Egg Bowl

The Battle for the Golden Egg, also known as the Egg Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between played annually by the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Ole Miss Rebels. The rivalry is the tenth longest uninterrupted series in the United States. The two teams have played each other since 1901; 1927 was the first year the trophy, the "Golden Egg", was awarded to the winner.

Series 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 destroying their property 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.

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. Ole Miss leads the overall series 61-42-6.

It was announced on April 10th, 2013 that the game would be moved to Thanksgiving night to be broadcast on ESPN. It will be the first time since 2003 the game has been played on the holiday.

Notable games

 * 1907: Ole Miss and Mississippi A&M played a scoreless first half in extremely muddy conditions. Before the second half began, Ole Miss head coach Frank A. Mason brought out an urn filled with whisky-laced coffee in an attempt to warm his players. Sloppy second-half play resulted in a 15 to 0 A&M victory. After the game, many of the Ole Miss players blamed Mason for the loss. When asked if his team was returning home that night, Mason replied "Yes, the team is going north at 11 o'clock. I'm going in another direction, and hope I never see them again!"  It would be his final game as head coach.


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


 * 1983 - The Immaculate Deflection, or the Wind Bowl: In what has become known to Mississippi 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 Rebels.


 * 1992 - The Stand: In a defensive struggle that saw a combined 12 turnovers between the two, a goal line stand of epic proportions by the "Red Death" defense ultimately gave Ole Miss the win. Mississippi St. had 11 plays in 2 different possessions inside the Rebel 10 within the last 4 minutes of the contest but failed to score.  The first possession ended on a third down pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Michael Lowery who would bring the ball out to the 2 yardline.  A couple of plays later saw rebel running back Cory Philpot fumble the ball back to the Dogs making for the Rebels 7th turnover.  On the ensuing possession, State had fourth and goal and the pass was incomplete.  However, pass interference on Orlanda Truitt kept the drive alive, moving the ball to the 2.  However, the next four plays resulted in negative yardage, with the final pass falling incomplete with only 20 seconds remaining.  The Rebels won 17-10.


 * 1997: A melee broke out between the teams before the game. The game was won 15-14 by Ole Miss on a game-winning 4th quarter drive. A first and 10 pass was completed to Andre Rone for the touchdown to bring the score to 14-13, advantage MSU. Tommy Tuberville, in his third season as the Rebels' head coach, opted to attempt a two-point conversion, determined to secure the victory in regulation. The conversion was successful as QB Stewart Patridge connected with Corey Peterson for the score.  A late pass by MSU was intercepted by Tim Strickland to secure the win for the Rebels.  Both teams finished 7-4, however, with limited bowl spots available, Ole Miss would secure its first bowl berth since 1992 while Mississippi St. would fail to reach a bowl for the 3rd consecutive season.


 * 1998: Mississippi State clinched the SEC West division title after winning 28-6. This win sent MSU to the SEC Championship game where they were defeated 24-14 by eventual national champion Tennessee. Also noteworthy is the fact that the following day it was announced that Ole Miss's Tommy Tubbervile was to be the new coach at Auburn.


 * 1999 - The Pick and the Kick: Known as "The Pick and the Kick," this game is best known for its dramatic ending. Down 20-6, 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 earned a share of its first SEC West division title with current New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning leading the team. A torrential downpour prevailed much of the game, with both teams fighting tooth and nail for the first 20 or so minutes of the contest.  The heavily favored Rebs ultimately proved to be too much as the Rebels had 3 2nd quarter scores to take a 24-0 lead into the locker room.  The final would be 31-0 marking the first shutout by the Rebels in this rivalry since 1971 (48-0). This Egg Bowl marked Jackie Sherrill's final game as a football coach as in the middle of the 2003 season he had announced his retirement.  Sherrill had an overall record of 7-6 against the Rebels.


 * 2007: Mississippi State trailed 14-0 with less than 8 minutes left to play in the fourth quarter when Rebels Head Coach Ed Orgeron elected to go for a fourth down at the Ole Miss 49 yard line. Rebel running back Benjarvus Green-Ellis was stopped for a loss turning the ball over on downs.  The Bulldogs drove in scored a touchdown, seized the momentum and went on to win the game 17-14.  It marked the last game of Ed Orgeron's tenure as Rebel Head Coach.

Game results


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

* Mississippi State won the Egg Bowl on the field in 1976 and 1977, but were later forced to forfeit the games by the NCAA.