OXFORD — A season that began with seven straight wins ended Thursday night with a cold, wet whimper.

Mississippi State snapped Ole Miss’ two-game Egg Bowl winning streak with a 24-22 win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Ole Miss fell to 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State finished with an identical record.

The Rebels finished the regular season with three losses in their final four games.

Both teams will learn their bowl destinations a week from Sunday.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was 30-for-38 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Quinshon Judkins led the Rebels with 87 yards on 20 carries.

Mississippi State’s Will Rogers was 27-for-39 passing for 239 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Ole Miss scored on its opening possession, getting a 32-yard field goal from Jonathan Cruz with 12:16 left in the first quarter.

Mississippi State answered with a 10-play, 61-yard touchdown drive, capped by Jo’quavious Marks’ 1-yard run with 8:17 left in the first quarter, to take a 7-3 lead.

Ole Miss’ red zone woes continued later in the first quarter when another drive stalled at the Mississippi State 15. Cruz’s 33-yard field goal with 1:33 left in the first quarter cut the Bulldogs’ advantage to 7-6.

Cruz added yet another field goal, this one from 49 yards out, to give Ole Miss a 9-7 lead with 12:04 left in the first half.

Ole Miss finally got into the end zone with 1:55 left. The Rebels drove 64 yards on 13 plays, but it took something a bit unconventional to finally break through. On fourth-and-goal from the Mississippi State 1, Ole Miss went with its jumbo package. Dart’s play-action fooled the Bulldogs’ linebackers, allowing defensive linemen JJ Pegues, in at fullback on the play, to slip into the flats for an easy touchdown catch, extending the Rebels’ lead to 16-7.

Mississippi State answered with an impressive drive of its own, marching 75 yards on 12 plays. Rogers’ 19-yard touchdown pass on third-and-10 cut the Rebels’ lead to 16-14 with eight seconds left before halftime.

The first big break of the second half came midway through the third quarter. Tavius Robinson sacked Rogers, knocking the football free. Cedric Johnson recovered at the Mississippi State 36.

Ole Miss failed to capitalize, ultimately going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Bulldogs’ 5. This time, with the jumbo package in, Mississippi State didn’t bite on the play-action pass and Dart’s pass fell harmlessly to the turf, giving the Bulldogs the football with 5:25 left in the third quarter.

Mississippi State made the Rebels pay for their failure. The Bulldogs drove 78 yards via 13 plays before settling for Massimo Biscardi’s 34-yard field goal with 13:46 left, giving the visitors a 17-16 lead.

The Bulldogs padded their lead to 24-16 on their next possession, driving 55 yards on eight plays, culminating in Rogers’ 22-yard touchdown pass to Rara Thomas with 7:58 left.

Mississippi State appeared to poised to put the game away late, but Ole Miss’ Troy Brown forced a Rogers fumble. Robinson recovered, giving Ole Miss one final chance.

The Rebels marched 99 yards in 15 plays, capped by Dart’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Dayton Wade. The Rebels went for the game-tying two-point conversion, but Dart’s shovel pass fell incomplete.

Notes:

— Jaylon Robinson had a three-yard reception in the first quarter, his first catch since the Rebels’ win at Vanderbilt and just his fifth of the season.

— Jonathan Mingo had two first-half drops Thursday, the Rebels’ first drop since the Texas A&M game. Malik Heath added a dropped pass later in the second quarter. The drops were Ole Miss’ 11th, 12th and 13th dropped passes of the season. Ole Miss dropped 19 passes in 2021.