OXFORD – It was by no means a perfect performance, but the No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels secured their second straight Egg Bowl victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs with a final score of 26-14 on Friday.

The rivalry win for the Rebels (9-3, 5-3 SEC) is their fourth of the last five games in the series.

The game began with an interception by Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren on linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul, and Ole Miss capitalized with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. State responded with a 34-yard pass from Van Buren to Kevin Coleman, but a six-yard rush by the Rebels’ JJ Pegues gave Ole Miss a 10-7 lead midway through the first quarter.

Van Buren then added a 6-yard rushing touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 14-10 lead at the end of the first period, and that score stood until Ole Miss running back Ulysses Bentley IV completed an 89-yard rushing run -Breaking touchdown that led to the tying score The Rebels led 17-14 at halftime.

The only score of the third quarter came from Caden Davis (who was 2-for-3 on field goals on the day), making the score 20-14 in the final frame. With just under 10 minutes left in the game, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart connected with tight end Caden Prieskorn, who made a juggling catch in the end zone, ultimately tying the game.

Ole Miss struggled on offense in Friday’s game, but did enough to secure the win. The Rebels racked up 397 total yards of offense, including 254 yards on the ground, and were forced to punt six times in the win.

Still, quarterback Jaxson Dart’s 143 passing yards were enough to make him the all-time leader in Ole Miss history, surpassing Eli Manning. Bentley led the team in rushing with 136 yards, and Prieskorn was the leading receiver with 53 yards.

Defensively, tackle Walter Nolen led Ole Miss with eight tackles, and Pooh Paul and Trey Washington both threw interceptions for the Rebels.

With nine wins, Ole Miss will now look to its postseason goal in the coming weeks.