The Egg Bowl

This past Sunday, many Mississippians awoke to a new day. The sun was a bit brighter than usual. If you follow the two Southeastern Conference members in the state, you likely fall into this category. Mississippi and Mississippi State were victorious. Not only did they win, they did so obtaining a conference win. Why the joy? This doesn’t happen often. The Rebels dismantled the LSU Tigers to the tune of 31-13 inside a quiet Tiger Stadium. Save the 10,000 rabid “Road Rebels” that relished the victory and didn’t want to leave. Ole Miss put the exclamation point on its bowl hopes in landing in the post- season. MSU held off a late comeback and defeated Arkansas 31-28 for their second SEC win.

So revel in the joy fans, although something has to give this Friday. The Rebs and the Dogs will meet in Oxford for an annual gathering. They like to refer to it as the Egg Bowl.

So you might ask, why in the world would two teams from Mississippi be playing for a trophy referred to as an egg? Like many storied traditions, this one is quite simple. Sigma Iota, an Ole Miss honors society, made the recommendation to then, Mississippi A&M, to begin awarding the winning team with a trophy. The reason? Prior to 1927 following a win, the victorious school would rush the field and demolish the goalpost. This didn’t just happen after a home victory. It happened after a visiting victory as well. That usually ensued fisticuffs. Enter, the Golden Egg. As for the egg reference itself, the secret lies with the actual shape of the coveted treasure. It models the football of the late 1920’s and resembles an egg much more than a modern day football.

The game has been played on campus for the past 18 years, alternating between Starkville and Oxford. From 1973 to 1990, the game was played in Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson for a variety of reasons. Both MSU and Ole Miss played a number of SEC games in Jackson for the same reasons to follow. At the time, neither Ole Miss or Mississippi State encompassed stadiums to house the demand of fans wanting to watch their teams. MSU could only hold 31,000 while Ole Miss noted capacity of 32,000. Another factor was the location of Jackson, as it sits in the middle of the state and is the state capital. As the stadiums were enlarged on campus, games were moved back, along with the Egg Bowl.

The rivalry has seen its share of classic moments and controversies. One of the most famous of them all occurred in 1983 in Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson. Artie Cosby’s 27-yard field goal was literally blown back into play and never broke the crossbar to seal the 24-23 Ole Miss win. Many say the field goal was going to split the uprights. We’ll never know. Another notable game occurred in 1997, as the fireworks began before kickoff with a fight at midfield. Ole Miss, who leads the overall series 59-39-6, converted on a two-point conversion at the end of regulation to give the Rebels the 15-14 win. MSU would return the favor the following year, upending the Rebels 28-6 en-route to the SEC Championship game and a berth in the Cotton Bowl.



In quite possibly the wildest games of the series, the Rebels were nursing a 20-13 lead late in the 1999 Egg Bowl. MSU would score with only :20 remaining and tie the game at 20 apiece. Rebel head coach Tommy Tuberville refused to play for overtime, when Rebel quarterback Romero Miller was intercepted. This was not your usual interception. The pass was batted down by a MSU safety, only to strike MSU cornerback Robert Bean’s foot and fall into the arms of Eugene Clinton who returned the ball to the Rebel 27-yard line. Scott Westerfield booted the 44-yard field-goal with only :08 remaining in the game to seal the win. Ole Miss capped off the 2003 season with a 31-0 win over MSU to head to the Cotton Bowl themselves, after sharing the SEC Western Division title with LSU.

This season, MSU and Ole Miss will trade positions. The Rebels will be eyeing a bowl birth as MSU plays the spoiler. Last year the roles were reversed. The cliché’s are aplenty. All could apply to the series we have all grown to love.