The Associated Press

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Eli Manning and Mississippi sent Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill into retirement with his worst Egg Bowl loss ever.

Manning threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns in Ole Miss' 31-0 victory Thursday night in the 100th meeting between the Magnolia state rivals.

The Rebels (9-3, 7-1) remained in the SEC West title race and reached nine regular-season victories for the first time since 1990. Ole Miss can earn its first trip to the SEC championship game if No. 3 LSU loses to Arkansas today at Baton Rouge.

For Sherrill and the Bulldogs (2-10, 1-7), the season ended with a sixth straight lopsided loss. Since the 60-year-old coach announced his retirement on Oct. 17, the Bulldogs have been outscored 267-57.

Sherrill completed 13 seasons at Mississippi State 75-75-2, but was just 8-27 in the final three.

The Rebels won the Battle for the Golden Egg for the second straight season, a first during the Sherrill era.

Ole Miss outgained the Bulldogs 359-192. Kevin Fant, playing his last game for Mississippi State, was 14 for 28 for 91 yards.

Mississippi	7	17	7	0	-	31
Mississippi St.	0	0	0	0	-	0

First Quarter

Miss-Turner 25 pass from Manning (Nichols kick), 3:28.

Second Quarter

Miss-Lilly 11 pass from Manning (Nichols kick), 8:40.

Miss-FG Nichols 32, 5:40.

Miss-Jacobs 1 run (Nichols kick), :15.

Third Quarter

Miss-Collins 23 pass from Manning (Nichols kick), 1:39.

A-52,582.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Miss., Turner 19-70, Jacobs 10-22, Pearson 5-17, Manning 2-1, team 3-(minus 11). Miss. St., Norwood 11-53, Turner 8-46, York 1-9, Fant 5-(minus 7).

PASSING-Miss., Manning 19-27-0-260. Miss. St., Fant 14-28-1-91, York 0-3-0-0.

RECEIVING-Miss., Collins 8-113, Flowers 3-21, Espy 2-46, Biddle 2-19, Turner 1-25, Pearson 1-22, Lilly 1-11, Jacobs 1-3. Miss. St., Scott 3-43, Norwood 3-(minus 2), Conner 2-10, Lumpkin 2-10, Jenkins 2-9, Prosser 1-12, Turner 1-9.

GMAC Bowl, exams could clash for TCU

TCU athletic director Eric Hyman is concerned about the possibility of the Horned Frogs getting an invitation to the GMAC Bowl because the game conflicts with the school's final exams.

The No. 19 Horned Frogs (10-1) have not been asked to play in the Dec. 18 game in Mobile, Ala., but GMAC officials get the second pick from Conference USA. That team will face the Miami RedHawks.

Southern Mississippi beat TCU 40-28 last week and can clinch the C-USA title and Liberty Bowl berth with a victory Saturday at East Carolina.

"This is pure and simple an academic issue," Hyman said Thursday night. "They want you down there on the 13th. It's a disservice to our student-athletes."

Final exams at TCU are Dec. 15-19.

No Jimbo for Bullies

LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher withdrew from consideration for the head coaching position at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are looking to replace Jackie Sherrill, who will retire after this season.

Fisher released a statement through the LSU athletic department saying he canceled an interview with Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton that was scheduled for Saturday.

Third-ranked LSU plays Arkansas in Baton Rouge on Friday.

Fisher appeared to be the leading candidate for the job, drawing the most speculation in recent weeks.