GAME NOTES: Back in the national rankings for the first time in nearly five years, the 25th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels take to the field this Friday to challenge the Mississippi State Bulldogs in an SEC showdown at Vaught- Hemingway Stadium.

This is the 81st edition of the Battle for the Golden Egg, but more than that the Rebels are trying to give themselves a better prospect for the postseason.

Already bowl eligible, Ole Miss has won four in a row since bowing to South Carolina and Alabama in back-to-back games by a total of just 11 points. The most recent triumph for the group came on November 22nd in Baton Rouge, topping 18th-ranked LSU by a final of 31-13. As a result, Ole Miss has beaten two of the four ranked opponents on its schedule this season, also defeating mighty Florida (31-30), in Gainesville no less.

As for the Bulldogs, they closed out their home slate last weekend against Arkansas with a 31-28 win, snapping a two-game slide in the process. Unfortunately for Mississippi State, the team has a total of just four wins on the season and just two of those have come against SEC foes, with Vanderbilt being the other victim.

The all-time series between these two rivals leans in favor of Ole Miss at 59-39-6 thanks to four wins in the last six meetings. However, last season saw Mississippi State capture a 17-14 win at home.

"I was concerned that we were going to get down early because we did not have a lot of energy," said MSU head coach Sylvester Croom after his Bulldogs came back to defeat Arkansas. "The season has probably worn on us, but we got a spark and the offense came around and everyone started to play well." Whatever the reason for the slow start, MSU refused to give up as Tyson Lee threw for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Anthony Dixon registered 179 yards rushing and a score as well. Overall, the Bulldogs came up with 445 yards of offense, averaging just under six yards per snap.

Putting up significant yardage has been an issue for the Bulldogs much of this season and right now the group is 10th in the conference and 105th in the nation with just 297.7 ypg. As a result, the squad is 11th in the SEC and 113th in scoring with a mere 16.6 ppg. The passing attack has had problems with just 10 touchdowns and 10 INTs, but as coach Croom said last weekend, he was pleased with how Lee played against Arkansas.

"I expect Dominic (Douglas) and K.J. (Wright) to have good games every game," noted coach Croom. "There are certain guys that you just assume are going to play well and those two are those kind of guys." In the case of Douglas he finished with a team-best 16 tackles, while Wright logged nine stops and a pair of sacks for a squad that limited the visitors to just 109 yards rushing on 26 attempts.

After 11 games Douglas and Wright rank one-two in terms of tackles, even though the difference between the two is rather glaring. Douglas checks in with 100 stops and Wright just 64 tackles, but in the case of the latter he has four sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss, both of which lead the program at the moment. As a team, sacks have not been a huge part of the team's vocabulary with an average of only 1.64 per game, ranking them second-to-last in the conference. Tackles for loss are even more scarce on a national scale these days, coming in at just five per game, which means the group ranks last in the SEC and 90th in the country.

Jevan Snead survived a couple of sacks against an aggressive LSU defense and responded with 274 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16-of-25 passing in last weekend's victory. Mike Wallace turned out as his favorite target with five catches for 99 yards and both touchdowns, while the rushing attack settled in for just 102 yards on 45 attempts, yet also scored a pair of TDs in the decision. "You knew from the spring that he has a good arm, a good head on his shoulders and does some good things, but its that word experience," head coach Houston Butt said of his quarterback following the win against LSU. "It's that time of making the game slow down, and if you make a mistake, to have a short memory."

Snead has made his share of mistakes with 11 interceptions, but he's still producing better than 205 ypg through the air and has tossed 19 touchdowns to date. Currently second on the team with his 35 catches, Shay Hodge ranks first with seven TD grabs.

The Rebels left their hallmark on the LSU offense as the visitors tallied 11 tackles for loss and four sacks. Kendrick Lewis tallied a team-best eight stops and one of those sacks. But more than that, Lewis also grabbed an interception and forced a fumble for the Rebels. Because of those numerous TFLs, the Tigers were limited to a mere 37 yards rushing on 29 attempts and ended up with just 215 yards of total offense, barely half the total of Ole Miss once the smoke cleared.

After 11 games the Bulldogs are first in the SEC and second in the entire nation in tackles for loss with an average of 8.36 per game, which is how and why the program has climbed to ninth in the nation in run defense with a mere 97.4 ypg allowed. "I didn't know he'd have this many ready for battle and be battle-tested at this time. And for that, Coach (Tracy) Rocker deserves a lot of credit," coach Nutt says about how well his defensive line has performed. Peria Jerry leads the team with his 13 TFLs and is second with four sacks even though he missed a game early on.

As long as coach Nutt doesn't allow the new ranking to go to the heads of his players, and the defense comes to hit against its in-state rival, this meeting should belong to the home team.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ole Miss 28, Mississippi State 13