Egg Bowl
Teams	Ole Miss Rebels Mississippi State Bulldogs
Originated	1901
Series	Ole Miss leads 60–40–6
Largest Victory	Mississippi State 65 Ole Miss 0 November 6, 1915
Highest Scoring Game	Ole Miss 45 Mississippi State 30 November 23, 2000
Most Recent Game	Mississippi State 41 Ole Miss 27 November 28, 2009
Mississippi (60)	Mississippi St. (40)
1902 1904 1906 1909 1910 1926 1927 1928 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1938 1944 1945 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1954 1955 1956 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1965 1966 1967 1969 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1981 1983 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1992 1995 1997 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2008	1901 1905 1907 1908 1911 1915 1916 1917 1918 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1936 1937 1939 1940 1941 1942 1946 1964 1970 1974 1980 1982 1987 1991 1993 1994 1996 1998 1999 2001 2005 2007 2009
Ties (6)
1903 1929 1953 1957 1963 1968

The Battle of the Golden Egg (nicknamed the Egg Bowl) is an annual college football game between in-state rivals, the Mississippi State University (MSU) Bulldogs and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels. The rivalry is the 10th longest uninterrupted series in the United States. While the two teams have played each other since 1901, now having played each other a total of 106 times, the first game officially known as the "The Battle of the Golden Egg" was in 1927.^[1] While the game is called a "bowl," it is not in fact a postseason bowl game, but rather a regular season Southeastern Conference (SEC-West) game.

Many sources in Mississippi only recognize games played since 1927 as the official "Egg Bowl,"^[2] with the Egg Bowl record in that case being 53-23-6 in favor of the Ole Miss Rebels. However, for the sake of completeness, this article will present the entire series.

[edit] History

Up until 1926, Ole Miss had won only five times out of twenty-three. When Ole Miss beat what was then known as Mississippi A&M College 7-6, the Ole Miss fans rushed the field, some trying to tear the goalposts down. A&M fans did not take well to the Ole Miss fans celebrations, and fights broke out. Some A&M fans defended the goal posts with wooden chairs, and several injuries were reported. To prevent such events in the future, students of the two schools created the "Golden Egg", a large trophy which has been awarded to the winning team each year since 1927. The trophy is a large football-shaped brass piece mounted to a wooden base and traditionally symbolizes supremacy in college football in the state of Mississippi for the year. The footballs used in American football in the 1920s were considerably more ovoid and blunter than those in use today and similar to the balls still used in rugby; the trophy thus, to modern eyes, more resembles an egg than a football. The awarding of the "Golden Egg" was instituted in 1927 by joint agreement between the two schools' student bodies. In the event of a tie, the school that won the game the previous year keeps the trophy for the first half of the new year and then the trophy is sent to the other school for the second half of the new year. ^[1]

The game is a typical example of the intrastate rivalries between several public universities in the U.S. These games are usually between one bearing the state's name alone, and the land-grant university, often styled as "State University." Like most such rivalries, it is contested at the end of the regular season, in this case on Thanksgiving weekend, sometimes on Thanksgiving Day (or, in recent years, Thanksgiving Night) itself. At one point the level of rivalry was such that a victory by one of the schools in this game could salvage what had otherwise been a poor season. This was however proven not to always be the case when in 2004 Ole Miss won the game but fired its coach, David Cutcliffe, the next week, following a disappointing season.

For many years this game was played at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, which seats approximately 62,000. Besides being centrally located in the state, at the time it was the only venue in the state capable of seating the anticipated crowd; for many years Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, seated only about 32,000 and Scott Field in Starkville, seated only about 31,000. Both have been considerably expanded and are now capable of accommodating the crowds which can realistically be expected, and both on-campus venues have been continually upgraded to the point where they are actually superior in amenities to Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. Since the Egg Bowl was moved back to the campuses, Mississippi State has won 10 games to Mississippi's 9.

[edit] Notable games

1929 Ole Miss vs. Mississippi A&M football program. The game ended tied 7-7. Note on the cover the game was referred to as "Mississippi's Football Classic" and not the "Egg Bowl".

• 1941: Mississippi State won the Southeastern Conference title, behind quarterback Jennings Moates, after winning 6-0.

• 1976 and 1977: Mississippi State won the Egg Bowl these two years but had to forfeit the wins due to NCAA violations.

• 1983: In what has become known to Ole Miss and MSU fans as "The Immaculate Deflection," the 1983 Egg Bowl played in Jackson is notable because the wind helped preserve Ole Miss' 24-23 victory. Down by a point with 24 seconds left in the game, MSU kicked what would have been a 27-yard game winning field goal. MSU freshman kicker Artie Cosby kicked it straight and long and what appeared to be over the crossbar, but as the ball reached the goal posts, a 40 mph gusting wind suspended the ball inches from the uprights, after which it fell short of the goal post, securing the victory for the University of Mississippi.^[3]

• 1997: A melee broke out between the teams before the game^[4]. The game was won 15-14 by the Ole Miss Rebels on a game-winning 4th quarter drive. Tommy Tuberville, in his third season as the Rebels' head coach, opted to attempt a two-point conversion in order to avoid overtime. The conversion was successful as Stewart Patridge connected with Corey Peterson for the score, giving Ole Miss its first bowl berth in several years.

• 1998: Mississippi State clinched their first SEC West division title after winning 28-6. This win sent MSU them to the SEC Championship game where they were defeated 24-14 by eventual national champion Tennessee.

• 1999: Known as "The Pick and the Kick," this game is best known for its dramatic ending. Down 20-13, MSU rallied late in the 4th quarter to tie the game. With 20 seconds left, instead of kneeling the ball to go to overtime, Mississippi decided to run a play, deep in their own territory. Rebel quarterback Romero Miller dropped back and lobbed a deep pass which was deflected by the hands and then the foot of MSU cornerback Robert Bean before being intercepted by Eugene Clinton and returned deep into Rebel territory. On the next play, with 8 seconds left, Bulldog kicker Scott Westerfield kicked a 44-yard game-winning field goal.

• 2003: This year saw the 100th meeting between the two teams. Ole Miss clinched a share of their first SEC West division title after winning 31-0, with current New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning leading the team. Eventual BCS National Champion LSU beat Ole Miss head-to-head the previous week and represented the SEC West in the SEC Championship Game. This Egg Bowl marked Jackie Sherrill's final game as a football coach as in the middle of the 2007 season he had announced his retirement. Sherrill had an overall record of 7-6 against the Rebels.

• 2007: Mississippi State, after trailing 14-0 late in the fourth quarter, reeled off seventeen points in the final 7 minutes, 51 seconds to win the game and leave Ole Miss winless in the SEC for the first time in 25 years. Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron was fired after the game and former Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Houston Nutt was hired.

• 2008: Ole Miss won 45-0, with the third biggest margin ever in the series, to Mississippi State's 65-0 victory in 1915 and Ole Miss' 48-0 victory in 1971.^[5] Only once did the Mississippi State offense cross the 50-yard line into Ole Miss territory.^[6] Ole Miss held MSU to just 37 total yards, which nets minus 51 rushing yards against 88 yards passing. The next day Sylvester Croom resigned as Mississippi State's head coach.

• 2009: Mississippi State won 41-27. The 41 points scored by the Bulldogs was their most in the series since 1917, the most scored on Ole Miss all season, and their 412 yards of offense was the most that the Ole Miss defense had given up all year.^[7] The game ended by MSU taking a knee two times on the Ole Miss 4 yard line to run out the last 1:17 on the clock. This was the first Egg Bowl for new Bulldog Head Coach Dan Mullen.

[edit] Game results

Ole Miss and MSU meet during a 1970s Egg Bowl

Ole Miss and MSU meet in the 2008 Egg Bowl

Jamarca Sanford and John Jerry celebrate Ole Miss' 45-0 win in the 2008 Egg Bowl. Sanford is carrying the Egg Bowl Trophy.

Ole Miss' new high definition scoreboard shows the final score of the 2008 Egg Bowl and parodies MSU's 2008 football advertising campaign. Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 0.

Mississippi victories are shaded ██ blue. Mississippi State victories shaded in ██ maroon. Ties shaded white. Forfeits shaded ██ gray.

*In 1975, Mississippi State's football program lost 5 scholarships and was placed on 2 years probation with 2 years ban from television and postseason play after an NCAA investigation found the program guilty of extra benefits, improper recruiting entertainment, inducements and transportation, excessive number of official visits, lack of institutional control and questionable practice^[8]. The NCAA charged MSU player Larry Gillard was "provided clothing at a discount not available to members of the university's student body in general." While accepting the NCAA's finding, MSU however joined Gillard in filing a lawsuit against NCAA to restore his eligibility. The suit was filed in a Mississippi chancery court. A restraining order placed by the court allowed Gillard to continue playing. The NCAA appealed the chancery court's ruling to the Mississippi Supreme Court which upheld late in the 1977 football season the original NCAA action. As a result of the Mississippi Supreme Court ruling, the NCAA made the MSU program forfeit 19 games (18 wins and a tie) in which Gillard played from 1975 through 1977, including the 1976 and 1977 Egg Bowl games.^[9]. The shopowner who was accused of giving Gillard a twelve dollar discount reported that he gave the same discount to all MSU students, but the NCAA would not let him tell his side of the story. After the NCAA ruling, the U.S. Congress investigated the NCAA for alleged use of pressure tactics and bribes to get students to testify.^[10]

[edit] External links

• 2003 The ClarionLedger Egg Bowl Series

[edit] References

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