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BOX SCORE
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- With the Golden Egg on the line, Deuce
broke loose.
Deuce McAllister ran for three touchdowns and threw for another
score to lead Mississippi to a 45-30 victory over No. 23
Mississippi State on Thursday night in the highest-scoring Egg Bowl
game ever between the rivals.
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| Deuce McAllister scores one of his three rushing touchdowns Thursday night. |
"Players want to play in big games and this was definitely a
big game," McAllister said.
McAllister was hyped as a Heisman Trophy candidate before the
season by Ole Miss, but injuries and sporadic play have made it a
frustrating senior year for the talented 220-pound tailback. He had
rushed for just 646 yards coming into the game.
Then a tough season got much tougher for McAllister two weeks
ago when his 23-year-old brother died after years of struggling
with scoliosis and respiratory ailments.
"It relieves a lot of the frustration," he said. "We played
the way we were supposed to."
McAllister said he was thinking about his brother throughout the
game.
"I think I played to the standards that he would have wanted me
to," he said.
The first TD pass of his career gave Ole Miss the lead for good
at the end of the third quarter.
McAllister took a pitch toward right end on a second-and-16 from
the Bulldogs' 20. With the defense in heavy pursuit, McAllister
stopped and floated a pass across field to quarterback Romaro
Miller, who scampered in for a touchdown that gave Ole Miss a 35-30
lead with 44 seconds left in the third.
The Rebels sealed the game with the help of a Mississippi State
miscue.
A fumbled snap by Mississippi State punter Prentiss Cole gave
Ole Miss the ball at the Bulldogs' 8. Two plays later, McAllister
vaulted into the end zone from a yard out to make it 42-30 with
6:53 left in the game.
McAllister finished with 121 yards on 24 carries. Playing
Mississippi State has always brought out the best him. In the two
previous Egg Bowls, McAllister had run for 321 yards.
Ole Miss (7-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) snapped a two-game
losing streak in the annual Egg Bowl -- so-called for the Golden Egg
Trophy that goes to the winner.
Mississippi State (7-4, 4-4) ended the season on a two-game
losing streak.
"It really hurts," Bulldogs defensive back George White said.
"We were in position to go to the SEC championship and let it slip
away."
On the first play of the second half, McAllister took a handoff
through a large hole in the middle of the line and sprinted away
from the defense for a 72-yard touchdown run and a 28-16 lead.
It was Mississippi's fourth touchdown in a span of four
possessions covering 7 minutes, 48 seconds.
The Bulldogs finally stopped the Ole Miss run with two touchdown
runs in four minutes by Dontae Walker. The second was a
McAllister-like 73-yard burst that gave Mississippi State 30-28
midway through the third.
Walker has 121 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns.
Mississippi State jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first half,
but also lost starting quarterback Wayne Madkin.
The junior had a 102-degree fever and missed practice Wednesday.
He started the game and threw a 39-yard TD pass to Terrell Grindle
midway through the first quarter before giving way to redshirt
freshman Kevin Fant for the rest of the game.
Fant was 10-for-21 for 135 yards and was sacked seven times.
Ole Miss scored three TDs in the final 7:22 of the first half to
take a 21-16 lead. Miller threw touchdown passes of 8 and 7 yards
to Grant Heard and McAllister scored on a 1-yard leap.
McAllister's touchdown was his 15th of the season, breaking the
single-season school record previously held by Archie Manning and
Kayo Dottley.
The previous highest-scoring Egg Bowl was a 45-27 Ole Miss
victory in 1985.
Ole Miss leads the series 55-36-6. It is the second-longest
rivalry in the SEC with only Georgia and Auburn having played more
often.
Representatives from the Cotton, Independence and Citrus bowls
were in attendance.
Romaro Miller breaks loose for a 50-yard gain to set up a Deuce McAllister TD run.
Deuce McAllister remembers his brother after an emotional win.