"For the last four or five weeks, I have never

been prouder of our group and the leadership of our seniors. They really stepped

out there today. I made the seniors stand in front of the group last night and I

saw the look in the eyes of the underclassmen. They wanted to play for the

seniors and went to another level.

There is nothing like a celebrating locker room and we are glad to see all the

bowls here. The players have a lot of pride."

"I'm proud of our defense. We never felt

threatened all day long. The intensity of the pass rush – with 11 sacks –

Mississippi State was always behind in the count. I love how hard we play and we

have to give a lot of credit to Tyrone Nix and Tracy Rocker, Kim Dameron and

Chris Vaughn."

"From the very first moment and first series we

executed. For the last four or five weeks we have put points on the board and

pressure on the defenses and keeping them off balance. I was proud of Jevan

(Snead) because he didn't practice most of the week as far as throwing. He had

tremendous focus and wanted to win for the seniors. We have some playmakers."

"Almost a year ago when I first met this group

and looked in their eyes I saw a lot of individuals. They didn't know about this

journey we were about to take. You look at them now and we're together. It's

been a great season and now we are anxiously waiting to see what happens."

"I thought we had a good plan and I don't think

we really blitzed that much more (than normal). It just looked like it because

we had such tremendous pressure. Greg Hardy is special and Emmanuel Stephens is

getting better. I wish we had the first four games back. After the Vandy game is

where I lost a little confidence, but I thought our defense kept improving and

doing things better. Once we simplified things a bit offensively, we stopped

turning the ball over and we started winning. Then our senior leadership took

over."

"We came out strong and we came out with

winning on our minds because we knew Mississippi State was talking a lot of

trash. We were just going to focus all our energy on the field. We felt like we

could have scored more points. We just dominated in all phases of the game. We

had a lot to play for today. Everybody came to play today because we had the

opportunity to go to a better bowl."

"I want to thank everybody on the team, all the

underclassmen really. They have really come along and followed us. The seniors

try to set a good example and lead the way and come out and play. I just feel

real good about this last win."

On the defense…

"I don't know what to say about the defense.

They just came out to play and were getting a lot of sacks. I think they broke

the school record. Every time I looked up at the video board they were getting

another sack. It was real fun to watch those guys all through the game."

"I got great protection and I owe it all to my

offensive line and to God."

"I just wanted to send the seniors out on top,

and that's what we did. We got a great win. The defense did a great job of

stopping them and getting us the ball. Our playmakers on offense made plays for

us."

"I just knew I had to get out there as far as I

could. I let it go and fortunately he has a lot of speed, so he was able to get

to it."

"Coming back was one of the greatest decisions

I ever made."

"It's going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully we

will go to one of those big bowls. It's going to be a lot of fun and I can't

wait."

"None of this would be possible without Jevan.

He is a great quarterback and he is good with his feet. Cordera Eason came

around midway through the season and everything started clicking.

"We had planned for them all week because we

knew this was our biggest rivalry game all year. We just tried to come out and

make this the best game of the season defensively. I think we came up with a

school record for sacks and it was a lot of fun.

"I'm going to miss it, but I have some guys

beside me that are going to keep it going."

"Jevan came in and put up some quick points and

we just took it from there and ran with it."

"It was just us showing what we do as a team.

Everybody from the LSU game to this game was putting forth the effort. There was

no one player, except for Peria (Jerry) shining. We just came together and

showed what our coaches wanted us to do."

"It feels real good to get the win. I love our

fans and they stay with us no matter what. To give them something like this at

home, and to shut out Mississippi State is a good feeling. I know that our fans

feel that we did it for them."

"The offense, whenever we need them, they

always come through. They came through a lot this game, and we really didn't

even need them. They did their thing and it was just a concerted effort."

On the defense…

"I played a pretty good ballgame, and I wanted

to send these seniors out with a good victory. I think it was a good

accomplishment to break that record with 11 sacks."

"I'm proud of myself. I talked to my mama last

night and I was telling her this time last year I was waiting around on these

guys just to play football, and wishing I could be out there, even on the

sidelines. My dream finally came true and I just wanted to play hard and send

the seniors out with a win."

"I hadn't been out there but about two plays

and my blood hadn't been flowing good. When I caught it, those guys had already

made a cut, so I didn't know which way to run. If I hadn't have jumped I

probably would have gotten more yards."

Congratulations to Coach Nutt and his football

team. They came in here with the idea that they were going to beat us bad, and

they did from start to finish. I don't know why what happened today occurred. I

am sorry to say that it it's an absolute mystery to me. We were challenged from

the time the game started. We didn't respond with the kind of intensity I would

expect our football team to respond with. To say the least I didn't see that one

coming. Hopefully I can learn something from this one as well.

He did. All of our quarterbacks got injured

today. The Ole Miss defensive front had a lot to do with it.

His leg is broken. I don't know all the

details, but he was in a lot of pain.

We tried to change everything, but when someone

lines up across from you and whips you there isn't much you can do. There is no

way you can adjust to that.

Offensively we had a lot of max protection, and

we still got beat. We knew we were going to be challenged by their pass rush on

the defensive front. For some guys, the match-ups were kind of tough so we made

some adjustments to help them out. When you try to help one guy you leave

another guy on an island all by himself. Some things got exposed.

It's not very tough at all. After you get beat

up like that, it's not that hard to get motivated. You have to take that into

the off-season until we play another game.

I haven't talked to the trainer yet. As far as

injuries, all I know is theories at this point. When he first got hurt I heard

there wasn't any structural damage. I think he's going to be okay.

The way they played today, physically ,I think

they are right up there with Alabama right now. I really do. Their defensive

front was very impressive. They've got some individuals that can win the

one-on-ones.

On their defensive front

They beat everything we threw at them. We tried

to move the quarterback to get away from them. We maxed up, we kept the five

linemen in, tight end and a back. They didn't bring any extra pressure, only

five. We still got an extra guy back there.

"I feel like we didn't play with much

intensity. They racked up forty-something points on us. When you're down like

that, it's hard to get out of the hole. I agree with coach on that."

"From the first two scores, we didn't

capitalize on offense. Our defense didn't stop the Rebel or different things

they did. They got up on us quick, and it got out of control."

On the game

"We didn't play to the full of our potential.

We can play some great defense, and we can play some great offense, but today it

just wasn't clicking in any phase of the game. We just didn't come here and

play."

"It all boils down to intensity. We didn't move

around fast enough. We still have to make plays. We just didn't come up with the

big plays at the end. They were pretty much what we expected. Give it to them.

They're a pretty good team. They play with a lot of intensity and their fans are

behind them."

"Ole Miss showed us a lot of coverages, and

they really got after us today. We came out and fought, but we didn't play hard

enough. We didn't play to the best of our ability. As you can tell, that was the

result of the game."

On Ole Miss defense

"I've never seen anything like it. All 11 guys

ran to the ball. This play, that play, every play, you just saw them flying

everywhere. It was a great experience for me as a freshman, but I've never seen

a defense like that. Not even South Panola."

"I wanted to come out and win the game for

Coach Croom. It's not about the plays, it's about the people out there executing

the plays. Every man should take care of their own responsibility."

"I think it is unfair. When it's man-to-man

coverage, it's the receiver against the DB. If the receiver doesn't win, it's

not the coach's fault that he didn't win. It's all about the players. We've got

to win and we've got to go out there and execute coach's plays."

SERIES INFORMATION

• This game was the 105th meeting of one of the

nation's most-played rivalries. The Ole Miss-Mississippi State series is tied

with the North Carolina-Wake Forest series for the 16th longest in NCAA Division

I-A history. The rivalry is also listed as the 10th longest uninterrupted

series, as the NCAA considers Friday's game the 93rd consecutive year that the

two schools have faced each other. Neither team, however, fielded a squad in

1943 due to World War II.

• Ole Miss holds a 60-39-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1901. Ole Miss

has taken five of the last seven in the series. The home team has won nine of

the last 10 games. The series is tied at 9-9 in the 18 meetings since the series

returned to campus sites in 1991, after being played yearly in Jackson from

1973-1990.

• Today's game was the 81st "Battle of the Golden Egg," as the two schools

started playing for the trophy in 1927. Ole Miss holds a 54-22-5 advantage in

the "Egg Bowl."

• The Rebels hold a 21-10-3 advantage in games played in Oxford and have won

five straight.

• Ole Miss posted its second-biggest victory ever over Mississippi State and the

largest margin since a 48-0 win in 1971. The Rebels recorded their first shutout

of the Bulldogs since a 31-0 victory in 2003.

• Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt improves to 10-1 against Mississippi State as

a head coach and has won 10 straight.

• Ole Miss turns in its largest margin of victory in an SEC game since the 48-0

blanking of Mississippi State in 1971 ... The 48 points was the Rebels' most in

an SEC game since a 49-7 win over Vanderbilt in 1993.

• The Rebels' 24-point first quarter was the most since leading Alabama 24-0 in

2003 en route to a 43-28 victory.

• Ole Miss finishes its first perfect November since a 3-0 month in 1992 ... The

last time the Rebels were 4-0 in November was 1969.

• With an 8-4 record, Ole Miss concludes its best regular season since posting a

9-3 mark in 2003.

• Ole Miss' current five-game win streak is the longest since taking six

straight in 2003.

• Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt notches his ninth season with eight or more

wins in his 16 seasons as a head coach.

• Sophomore QB Jevan Snead equaled his career high for passing TDs with four ...

He posted his eighth game with multiple TD tosses and sixth performance of

200-plus passing yards, completing 14-of-19 passes for 213 yards with four TDs

and one interception.

• For the second straight game, senior WR Mike Wallace equaled his career high

with two TD catches ... He finished with four grabs for 105 yards, registering

his fourth 100-yard receiving day of the year and sixth of his career.

• Junior WR Shay Hodge hauled in his SEC-leading eighth TD reception of the year

... He equaled his career high of seven catches, collecting 89 yards.

• Junior Dexter McCluster topped the team in rushing for the third time this

year with nine carries for 68 yards ... He also recorded his team-high fifth

rushing TD of the year on a 36-yard first-quarter score.

• Freshman RB Brandon Bolden rushed for a TD for the second straight game with a

24-yard fourth-quarter run ... He finished with five rushes for 40 yards.

• Redshirt freshman OL/TE Bradley Sowell hauled in his first career pass and

touchdown on a one-yard grab in the third quarter.

• Ole Miss scored first for the 11th time in 12 games ... The Rebels are 8-3 in

those games.

• The Rebels are 8-0 when turning the ball over two times or fewer, including

the last five outings.

• The Rebel defense set a school record for fewest opposition rushing yards with

-51 for the Bulldogs ... The previous low was -16 yards on the ground for Auburn

in 1992.

• Mississippi State's 37 total yards is the fewest by a Rebel foe in records

dating back to 1962 ... The Ole Miss school record is zero yards by Sewanee in

1938.

• Ole Miss' 11 sacks are the most from records dating back to 1980.

• The Rebels posted double-figure tackles for loss for the fifth time this year

with a season-high 14.0 TFLs ... The previous high was 12 against Samford.

• In his final home game as a Rebel, senior DT Peria Jerry notched a career-high

four TFLs and equaled his best with two sacks ... He was second on the team in

with five total stops.

• Junior LB Patrick Trahan topped the team in tackles for the first time in his

career with career highs of seven stops, two TFLs and his first sack.

• Junior DE Greg Hardy equaled his career high of three sacks, with the other

instance occurring in the 2007 Alabama game ... Hardy finished with four total

stops and two QB hurries.

• Sophomore DT Jerrell Powe collected his first career interception and a

career-high 1.5 sacks.

• Senior LB Ashlee Palmer notched his first interception of the year and fourth

of his career.

• With six extra points today, junior K Joshua Shene extended his streak of

successful PATs to 68, which is second on the all-time Rebel charts ... Shene

was 1-for-2 on field goals, connecting from 43 yards out and missing from 50

yards ... All three of his misses this year have been from beyond 40 yards.