Mississippi Holds Off Mississippi State, 17-10 : SEC: Ole Miss stops intrastate rival three times inside 10-yard line in final 2:30 of the game.

It was a finish befitting two bowl-bound rivals meeting for the 89th time.

“We obviously saved our best and most dramatic stand for this game,” Mississippi linebacker Dewayne Dotson said Saturday after No. 24 Ole Miss turned back No. 16 Mississippi State, 17-10.

The game was the first on-campus meeting between the two Southeastern Conference rivals in 20 years. Three times during the final 2 1/2 minutes, Liberty Bowl-bound Ole Miss, 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC, stopped Mississippi State inside the Rebels’ eight-yard line.

“We gave them almost 12 plays from around the eight,” Ole Miss Coach Billy Brewer said. “That last minute and a quarter was the most unbelievable football playing that I’ve ever witnessed.”

Cory Philpot rushed for 107 yards and the go-ahead touchdown for Ole Miss during the third quarter.

Then the Ole Miss defense took over to preserve the victory.

“They had the opportunity late, but we took it away from them. We just felt we could hold them down there,” defensive tackle Chad Brown said.

Added linebacker Cassius Ware: “We must have been blessed, because we stopped everything.”

Mississippi State (7-4, 4-4) had first and goal at the Rebels’ eight-, eight- and two-yard lines in the final minutes, but couldn’t score.

“I tip my hat to them,” Mississippi State wide receiver Willie Harris said. “They have a great defense. Not to take anything away from them, but a majority of the time we shot ourselves in the foot.”

Mississippi State finished with 209 yards--its lowest total of the season.

“During the game, they came up with the big third-down play,” Mississippi State Coach Jackie Sherrill said. “We couldn’t convert ours.”

Sherrill said if the Bulldogs had scored in the final minute, he would have gone for a two-point conversion.

“I didn’t come to Oxford for a tie,” he said.

On State’s final play, Greg Plump passed behind Harris in the end zone. Ole Miss then ran out the final 19 seconds.

Mississippi State took a 10-0 lead as Ole Miss committed six turnovers during the first half. But Ole Miss came back with key third-down plays to take the lead.