Just when you were about to give Ole Miss its props for turning a potentially disastrous season into a very good season, the Rebels go out and lay their biggest egg of the season.

Fittingly, it came in the Egg Bowl.

The Rebels (8-4, 4-4) were outplayed, out-coached, out-hustled, out-executed and just generally whipped by a younger, less talented Mississippi State team, which was clearly more enthused about playing this game than Ole Miss was.

That's a credit to Dan Mullen and his Bulldogs. It's a indictment against Houston Nutt and his Rebels.

How can you lay an egg in this game after you've played so well the last few weeks?

The 41-27 loss may well cost the Rebels a berth in the Capital One Bowl. It may also cost them on the recruiting trail in the state of Mississippi.

A lot went wrong for the Rebels this season offensively. But nothing was more puzzling than quarterback Jevan Snead's struggles. He threw three more interceptions Saturday, including one that was returned 64 yards for a touchdown.

Snead started the season being mentioned in the Heisman Trophy race, but wound up throwing 15 interceptions in his eight SEC games as compared to 10 touchdowns.

You simply can't win big in this league with that kind of ratio from your quarterback.