OXFORD, Miss. -- Matt Corral threw for two touchdowns as Ole Miss raced to a 14-0 first quarter lead and held off a late Mississippi State surge Saturday to defeat the Bulldogs 31-24 in the Egg Bowl rivalry.
Ole Miss (4-4) snapped a two-game losing streak in the rivalry, erasing last year's painful one-point loss after Elijah Moore drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the end zone, pushing back an extra-point attempt that failed in the final seconds.
Saturday, Moore responded with 12 receptions for 139 yards, including four catches to convert on third and fourth downs. Moore entered the game leading the nation in receptions (10.6 per game) and yardage (159.3). Corral was 24 of 36 passing for 385 yards with touchdowns of 81 yards to Braylon Sanders and 48 yards to Dontario Drummond as Ole Miss built a 21-7 second quarter lead and never trailed. Snoop Conner and Jerrion Ealy added touchdown runs of 1 and 8 yards, respectively.
Freshman Will Rogers threw three touchdown passes for Mississippi State (2-6, 2-6) including 6 and 11 yards to Malik Heath. Rogers finished 45 for 61 passing for 440 yards and pulled the Bulldogs within 24-21 on a 7-yard strike to Austin Williams. Rogers directed Mississippi State to an opportunity on the final play from the Ole Miss 36-yard line, lofting a pass to the end zone that was knocked down by A.J. Finley.
NO. 5 TEXAS A&M 20, LSU 7
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Isaiah Spiller ran for 141 yards and a touchdown and Buddy Johnson returned an interception for a score in No. 5 Texas A&M’s victory over LSU.
Texas A&M (6-1) extended its winning streak to five games in its first game since Nov. 7 after the team couldn’t play the past two weeks because of a coronavirus outbreak.
The Aggies relied on their running game and tough defense on a wet and soggy night where rain fell steadily and made passing difficult. Kellen Mond had a season-low 105 yards passing in his first game this season without a touchdown pass. LSU’s 123rd-ranked pass defense broke up eight of his passes in the first half and finished with 11.
TJ Finley threw for 118 yards and had an interception in the second quarter for LSU (3-4).
Texas A&M beat the Tigers for the second time in three years.
NO. 6 FLORIDA 34,
KENTUCKY 10
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Kyle-to-Kyle connection returned in a big way after a two-week hiatus and put the sixth-ranked Gators on the verge of the SEC Championship Game.
Kyle Trask found Kyle Pitts for three touchdowns, including a 56-yarder in which the star tight end ran away from a cornerback, and Florida overcame a sluggish start to beat Kentucky.
It was Pitts’ first game since suffering a concussion and breaking his nose on a hit against Georgia. Trask wasted little time reconnecting with his favorite and most talented target.
Trask has 34 touchdown passes this season, moving him past 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and into a tie for third on the school’s single-season list. Only Danny Wuerffel (39 in 1996, 35 in 1995) is ahead of him. Rex Grossman also had 34 in 2001.
Trask did break one of Wuerffel’s records Saturday. He became the first player in school history with at least three touchdown passes in eight consecutive games, topping Wuerffel’s mark of seven set in 1996.
Trask is on pace to pass Wuerffel for touchdowns, too, and it could happen in his final two regular-season games. More importantly for Trask and the Gators (7-1), though, is they can clinch the East Division with a victory at Tennessee next week. The Wildcats are 3-6.
NO. 9 GEORGIA 45,
SOUTH CAROLINA 16
COLUMBIA, S.C. — James Cook ran for 104 yards on just six carries and three other Georgia backs had at least 77 yards to help the No. 9 Bulldogs overpower depleted South Carolina. After throwing for 401 yards in his first start last week, JT Daniels was 10 for 16 for 139 yards with 2 touchdowns. Daniels overthrew a few open receivers and took two sacks. But Georgia (6-2) barely needed Daniels to pass at all. The Bulldogs ran for 332 yards.
Georgia led 21-0 after its first three possessions and before South Carolina (2-7) got a first down.
Zamir White ran 13 time for 84 yards, Kenny McIntosh had 79 yards on nine carries, and Daijun Edwards ran 14 times for 77 yards. The Bulldogs didn’t attempt a pass after Daniels’ 31-yard touchdown strike to Arian Smith on the first play of the fourth quarter gave them a 45-10 lead. Georgia got the ball back with 9:27 left and ran 12 consecutive times, taking a knee at first-and-goal at the 1 to mercifully end it. The Bulldogs averaged 8 yards a run when Daniels sacks were removed from their total.
MISSOURI 41, VANDERBILT 0
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Larry Rountree rushed 21 times for 160 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Tigers (4-3) defeated the Commodores (0-8).
Missouri outgained Vanderbilt 603-196 and rarely allowed the Commodores to cross midfield.
“He refuses to get tackled,” Missouri Coach Eli Drinkwitz said of Rountree. “The play is never over until you physically get him to the ground.”
Connor Bazelak completed 30 of 37 passes for 318 yards. Running back Tyler Badie had seven catches for 102 yards and scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
Missouri has held three of its past four opponents to 10 points or less. Vanderbilt quarterback Ken Seals completed 11 of 19 passes for 79 yards.
