As a bruised and bloodied Adam Carlson made his way onto the field Friday, he had the chance to erase his memories of last season’s Egg Bowl defeat.In Oxford, it was Carlson’s 51-yard game-tying attempt that drifted wide left as time expired, an image that stuck with the junior during the past year.
But last Friday with 18 seconds left and the score tied, Carlson nailed his chance at redemption, kicking a game-winning 48-yard field goal, the longest of his career, to secure a Mississippi State comeback win, 17-14, over in-state foes Ole Miss.
Carlson made the kick with a bloodied toe on his kicking foot. The kicker had his foot stomped on during the team’s celebration of Derek Pegues’ punt return, bringing the kicker to the ground.
“In the celebration a lot of guys were jumping around, and I immediately hit the ground,” Carlson said. “I didn’t even feel it on the kick.”
As the stadium rocked with excitement, State (7-5, 4-4 SEC) secured a spot in the post-season, and will be making its first bowl trip since the 2000 season.
In a game where not many had given them a chance, the Rebels (3-9, 0-7 SEC) dominated the contest for more than 50 minutes. The Rebels controlled both lines of scrimmage and held the Bulldogs to just four first downs up until the final frame of the game.
With a 14-point lead mid-way through the final quarter, Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron made what would prove to be a fatal call.
On a fourth-and-one from midfield, the Rebels head coach made the decision to try and put the game away for his team.
Lined up with All-SEC running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis in the backfield, the Rebels attempted to pick up the first down.
However, Green-Ellis was stuffed three yards in the backfield.
The defensive stop energized the Bulldog offense and gave Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom a reason to smile.
“I was happy,” Croom said. “I guess they assumed they were going to put the nail in our coffin right there.”
Orgeron said that was his purpose.
“I thought we needed to do something to win the football game, and so I thought we could get it so we went,” Orgeron said. “If I had to do it all over again, I probably would not make the same call.”
Getting the ball around midfield, State quarterback Wesley Carroll engineered a six-play, 46-yard drive, cumulating in a four-yard pass from Carroll to Anthony Dixon, who took the pass, then turned upfield and dove into the right corner of the end zone.
After forcing a Rebel three-and-out, the Bulldogs were in good shape to tie the score, as Carroll had moved the offense down inside the red zone yet again.
However, with the offense on the 12-yard line, Carroll’s pass intended for wide receiver Lance Long was intercepted by Rebel linebacker Ashlee Palmer at the Ole Miss 10-yard line.
With a little less than four minutes left in the game, the Bulldog defense forced yet another three-and-out on a team that gained more than 300 yards in the game.
After watching his first fourth down decision lead to a Bulldogs touchdown, Orgeron decided to punt the ball, a decision which also turned in the Bulldogs’ favor. Standing at his own 25-yard line, Pegues fielded Rebels punter Justin Sparks’ punt on a hop and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 14.
“He had been squib kicking the ball all game,” Pegues said. “I decided to take a few steps up to try to field it when it bounced. It bounced right to me and I allowed the cover team to do its job. When I got the ball, I just hit the hole as hard as I could.”
Following another Rebels punt, Carlson nailed the kick and added yet another memorable chapter in the nation’s sixth oldest rivalry.
“I thought all along this was going to be a great day for Mississippi State football, but I never thought it would come down to that,” Croom said.
As for Orgeron, his decisions down the stretch of Friday’s game proved to cost him more than the game. On Saturday, University of Mississippi athletic director Pete Boone announced that Orgeron had been fired. In three seasons with the Rebels, Orgeron went 10-25 and showed no signs of turning the corner in Oxford.