a first-year Ole Miss QB since Russ Shows had nine in 1990.
• Sophomore WR Damore’ea Stringfellow hauled in five catches for a career-high 84 yards and a career-high two touchdowns.
• Sophomore RB Jordan Wilkins had five carries for 54 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown.
• Junior WR Laquon Treadwell had four catches ... His career total of 196 ranks top 10 in SEC history.
• Junior RB Akeem Judd received his first career start as one of two running backs on the Rebels’ first offensive play of the game.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Junior CB Tony Bridges’ first-quarter 45-yard interception return for a touchdown was the Rebels’ fourth pick six of the year, tying the school record set in 1938 ... It was
Bridges’ first touchdown as a Rebel and his third INT of the season.
• Ole Miss’ Landshark defense sacked MSU QB Dak Prescott seven times, a season high for the Rebels ... Sacks were posted by junior DT Robert Nkemdiche (1.5), sophomore DE
Marquis Haynes, junior NT D.J. Jones, senior NT Woodrow Hamilton, senior DE Channing Ward, redshirt-freshman DT Breeland Speaks and senior LB C.J. Johnson (0.5).
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Sophomore K Gary Wunderlich made a career-long 48-yard field goal and connected on all five PATs.
• Wunderlich surpassed Joshua Shene’s previous school record for PATs in a season (52 in 2008) ... Wunderlich now has 57 in 2015.
MSU Head Coach Dan Mullen
Nov. 28, 2015
#18 Ole Miss vs. #21 Mississippi State
Opening Statement
“Obviously I’m fairly disappointed in this game. We made some mistakes out there. Turnovers,
minus-two turnover ratio, and you aren’t going to win many games like that. I thought we had
some opportunities to create some turnovers, but we missed two interceptions. There was a
fumble that went through our hands. They picked it up and ran and scored the next play. Those
turnovers led to 14 points. That was a huge difference in the game. We are one of the least
penalized teams in the league. Tonight we ended up with five times more penalty yards than they
had. I’m proud of our guys’ effort. They played hard for four quarters and that is always
something we stress with our guys.”
On what was said to get on the sidelines to get momentum up
“I just told the guys to relax. We were making mistakes, and we needed to get the team relaxed.
We just talked about staying relaxed and staying the course, we would be alright.”
On the issues for the offensive line making stops
“They were beating us; we had a bunch of injuries that really affected us. We have a lot of guys
banged up, and we had to shuffle a bunch of guys around and improvise. They were winning in
one-on-one matchups.”
On Dak and the senior class
“Dak has accomplished so many amazing things for this program. He has been very unique. This
has been an awesome program and leading up to Senior Day, you always think about it but it
doesn’t hit you until they run that video of what that class has truly accomplished. I believe this
has been the winningest class since 1942, and that is a huge accomplishment.”
MSU PLAYER QUOTES
November 28, 2015
#18 Ole Miss vs. #21 Mississippi State
QB – Dak Prescott – Sr.
On what happened in the first quarter
“I mean just a turnover the first possession, he kind of put his helmet right on the ball and caused
a fumble. Out of the pocket, I should have thrown the ball away like I usually do. Instead I tried
to make a play right there and I threw it right there to the guy and he returned it.”
On the emotional hype of the start of the game and how it affected the team
“I mean me fumbling and me forcing the ball, I don’t think that had anything to do with it.”
CB – Taveze Calhoun – Sr.
On the emotions of Senior Day
“It’s tough, but more than anything I’m just going to miss the memories, all of the good times
that we had in this stadium, all of the friendships that we made. I think that’s what I’m going to
miss the most.”
On the elusiveness of Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly
“It’s really tough [to tackle him] when you’re playing a quarterback like that. It’s hard to cover.
He can escape at any time. You have to give credit to him, though. He made a lot of big time
plays tonight.”
LB – Richie Brown – Jr.
On the deficit early in the game
“I think that we messed up some tackling. We kind of dug ourselves a hole in the first half. We
knew what was coming, we just didn’t execute very well. We had some mental errors here and
there.”
On third-down difficulties
“In the first half, third down was a problem for us to be honest with you. We had a lot of
opportunities to get off the field, and they just kept making plays down the field.”
Ole Miss Head Coach Hugh Freeze
November 28, 2015
#18 Ole Miss vs. #21 Mississippi State
Opening Statement
“(I am) extremely pleased with taking the Egg Bowl back to Oxford. It has been difficult, as
many of you have pointed out all week long, to win this on the road, playing in a hostile
environment. I was pleased with our preparation. It is unfortunate that the loser of this game gets
raked over the coals by some of you guys. Both teams have had good years and it speaks
volumes that this game now means something nationally. It is a credit to both school staffs, kids
and administrations that are investing in making our programs relevant. I think it’s great for our
state. I hope you’ll take that into consideration as you write about the years because both teams
have had good years and it’s really unfortunate that some of them have to get criticized. I know
that’s just the way our sport is. Again, really pleased with our kids. All week long, I thought they
were ready. I loved our preparation, loved our plan we had all week. Excited to take that egg
back to Oxford. It means so much to our people, our program. I am thrilled, excited. Now, we
can dwell on that and the ‘what ifs’ and all of that but I think that it speaks volumes about where
we’ve come and just our four years here. It kind of stinks, but we will go to a great bowl game
somewhere, hopefully.”
On the legacy of this team
“I think in time we will certainly be able to know, but I want to say that I think that this group
has made us nationally relevant. I don’t think we have a losing record against anybody in the
SEC West. To come from where we did four years ago, I think this group made us relevant and it
is hard for anyone to argue that. I think we are getting close to being beyond that and playing a
significant role in who decides this conference. Every year is different. Who knows what next
year holds. You see that all the time with teams, so we have to find a way to be consistent.”
OLE MISS PLAYER QUOTES
November 28, 2015
#18 Ole Miss vs. #21 Mississippi State
QB – Chad Kelly– Jr.
On the win
“It’s huge to get a win in this game. It means everything to this university, to our players, and I
am just excited to be a part of this great team.”
On the team’s performance
“I thought we did good. I had missed on a couple of things, a couple of over-routes, but it’s
another SEC game. It’s a hard fought win. Coming into someone else’s stadium and coming out
with a victory is huge.”
WR – Damore'ea Stringfellow– So.
On focusing on improving as an individual
“My biggest thing is trying to get better and fix the things that I have messed up on this year so
that it won’t be a problem next year, and bring the team along with us.”
On Chad Kelly’s performance
“The best thing about Chad is that he learns from his mistakes real fast, and he is a competitor.
When he makes a mistake, you know he is going to go out and fix it and it shows in his play.”
DB – Tony Bridges– Jr.
On game strategy
“Coach told me earlier on in the week that you have to win the one-on-ones, and I told him
‘Coach I feel comfortable on pressing them every play’.”
On thoughts coming in to the game
“We knew coming in that it was going to be a dog fight, so coach told us not to take our feet off
of the gas, so that’s what we did. We didn’t give them a chance to come back.”