Published: November 27, 2006 12:07 am      

Wicker relieved as late State field goal misses

OXFORD — Of the nearly 57,658. people at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, perhaps no one was happier and relieved to see Adam Carlson's 51-yard field goal attempt sail wide left than Ole Miss offensive lineman Anderew Wicker.

The senior left guard was flagged for a personal foul and ejected for making aggressive contact with an official during a scrum after the Rebels were stopped on a fourth-and-one at the Mississippi State 36 with 42 seconds left. The 15-yard penalty gave the Bulldogs great field position at the Ole Miss 49-yard line.

"That was too close. I'm glad we won," Wicker said. "It was really bothering me on the sidelines after I got ejected. That was a selfish act on my part and luckily the defense held and they missed the field goal.

"They say you remember the last one," Wicker said. "Thank God, I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life."



Last game for Willis

Patrick Willis ended his outstanding career at Ole Miss with yet another standout performance. The All-American linebacker collected 13 total tackles, with seven being solo tackles, and one sack.

Willis said he will sit down with his family and sort through the decisions that now have to be made such as which college all-star game to play in and which agent to sign.

"It's all new to me," Willis said. "I'm going to take it one day at a time and stay focused and graduate."

Willis is expected to be a high pick in next year's NFL draft.



Dixon shines

Not to be forgotten in MSU's loss was the performance of freshman tailback Anthony Dixon. The Terry High School product rushed for 125 yards and a TD on 25 carries in his first Egg Bowl — 97 of those yards came in the first half.

"I was very amped up and ready to play," Dixon said. "Coach (Croom) told me I had to carry the load because we were down on quarterbacks. I was up for the challenge and I wanted to come out here and give my all."

Dixon said he expects much better things for the Bulldogs in the years to come, and guaranteed a bowl trip next season.

"We will be back next year. We're going up," Dixon said. "Next year we're going to make it to a bowl. I can promise Mississippi State fans that."



Roller coaster

Brian Anderson has had a roller coaster career at Mississippi State, including two head coaches and numerous position changes. But moments after his career had ended, the former Patrician Academy standout said he wouldn't trade his time at State for anything.

"My whole career has been a pleasant memory,„ Anderson said. „Some of the big moments were the Egg Bowl last year and the big win we had against Alabama this year."

Anderson helped open holes for Anthony Dixon, as he rushed for a career-high 125 yards on 25 carries. However, Anderson was disappointed that only 28 of Dixon's yards came after halftime.

"I wish we could have kept it going in the second half and maybe it would have been a different story," Anderson said.



First time

Greg Hardy's first quarter touchdown catch wasn't just his first touchdown or first catch as a Rebel, —it was the first offensive play he had run his entire career. Hardy was inserted into the game as a receiver early in the first quarter and quarterback Brent Schaeffer promptly found him for a 23-yard reception in the corner of the end zone.

"We saw Greg in a couple of drills about two weeks ago and liked how he caught the ball," Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said. "When Greg first came here, he wanted to be a wide receiver. I thought that we needed some help in the red zone and one of our coaches, (grad assistant) Dave Corrao, suggested putting Greg Hardy at wide receiver and throw him the fade, so we did it and it worked for us."