Egg Bowl: Thanksgiving’s Best Rivalry

by Chris Paschal

The state of Mississippi ranks 34th in state population. It is the least populated state in the South.  South Carolina has almost twice the population as Mississippi does, which is mind-blowing. I drove through Mississippi not too long ago. There isn’t much going on. In fact, when I drove back to South Carolina on Sunday morning, I counted only seven other cars on the road by the time I hit the Alabama state line. And despite all of that, there are two major universities in the Magnolia state fighting for relevance and ultimately supremacy in the SEC.

Because of that, this rivalry means a lot. It’s not like Mississippi State and Ole Miss are jockeying for position in Conference-USA or the Big South Conference. These two programs are trying to assert themselves into a conversation that, if we’re being honest, they have no business being a part of. Further, they get to do it without any other competition. The Egg Bowl (named after the egg-like shape of the trophy) is often played all by itself on Thanksgiving Day instead of the weekend after (like most other SEC rivalries).

The Egg Bowl is often played on Thanksgiving. Image from Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Another interesting aspect of this rivalry is the difference between the two schools.

The University of Mississippi, most commonly referred to as Ole Miss, is in a quaint college town that feels like it is straight out of a John Grisham novel. There is so much culture and history in Oxford, Mississippi that you sometimes forget you are in one of the poorest states in the country. Then of course, there is The Grove, the mecca of all SEC tailgating. Amongst majestic oaks and thousands of red and blue tents are some of the finest tailgates one will ever see. The University of Mississippi and the town of Oxford are more known for William Faulkner, Square Books, and City Grocery than it is SEC and National Titles. Because of that, Ole Miss almost feels too wine and cheese to be seriously considered a great football school. Kelly Mattei, Alabama graduate and Front Porch Football’s first subscriber, once hilariously said, “when you walk into Ole Miss’s stadium, you think to yourself, ‘is this really it?’ I mean it’s not that big at all.” Ole Miss in many ways is still trying to find a way to be mentioned in the same breath as LSU, Auburn, and Alabama.

A quaint college town that feels like it is straight out of a John Grisham novel. Image from Tasting Table.

Mississippi State’s inferiority complex is completely different from Ole Miss’s. Mississippi State isn’t concerned with their play on the field. Yes, they aren’t historically a strong program, or even a good program, but they have an SEC-like identity on the field. They play great defensive football, they fight like hell, and they usually pull off an upset that shakes things up in the West. That being said, Mississippi State isn’t exactly in the greatest part of the South or on one of the more vibrant campuses. To be fair, I have never been, but from everything I have been told and read, I’m not missing much. Starkville is one of the poorest, smallest cities in the SEC, and according to friends that have been to both Oxford and Starkville, it is one of the more tame gameday atmospheres in the SEC. I hold out on giving my final judgement about Starkville and Mississippi State’s campus until I go there, but I feel confident it won’t be as impressive as other SEC towns/campuses I have been to.

Mississippi State isn’t exactly in the greatest part of the South or on one of the more vibrant campuses. Image from USA Today.

So I think it has been established that both Mississippi schools feel like they have some catching up to do, whether it be on the gridiron or off the field. That inferiority complex creates chips on the shoulders of most Rebel and Bulldog fans.Those feelings usually only get more intense and those gameday chants usually become more guttural as the season wears on. By the time the Egg Bowl comes around the angst surrounding their respective programs, and the hatred for the rival have reached such a crescendo that anything other than a hard-hitting football game would seem out of place.

This game has always meant a lot to the fans. Image from MSU Athletics.

When talking to Ole Miss graduate and Rebel fan, Ian Pinholster it is pretty obvious why Mississippi State is the little brother in the Magnolia State. “It’s funny,” he said, “their best season in recent memory was 2014 and they still got their butts kicked. And then of course there is 2015 where Dak Prescott crapped his pants on Senior Night and lost to Swag Kelly. Dak was 1-3 against Ole Miss. And that was one of their best runs in the history of their program.”

Needless to say, when we spoke with Mississippi State graduate and member of the Famous Maroon Band, Andrew Miller, he saw things a little differently. When asked what he thought of the rivalry, and Ole Miss in particular, Miller said, “The Egg Bowl is one of the nastiest rivalries in football. It may not get the national attention of the Iron Bowl or Ohio State-Michigan, but there’s nothing but hatred between the two sides. This game determines each fanbase’s feelings for the next year. Every year, it’s the most important game in this state. And I want nothing more than to watch State beat the ever-living crap out of those pretentious, dirty, cheating, stuck-up jerks from Oxford.”

Ian and Andrew certainly don’t hold back any punches. But I feel like there are a lot of Rebel and Bulldog fans just like them. This game has always meant a lot to the fans. Plus, with it being the only SEC rivalry that sits on Thanksgiving day, it usually has a lot of eyeballs on it. That was even more so with Hugh Freeze and Dan Mullen as the head coaches of the two programs. This game turned from two proud, but small programs battling it out for bragging rights over the state into a game that had national implications. And while both coaches left the Magnolia State, both of these programs are still fighting against giants like LSU and Alabama for the right to be considered on of the best the SEC has to offer. And if you look at some of the in-state talent that is playing high school football, it is even more imperative for both of these programs to try and assert dominance over the other.

So as you try and recover from the food hangover late on Thanksgiving day, tune into the best football game TV has to offer. No, not the Lions or the Cowboys, but the Egg Bowl right here in SEC country.