Mississippi State Football: The Egg Bowl returns home

The 2022 Mississippi State football team has finished its season 8-4 by beating the Ole Miss Rebels. Wow. The 2022 Egg Bowl has returned to Starkville after the Bulldogs defeated the Rebels, 24-22, in historic fashion per usual.

Here are my afterthoughts from the 2022 Egg Bowl:

Despite Will Rogers playing his worst game, the Egg Bowl trophy returns home.

Whew… Both teams were trying to give the game to other, but luckily the Bulldogs came out on top of this one. Will Rogers finished with 3 turnovers, 1 interception and 2 fumbles. He nearly had a third fumble, but Tulu Griffin made an outstanding play by running backward and diving on the loose ball.

All in all, he did make some key passes at key points during the game. The touchdown to Tulu Griffin right before the half may have been the most important. That touchdown put the Bulldogs within two, and they received the ball to start the second half.

Here’s what matters… the Egg Bowl made its way back to Starkville, Mississippi, and my next point is the reason why.

Mississippi State football needs to pay Zach Arnett anything he wants.

This Mississippi State defense is one of the best in school history, and that’s saying a lot when you look back in time. Defensive coordinator, Zach Arnett led this team to victory last night, and no one can tell me otherwise. Arnett had those boys ready to play.

The Mississippi State football defense held the “excellent” Ole Miss rushing attack to 78 yards on the night. That is the statistic of the night. Quinshon Judkins did not have a “break out” run all night, and I accredit Zach Arnett and the Bulldog defense for having the best game plan possible.

It was only fitting that the win was left up to the Mississippi State defense to stop the Ole Miss offense on the 2-point conversion… and as Mark Keenum puts it, “and YOU DID IT!”

The Bulldog running backs did what they needed to do.

Jo’quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson combined for 26 carries for 149 yards and 1 touchdown. That’s the second-best statistic of the game. Marks and Johnson were both visibly hurt during this game, and they fought hard to pull out a victory for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Mississippi State has a shot at going to the Citrus Bowl.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs will now finish third in the SEC West behind the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs have a legitimate shot at going to the Citrus Bowl after this year’s Egg Bowl victory. If the stars align, and they just might, the Bulldogs will be headed to Orlando, Florida. Mississippi State football would need Clemson to beat South Carolina, and Tennessee would need to defeat Vanderbilt. Those are two likely scenarios that could send the Bulldogs to the Citrus Bowl.

The state of Mississippi State football is heading in the right direction. Buy in. Let’s keep moving forward. 8-4, Egg Bowl victory, possible Citrus Bowl bid, and finished third in the SEC West. That’s a great regular season. Hail State, Bulldog fans!