Mississippi
Ole Miss football vs Mississippi State score prediction, scouting report in 2024 Egg Bowl
OXFORD — There’s always an added element of intensity in the Egg Bowl.
It will be important for Ole Miss football (8-3, 4-3) to find an extra gear against Mississippi State (2-9, 0-7 SEC) in Friday’s rivalry matchup (2:30 p.m., ABC). The Rebels are coming off a deflating loss at Florida that left Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
Mississippi State is slogging through a difficult year under first-year head coach Jeff Lebby. While first-year head coaches have fared surprisingly well in Egg Bowl games over the years, the Rebels will be heavy favorites at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Black Friday. The game is just the second Egg Bowl in eight years not to be played on Thanksgiving.
Let’s dive into the matchup:
Why Jaxson Dart, Rebels’ offense should be able to extend drives
Usually defenses that force opposing into offenses into third-down situations fare well. For Mississippi State, completing the job on third down has been difficult.
The Bulldogs have allowed SEC opponents to convert on 70 of 147 third downs. That is 47.6%, and the worst mark in the SEC. Ole Miss’ defense, by comparison, is No. 5 in the SEC at 32%.
More broadly, the Bulldogs’ defense has been getting gashed in SEC play. Mississippi State has allowed 40.7 points per SEC game. Even if star Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris is out because of an injury, the Rebels have a good opportunity to light up the scoreboard like they did in a 63-31 win at Arkansas.
Can Ole Miss rack up the sacks, keep Dart upright?
Stats indicate Friday’s game will be easier for Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart than Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr.
Mississippi State has allowed 35 sacks against SEC opponents. The inverse also bodes poorly for the Bulldogs. Mississippi State is last in the SEC in sacks. In 11 SEC games, the Bulldogs have just eight.
To make it harder on Van Buren Jr., Ole Miss’ defense leads the SEC in sacks. Look for him to get pressured early and often by a ferocious defensive line. There could − and maybe should − be two or three Rebels with multiple sacks in the Egg Bowl.
Rebels rushers Princely Umanmielen and Suntarine Perkins are prime candidates to feast. They each have 10.5 sacks, which ties them for No. 6 in the nation.
Will Ole Miss try to run up the score on the Bulldogs?
Aside from satisfying its fan base in a heated rivalry, Ole Miss has another reason to try to win big against Mississippi State. It’s the Rebels’ last chance to impress the College Football Playoff Committee.
Because of chaos in Week 13, the Rebels can still cling to an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff. While the Rebels will need other teams to lose Saturday, a dominating win Friday will only help their case.
On the flip side, even a narrow win against a Mississippi State team that hasn’t won a Power Four game this season would make it easier for the committee to exclude the Rebels.
Ole Miss football vs Mississippi State Egg Bowl score prediction
Ole Miss 42, Mississippi State 9: Each of the Rebels’ SEC games has resulted in one of two things: a close loss or blowout win. Expect the latter in the final regular season game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Ole Miss has the pass rush to create turnovers that will overwhelm an outmatched Bulldogs team.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
Here’s the nominees for Clarion Ledger girls Athlete of the Week for May 4-9
Here’s the five nominees for the Clarion Ledger girls Mississippi high school Athlete of the Week for May 4-9.
There were several top performers across the state in girls high school sports, but only one can be voted as the Clarion Ledger athlete of the week for May 4-9.
Fans may vote in the poll BELOW one time per hour per device. The poll closes at noon on Friday.
To nominate a future athlete of the week, email mchavez@gannett.com or message him on X, formerly Twitter, @MikeSChavez.
To submit high school scores, statistics, records, leaders and other items at any time, email mchavez@gannett.com.
Nominations
Kara Applewhite, Sumrall: Applewhite had four hits with a home run and five RBIs in Sumrall’s 10-0 win against East Central.
Caydance Brumfield, West Marion: Brumfield produced four hits and five RBIs in West Marion’s two wins against Pisgah.
Addison Collum, West Union: Collum pitched eight innings and recorded seven strikeouts and only two earned runs in West Union’s wins against Smithville.
Addison Cornish, West Lauderdale: Cornish recorded five hits and a home run in West Lauderdale’s wins against Choctaw Central.
Addison Davis, George County: Davis pitched nine innings with 20 strikeouts and recorded two home runs and four RBIs in George County’s wins against Pearl River Central.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
‘We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.’
Bobcat stalks and strikes at Wisconsin turkey hunter
Turkey hunter Carson Bender of Wisconsin Rapids recorded a video of a bobcat that stalked and lunged at him as he hunted April 18, 2026 near Nekoosa, Wis.
Carson Bender
If a proposal made in the April meeting of the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is finalized, nonresident turkey hunters will see big changes in the 2027 spring turkey season.
“We’re doing this in a way to impact how hunting pressure occurs and how the harvest happens in the early season,” said Caleb Hinton, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.”
Turkey hunters enjoy a three-bird bag limit and a little more than six weeks of hunting in spring, which is similar to some other states. What is at issue is when it opens. March 15 is the typical opening date for the regular season, making it one of the earliest in the nation.
That early opening date combined with a growing trend among turkey hunters is where the problem lies.
Mississippi is a destination for early season, nonresident hunters
Possibly more than any other group of hunters, turkey hunters like to travel. For some, it may be a matter of seeing a different landscape and hunting birds under condions they don’t encounter in their home state. For others it may be a quest to harvest each of the subspecies in North America.
For yet another group, it’s the challenge of harvesting a gobbler in each of the 49 states that have turkeys.
“It seems to be getting more and more popular every year,” Hinton said.
Regardless of why a turkey hunter chooses to travel, it puts a target on Mississippi’s back because for the first few weeks of the season, it’s almost the only game in town, so hunters flock to the state.
In an effort to curb the amount of hunting pressure in those first weeks of turkey season, MDWFP proposed limiting nonresident hunters to two legal gobblers per season and only one of those can be harvested before April 1.
“Hopefully, it will help curb the massive influx of pressure we get the first week or two of the season,” Hinton said.
When will turkey season changes for nonresidents be voted on?
The proposed changes aren’t the first that have been geared toward alleviating pressure on turkeys in the early part of the season by nonresidents. In 2022, the commission passed a rule requiring nonresident hunters to enter a drawing for a hunt on public land during the first two weeks of turkey season. Currently, the number of hunters drawn is limited to 800.
Like that change, the current proposal will pass or fail by a vote of the wildlife commission. In the April commission meeting, the proposal passed an initial vote. It is now in a 30-day public comment period and a final vote will be taken in the May meeting.
Public comments may be submitted at https://www.mdwfp.com/proposed-rules-regulations.
A lifelong outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast, Brian Broom has been writing about hunting, fishing and Mississippi’s outdoors for the Clarion Ledger for more than 14 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
Mississippi
Mississippi high school addresses social media post, says it won’t tolerate racism or harassment
LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – A Mississippi high school has made a statement after a social media post involving a student surfaced.
Northeast Lauderdale High School officials say they’re reviewing a social media post involving a student.
In a statement, the school said administrators are aware of the post and are “reviewing the situation.”
The school said it is committed to maintaining a safe, orderly and respectful environment for students and staff.
“Neither our district nor our school accept or condone racism, discrimination, harassment, or behavior that is inconsistent with the expectations of our school community,” the statement said.
Officials said they are working with the appropriate parties and will address the matter in accordance with district policies and procedures.
The school added that it cannot share additional details because of student privacy laws.
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