OXFORD – Special teams proved to be Ole Miss’ savior and Mississippi State’s undoing at Saturday’s Egg Bowl at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Adam Carlson’s 51-yard field goal as time expired sailed wide left, allowing Ole Miss (4-8) to escape with a 20-17 win in the season-ending game for both clubs.

&#8220That was a nice sight to see,” Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said. &#8220I’m happy that we finally found a way to win a game at the end.”

The Rebels got there by getting two big punt returns from Marshay Green in the second half. The second one went for a game-breaking 47-yard touchdown with 3:29 left and put Ole Miss up 20-10.

&#8220I went right first and then saw a wall was forming to my left, so I went that way,” Green said. &#8220I had to kind of tip-toe near the sideline and then Peria Jerry got that block. Oh man, he knocked that dude out. I knew it was a touchdown then.”

Green finished with 105 yards on five returns. His 23-yard return in the third quarter set up a 20-yard field goal by Joshua Shene that snapped a 10-10 tie.

&#8220Marshay made some great moves out there and it won the game,” Orgeron said. &#8220Our special teams improved tremendously.”

Mississippi State (3-9) didn’t fold. Senior quarterback Omarr Conner moved the Bulldogs 73 yards in eight plays, capped by an 8-yard TD toss to Jason Husband with 2:20 to play. Carlson’s kick made it 20-17.

Mico McSwain recovered the onside kick for Ole Miss. The Rebels ran three plays to BenJarvis Green-Ellis for nine yards before facing fourth down and less than a yard with 55 seconds left. Instead of letting the clock go, Ole Miss called timeout and decided to go for the game-clinching first down.

&#8220We pretty much knew they’d go for it,” said State defensive back and Vicksburg High product David Heard. &#8220If they make it, that’s the game.”

Instead, former Hinds Community College quarterback Seth Adams was stopped for no gain. State took over at the Ole Miss 48 with 47 seconds to work.

Conner completed two passes, but the second, a 4-yarder to Anthony Dixon, may have been a mistake. Dixon failed to get out of bounds and it cost State at least 30 seconds. Conner missed on his next two passes and the Bulldogs had to try Carlson’s desperate kick from 51 yards.

The loss spoiled a terrific effort from Dixon, who led State with 125 yards rushing on 25 carries.

&#8220It was an intense battle, I wish we could’ve won, but I think we’re going to be in a whole lot of games next year,” said Dixon, a freshman from Terry.

Ole Miss quarterback Brent Schaeffer was sharp from the start, hitting a pair of first down passes and then coverting a third-and-12 from the State 22 when he found Greg Hardy for a touchdown pass. Hardy made a leaping grab of the seemingly overthrown pass in the end zone. It was the first offensive play from scrimmage for the Rebels’ regular starting defensive end.

Shene’s kick made it 7-0 just four minutes and five seconds into the game.

State answered with a good drive to the Ole Miss 15 before bogging down. Carlson’s 37-yard field goal was wide, leaving the score at 7-0.

Carlson was good on his second attempt, a 40-yarder early in the second quarter that made it 7-3. The kick capped a 16-yard drive that reached the Ole Miss 14 before a sack forced State to settle for the field goal.

Ole Miss answered with a 22-yard field goal from Shene to cap a 12-play, 56-yard drive with 8:30 left in the second quarter. Schaeffer was 3-of-6 passing on the drive, including a 21-yard completion to Shay Hodge that gave the Rebels a first-and-goal at the Bulldog 3. Schaeffer misfired high on a pair of passes, forcing a field goal that made it 10-3.

State then tied the game at 10 when Dixon broke through a Rory Johnson tackle at the 2-yard line and plunged in for the score with 3:30 left in the half. Dixon had 32 of his 97 first-half yards on the drive, which covered 80 yards in 11 plays.

Tallulah’s Justin Williams also had a pair of first down runs, totalling 12 yards in the march. Williams, a former McCall and St. Aloysius star, finished the game with 24 yards on seven carries.