Jaxson Dart, No. 14 Ole Miss defends Miss. State in Egg Bowl

Jaxson Dart broke Eli Manning’s passing school record, Ulysses Bentley IV had the SEC’s longest run this season and No. 14 Ole Miss defeated visiting Mississippi State 26-14 in the 121st annual Egg Bowl on Friday in Oxford, Miss.

Dart surpassed Manning’s mark of 10,119 yards from 2000-03 and was 14 of 24 for 143 yards and a touchdown as the three-touchdown favorite Rebels (9-3, 5-3) struggled through the air.

Dart now has 10,213 yards, ranking him 10th all-time in SEC passing yards. He also ran for 77 yards on 13 attempts.

Bentley, who was healthy but did not play in last Saturday’s 24-17 loss at Florida, rushed for a game-high 136 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown.

Ole Miss leads the all-time series 66-46-6.

The Bulldogs’ Michael Van Buren rushed for a TD and was 17 of 32 passing for 280 yards and a touchdown pass to Kevin Coleman Jr. (six catches, 118 yards). Van Buren also threw two interceptions.

Mississippi State (2-10, 0-8) went winless in conference play for the first time since 2002 and lost its 12th straight SEC game.

On the first series, the Rebels’ Chris Paul Jr. stepped in and picked off Van Buren for his first career interception. Caden Davis soon drilled a 39-yard field for a 3-0 lead.

After converting a fake punt, the Bulldogs again went 4th-and-7 at the Ole Miss 34. Van Buren hit Coleman with a low cross to give the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead at 7:54.

In the offensive backfield on third-and-1, defensive tackle JJ Pegues rumbled five yards for his seventh touchdown of the season at 2:16, capping a 13-play, 75-yard drive. Then, on the final play of the quarter, Van Buren ran toward a goalie from six yards out.

Bentley ripped off the Rebels’ longest play of the season when he burst up the middle and sprinted 89 yards for a score and a 17-14 halftime lead.

After missing a 54-yard kick to end the half, Davis drilled one from 43 yards in the third after Coleman had a weakened punt return that was tied up by Suntarine Perkins.

Caden Prieskorn made a juggling 19-yard touchdown catch with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter, capping an 87-yard drive. The TD gave Ole Miss a two-point lead with 5:46 left.

–Field level media