It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's here.

The week that all collegiate football fans in Mississippi pine for. Unless you are one of the lone Southern Miss fans or some transplant SEC fan from another school. Well, they're interested because the probably hate both schools.  In any event, the one week where brothers fight with sisters, husbands fight with wives and friends fight with friends.

Egg Bowl week is here.

Honestly, it is what we have wanted. A relevant game, one that hasn't taken place since 1999, where both teams would land in a bowl. Since that time, we've seen Ole Miss win three in a row and Miss. State do the same. 

This year, MSU is trying to do something it hasn't done since 1911, when it reeled off 13 games in a row over the arch rival. MSU is in a position to beat Ole Miss_ie: TSUN_ four times in a row. 

Let's break this down for you, as if the hash-taggers and t-shirt creators will not do this as well. It will be a t-shirt frenzy. That would mean the Bulldogs_or for the "True Maroon" fans: Bulldawgs_would house the Egg Bowl trophy for at least 1,824 days before Ole Miss would have a chance to bring it back to Oxford.

Bedlum in Starkville will ensue. If you think the MSU marketing department will remain subdued after the #WeBelieve campaign was less eventful, the billboards and slogans will be everywhere.

And rightfully so. MSU fans have a right to be angry. Yes, that is the correct terminology. 

After Houston Nutt embarrassed the team, fan-base and Sylvester Croom  in 2008, he felt the MSU game was just another game. An easy win, if you will. 

He was wrong. So wrong, he now is no longer coaching and hated beyond measure by two fan bases in the Southeastern Conference. Totally allowing a program to rot from the inside out will do that to a coach's legacy. 

Fans went to the game dressed to kill and with no desire to go to the games. To say it was embarrassing would be an understatement.

Enter Dan Mullen and did he enter. After capping off a less that desirable 2009 season with a win over a ranked Ole Miss team, Mullen took to the microphone inside Davis Wade Stadium and rallied his base. It worked. MSU would then see its record improve in 2010 and another win in Oxford. Following the post-game speech, Mullen stated, "“We’re never losing to this team again."

He hasn't. 

While Houston Nutt had no interest in Mullen, or Ole Miss for that matter, the Rebel fans heard loud and clear.

The Egg Bowl had taken on a new meaning. Nutt, meanwhile, decided to quit on his team and destroy the Ole Miss football program and receive a check. A really big check. Later that year, Ole Miss chancellor Dan Jones would fire Nutt and allow him to finish out the season. 

A mistake beyond measure.

I would say AD Pete Boone made the call, but like many other decisions on campus, he was absent. I failed to mention, he was essentially fired around the same time. I have yet to hear anyone argue this was a bad move. 

MSU destroyed Ole Miss again in 2011 in Starkville. The final was 31-3 and it could have been 62-3. The Nutt era had finally ended and the Hugh Freeze era began.

This rivalry, although no one would admit, has grown to one of respect. I have no doubt that Hugh Freeze respects the program in Starkville and would say the same for Dan Mullen. In fact, I believe the vile Mullen was showing towards Ole Miss was two fold: the angle of his hatred for Houston Nutt and a rallying cry for his fanbase.

Both worked to perfection. 

Frankly, Mullen has been very quiet this season, which prescribes to my theory above. 

While MSU has taken quite the criticism for its schedule, the facts are evident. You win the games you schedule and MSU has done that. Quite simply, they won the games they were supposed to.

In order for Ole Miss to be successful against MSU, Freeze and company are going to have to learn to stop its opponent late in the fourth quarter. If that feat had been met earlier in the season, Ole Miss would be 8-3. It simply hasn't done so. 

Will this week be any different? 

With Thanksgiving coming up, a competitive Egg Bowl means it will be interesting at the table. Enjoy Thanksgiving. Throw caution to the wind and eat till your heart's content. 

The Egg Bowl. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Brad Logan is a regular contributor to Mississippi Sports Magazine. He is a native of Bruce, MS and currently resides in Mississippi. You can reach him by following him on Twitter: @BradLoganCA