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STARKVILLE, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Forget about the Golden Egg, Mississippi State has the "Golden Leg." Eugene Clinton's interception of a kicked ball led to Scott Westerfield's game-winning 44-yard field goal with four seconds to play as 19th-ranked Mississippi State shocked No. 24 Mississippi, 23-20, in the 72nd "Egg Bowl." In a classic Thanksgiving battle between the Southeastern Conference rivals, the Bulldogs (9-2, 6-2 SEC West) rallied from a 20-6 deficit in the final 13 minutes to capture the Golden Egg, a trophy that has been awarded to the winner of this game since 1927. "They just don't give up," Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill said of his team. "We talk about playing 60 minutes all the time. There is no question that we do that. You just got to play and play and play." Mississippi State tied the game 20-20 with 27 seconds remaining when Wayne Madkin hit a wide open C.J. Sirmones down the right sideline for a 38-yard touchdown. The Rebels (7-4, 4-4) began the ensuing possession from their own 24-yard line with 20 seconds remaining and on the first play Romaro Miller lofted a pass to the right for Jamie Armstrong. But cornerback Robert Bean tipped the ball before kicking it to Clinton, who raced to the Mississippi 27. "I made a poor decision there at the end of the game," Rebels coach David Cutcliffe said. "I won't go back and have regrets. I made the decision. I'll live with it. We should have taken a knee and played overtime." Westerfield then came on to boot the game-winner. "With just 25 seconds left, I thought they would play conservative and run the ball, but they didn't and that gave us a chance to make a play and gave me a chance to do what I do," said Westerfield. "This is really a blessing," said MSU linebacker Barrin Simpson. "I tell you, thank the Lord we came out on top. This was two good teams fighting in out on the field." For three quarters and most of the final period the game belonged to Mississippi and star tailback Deuce McAllister, who carried 36 times for 134 yards. McAllister also appeared to take over with the game on the line. Mississippi State cut the deficit to 20-13 with 12:49 to play when Madkin hit Donald Lee for a five-yard score and seemed to have all the momentum when a punt landed on the Rebels 1. But McAllister carried eight straight times before Mississippi punted. Pig Prather fumbled the kick, giving the ball back to the Rebels, who ran three more plays before punting again and giving MSU control at its own 11 with just 2:10 remaining. Madkin had been on the sideline when Matt Wyatt rallied the Bulldogs to fourth-quarter wins over Auburn and Louisiana State, but engineered a beautiful last-minute drive. Three times he connnected with Kelvin Love before hitting Sirmones for the tying touchdown. Madkin completed 20-of-33 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions. Love totaled 75 yards on seven receptions. In all, Mississippi State committed five turnovers, three of which directly led to 17 Mississippi points. Following an interception by safety Ashley Cooper, the Rebels took the lead early in the second quarter on Miller's 30-yard TD pass to Maurice Flournoy. A muffed punt by Anthony Bryant set up Les Binkley's 49-yard field goal with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half that made it 13-6. Running back Justin Griffith fumbled in the third quarter and the Rebels built a 14-point advantage on Miller's six-yard scoring strike to tight end Adam Bettis. Miller was 13-of-27 for 140 yards with two interceptions. "The offensive line did a great job, they gave me time to make some plays," Miller said. "This loss is tough. It is probably the toughest since I've been here." Dicenzo Miller carried eight times for 49 yards for MSU, including a 29-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter that gave the Bulldogs their first six points. "I congratulate Mississippi State," said Cutcliffe. "They didn't quit. They kept pushing and came back and I'm sure they feel good right now." Mississippi leads the "Egg Bowl" games by a 49-19-4 margin and holds a 54-36-6 advantage in the all-time series. "This game epitomizes our whole season," added Sherrill. "They were not going to quit. I kind of felt it whn we started getting the ball back amd moving it. You started feeling it on the sidelines. I knew that, if we got a chance to win, we would win it."
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