A rivalry game never lacking sub-plots has an interesting one today at the tailback position.

It’s Mississippi State career-rushing leader Anthony Dixon against Dexter McCluster, who likely would have been the Ole Miss career leader if he’d have been the tailback for four years and not just half a season.

Dixon and McCluster have clearly been the focus for their teams down the stretch. The back who has the biggest game today could help his team bring home the Golden Egg trophy.

For Ole Miss, there’s more on the line than the trophy. The Rebels (8-3, 4-3 SEC) are already bowl-eligible. A win would likely secure a spot in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla., the SEC’s top non-BCS prize.

That’s less than a two-hour ride from McCluster’s hometown of Largo, Fla.

It’s a storybook ending to McCluster’s senior season that began with more of a whimper. He was second-team All-SEC as a utility player in 2008 when he gained fame as the “Wild Rebel” and finished with 655 rushing yards, 625 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

There were plenty other weapons on offense for Ole Miss last year, Rebels coach Houston Nutt opened this season trusting his team’s balance and trying to make McCluster a big-play specialist with focus on screens, reverses and the Wild Rebel, where he takes a shotgun snap and reads the field.

“I started off slow. At times I was a little disappointed. I wanted to get the ball more,” McCluster said. “I knew my time would come, and I stayed humble. Ever since then I’ve tried real hard to capitalize on every chance I’ve gotten. I want to make something happen.”

He’s certainly done that. At 5-9, 170 pounds, McCluster has been the biggest player on the field in terms of Ole Miss production as the Rebels have won three straight since a 33-20 loss at Auburn on Oct. 31.

McCluster’s surge

In his last four SEC games McCluster is averaging 184.8 rushing yards, a figure boosted by a 282-yard effort against Tennessee. His least-productive rushing game in that span was a 123-yard effort against Arkansas, when he also gashed the Hogs with 137 receiving yards on seven catches.

With 93 yards today McCluster will reach 1,000 for the seasoncond, though he’s only been the primary tailback for five games plus the fourth quarter at South Carolina.

What’s made the Rebels even more productive of late has been a change on the offensive line. With senior John Jerry moving from tackle to guard and freshman Bobby Massie moving in at right tackle, the Rebels became bigger and more athletic.

It’s opened up different opportunities for Brandon Bolden, the former tailback, who’s seen more action at fullback.

“It’s starting to be a great 1-2 punch,” McCluster said. “He’s very strong, and he’s elusive as well. He can power it up in there, then I can gash with a long run here or make a guy miss there. It’s working for us.”

And Dixon has been working for the Bulldogs (4-7, 2-5), most recently with last week’s 176-yard, two-touchdown at Arkansas in which he averaged 7.3 yards a carry. Dixon has six 100-yard games plus a 252-yard game at Kentucky.

Handcuffing Dixon

Alabama and Florida, the SEC’s top two run defenses, held Dixon to fewer than 4 yards a carry. Florida held him to a season-low 53 yards on 15 carries. He ran for 81 against Alabama, but it took him 22 carries to get there.

Dixon ran for 125 yards as a freshman at Ole Miss but hasn’t had great games against the Rebels in the last two meetings. He had 26 yards on 11 carries in 2006, 17 yards on eight carries last year.

Ole Miss enters the game ranked fourth in the SEC in run defense at 124.3 yards a game.

“We know what we’re going to get. We’re going to get run, run, run,” Ole Miss defensive end Kentrell Lockett said. “Dixon is the type of back that when he gets the ball and gets downhill with a full head of steam, he’s a hassle to get down. He’s shed some weight. He’s slimmer and shiftier now, so he can make you miss. He’s not just that guy that has to run over you.”

Contact: 678-1600, parrish.alford@djournal.com.