OXFORD (AP) — Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze’s pregame analysis of this weekend’s Egg Bowl is pretty straightforward.

Both teams are good on offense. Both have been pretty bad on defense.
So when Mississippi State (4-7, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) travels to face Ole Miss (5-6, 2-5) on

Saturday for their annual rivalry game, Freeze feels that no lead will be safe.

“They’ve given up yards and points, as have we, and we’ve got to be sure that we’re scoring touchdowns in the red zone when we get those opportunities, because it seems, as you watch them and you watch us, that it could easily be who scores the most touchdowns,” Freeze said.

The statistics certainly back Freeze’s assessment.

Mississippi State has given up a combined 109 points over the past two weeks in back-to-back losses to Alabama and Arkansas. The Bulldogs are giving up more than 34 points per game, which is the worst mark in the SEC.

Mississippi State defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said the problems are simple to see, but so far have been hard to fix.

“It is execution and tackling,” Sirmon said. “That’s really the roots of playing defensive football. There are no magic calls. It’s about execution. We need the defense to behave the way the defense is designed to behave.”

Ole Miss isn’t much better on defense. The Rebels are coming off a game where they gave up 38 points in a loss to Vanderbilt and have surrendered a little more than 32 points per game, which ranks 12th in the 14-team SEC.

Compounding matters, Ole Miss will be without junior linebacker DeMarquis Gates in the first half Saturday because he was ejected for targeting during the second half of last week’s 38-17 loss to Vanderbilt. Gates leads the team with 75 tackles.

The shaky defenses on both sides could create a showcase for each team’s young quarterback.
Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald has quietly produced one of the SEC’s most productive seasons. The sophomore is third in the league in total offense with 2,178 yards passing and 985 rushing.

Ole Miss freshman Shea Patterson will be making his third start since taking over for the injured Chad Kelly. Patterson has had some ups and downs the first two weeks. He led the Rebels to a comeback victory in his debut at Texas A&M, and then completed just 20 of 42 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns last week against Vanderbilt.

Ole Miss’ coaching staff has tried to simplify the playbook for the freshman, but he should be given a bit more to work with against the Bulldogs as his confidence grows.

“We did expand a little bit. In the first half at Vanderbilt I felt a lot more comfortable than I did at Texas A&M,” Patterson said.

Freeze said having some extra time to work this week because of the Thanksgiving holiday would help.

“It’s great that we have some extra time this week with classes not in session that he can get some extra film,” Freeze said. “We can make sure he feels great about what we’re trying to do this Saturday. There were a lot of good things he did but still a ways to go.”

Getting some extra live reps for Patterson is hardly Ole Miss’ only goal, or even its biggest, this weekend. Ole Miss can earn bowl eligibility for a fifth straight season if it wins on Saturday.

Ole Miss leads the all-time series 63-46-6. It has won the last two meetings and three of the last four. MSU has only won in Oxford once this century, back in 2010.

“It’s a game that means an extraordinary amount to this university, to our fan base, and to theirs,” Freeze said. “It’s going to be a great challenge. We’ve had a lot of adversity. To prepare to try to get a sixth win and gain bowl eligibility against your in-state rival, these games are always quite interesting, regardless of records. They’re always highly competitive, and I know this one will be no different.”