Mississippi @ Mississippi State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 29, 2014 ) Mississippi State 17, Mississippi 31

There are plenty of compelling storylines when 22nd-ranked Mississippi State hosts No. 19 Ole Miss Saturday in the 88th Battle for the Golden Egg, but above all else the matchup between in-state rivals features two of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Ole Miss junior Chad Kelly ranks first in the SEC in passing yards and total touchdowns, just ahead of Rebels senior Dak Prescott in both categories, and both come in off outstanding performances last week.

Prescott accounted for 554 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns – throwing for five scores and 508 yards – to rally Mississippi State past Arkansas, 51-50 last week. “Last year, this year, everything boils down to this,” said Prescott, who decided to return to Starkville for his senior season in part to get another shot at Ole Miss, who upended the Bulldogs 31-17 in Oxford last season. Kelly passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns and added 81 rushing yards and two scores in a 38-17 thrashing of LSU, putting the Rebels in position to reach the SEC championship game for the first time if they can beat the Bulldogs and Auburn upsets Alabama. “It speaks a lot for our programs that our quarterbacks are playing as well as anybody in the conference,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze told reporters.

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Ole Miss -1

ABOUT OLE MISS (8-3, 5-2 SEC): Kelly drives an offense leading the SEC in scoring at 40.5 points per game, averaging a conference-best 350.6 yards per game of total offense and topping the league with 34 total touchdowns. Receiver Laquon Treadwell leads the SEC in receiving yards per game (96.4) and ranks second in school history with 192 career receptions. Ole Miss linebacker Demarquis Gates and lineman Marquise Haynes earned conference honors after leading a Rebels defense that broke up 10 passes against LSU, recorded two interceptions and forced a pair of fumbles.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (8-3, 4-3 SEC): Prescott earned SEC offensive player of the week honors after becoming the only quarterback in league history to account for 550 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns in a game, and his 21 total touchdowns in the past five games leads the nation. Junior receiver Fred Ross comes in with a school-record three consecutive 100-yard receiving games. Junior linebacker Richie Brown leads the Bulldogs with 89 tackles and 5½ sacks, but the Mississippi State defense has allowed 81 points in the past two games (31 in a loss to Alabama; 50 last week to Arkansas).

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Rebels lead the SEC in passing yardage (3,768), one spot ahead of the Bulldogs (3,479), and the teams are the only two in the conference averaging more than 300 yards passing per game (Ole Miss 342.5; Mississippi State 316.3).

2. Both teams have struggled defending the pass: Mississippi State ranks ninth in the SEC while the Rebels are 13th.

3. Ole Miss has won two of the past three meetings in the series after the Bulldogs won four of the previous five matchups.

PREDICTION: Mississippi State 41, Ole Miss 38