STARKVILLE, Mississippi (Ticker) -- No. 19 Mississippi tries to keep its now slim Southeastern Conference titles hopes alive on Thanksgiving night when its faces Mississippi State, which is playing its final game under coach Jackie Sherrill.
The Rebels, who are facing the Bulldogs for the 100th time, may have to guard against a letdown following last week's disappointing 17-14 home loss to Louisiana State that prevented Ole Miss from clinching the West Division title.
If the Rebels beat Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl, they can still reach the SEC championship game if Arkansas upsets LSU on Friday.
After facing constant pressure last week in his final home game, Eli Manning hopes to bounce back for Ole Miss. He was sacked three times by LSU's ferocious pass rush and completed just 16-of-36 passes for 200 yards with one interception.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Mississippi, which was held to just 27 yards rushing on 21 carries.
Sherrill, who announced his retirement early this season, led the Buldogs to the SEC West title in 1998, but the Mississippi State program has fallen on hard times in recent years.
Since 2001, the Bulldogs (2-9, 1-6) have a combined record of just 8-27 and need to pull off a major upset to avoid their first 10-loss season since 1988. Mississippi State has dropped 15 of its last 16 SEC games, with the only win in the last two years being a 30-21 victory over Vanderbilt earlier this season.
The Bulldogs have been outscored 236-37 during their current five-game losing streak. Mississippi State is coming off a 52-6 setback to Arkansas.
Finishing his 26th season, Sherrill has a career mark of 180-119-4 (.601) at Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and Mississippi State and ranks fifth on the wins list among active coaches. Sherrill announced earlier this season that he planned to retire.
Mississippi leads the all-time series, 56-37-6, including a 24-12 victory last season. Manning passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns while Kevin Fant passed for 340 yards and three scores for the Bulldogs.
