MISSISSIPPI EGG BOWL FACTS

Egg Bowl

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle for the Golden Egg
Mississippi State Bulldogs Ole Miss Rebels
Sport(s)	Football
Total meetings	110 total, 86 Egg Bowls
Series record	Ole Miss leads, 61–43–6 (59–45–6 on the field)
First meeting	October 28, 1901 Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 0
Last meeting	November 28, 2013 Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 10
Next meeting	November 29, 2014
Largest win	Mississippi State, 65–0 (1915)
Longest win streak	Mississippi State, 13 (1911–1925)
Current win streak	Mississippi State, 1 (2013–present)
Trophy	Golden Egg

University of Mississippi

Mississippi State
University

Locations in Mississippi

The Battle for the Golden Egg, also informally known as the Egg Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game played annually between Southeastern Conference members Mississippi State University and Ole Miss (The University of Mississippi). The rivalry is the tenth longest uninterrupted series in the United States. The two teams first played each other in 1901. Since 1927 the winning squad has been awarded possession of the "Golden Egg Trophy". In cases where the game ended in a tie the previous winner retained possession of the trophy. Ole Miss currently leads the series, 61–43–6 (59–45–6 on the field).

Contents

• 1 Series history
  • 1.1 The birth of the Golden Egg
• 2 Notable games
• 3 Game results
• 4 Notes
• 5 References
• 6 External links
• 7 See also

Series history

The first game in the series was played on October 28, 1901 at Mississippi State. Mississippi State, then known as the Mississippi A&M College and nicknamed the Aggies, defeated Ole Miss, nicknamed the Red and Blue at that time,^[1] by a final score of 17–0. The two squads met on the gridiron every year from 1901 until 1911 and then, after a 3 year hiatus, resumed the series in 1915; since that 1915 meeting the two teams have met on the field every season with the exception of the 1943 season when neither school fielded teams due to World War II.^[2][3][4] From 1973 through 1990 the 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.
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 during the Thanksgiving weekend and has been played on Thanksgiving 21 times, including from 1998–2003 and in 2013.^[5] 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 year, following a disappointing season.

The birth of the Golden Egg

The Aggies (Bulldogs) dominated the early days of the series including a 13 game A&M winning streak from 1911–25 during which time the Aggies outscored the Red and Blue by a combined 327–33.^[6] Through 1925 Ole Miss had won only five times out of twenty-three total contests. In 1926 When the Red and Blue ended their 13 game losing streak by defeating A&M 7–6 in Starkville the Ole Miss fans rushed the field with 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. According to one account:

"Irate Aggie supporters took after the ambitious Ole Miss group with cane bottom chairs, and fights broke out. The mayhem continued until most of the chairs were splintered."^[7]

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 (before overtime was instituted in Division-I college football in 1996)^[8] the school that won the game the previous year kept the trophy for the first half of the new year and then the trophy was sent to the other school for the second half of the new year.^[9] The game was given the nickname "Egg Bowl" by Clarion-Ledger sportswriter Tom Patterson in 1979.^[10]

Notable games

1929 Mississippi 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", a moniker that would not be applied to the game until the 1979 contest by sportswriter Tom Patterson.

Ole Miss and MSU meet during a 1970s Egg Bowl

• 1901: The first ever meeting between the two schools was delayed for 40 minutes because of a dispute between the rivals over the eligibility of A&M’s Norvin E. (Billy) Green, who had played for the Ole Miss squad the year before. Eventually it was agreed that Green would not play and the game kicked off with A&M going on to defeat Ole Miss 17–0.^[11]

• 1907: Ole Miss and Mississippi A&M played a scoreless first half in extremely muddy conditions.^[12] 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.^[12][13][14] 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!"^[12][13] It would be his final game as head coach.^[12]

• 1915 After a three year hiatus the two squads met on the gridiron in a game played in Tupelo. The A&M squad proved too much for Ole Miss and rolled to a 65–0 victory in which they scored ten touchdowns. The contest remains the most one-sided in series history.^[11]

• 1918 – Gotcha! Twice!: This marked the only time that the two teams would square off twice in the same season. A&M won the first contest in Starkville 34–0 and completed the sweep taking the second game in Oxford 13–0.^[15] The Rebels were coached that season by legendary future Mississippi A&M baseball coach C.R. "Dudy" Noble^[16]

• 1926 – A&M's Streak Ends: After thirteen straight losses to the Aggies, Ole Miss pulled off a victory in Starkville by a score of 7–6. The ensuing melee between fans prompted the purchase of a football-shaped trophy to be awarded to the winner each year upon their victory, and kept on their respective campus until the game was played again the following year.^[17]

• 1927 – First Game for The Trophy: In the first game after the commissioning of the Golden Egg Trophy was played on Thanksgiving Day in Oxford. Ole Miss posted back-to-back wins against A&M for the first time since 1909–10, taking the egg by a final score of 20–12.

• 1936: Mississippi State got its first win in the series since the creation of the Golden Egg ending an Ole Miss 10 game unbeaten streak (9–0–1) in the series by a final score of 26–6.

• 1964: The 17 year unbeaten streak (14–0–3) by Ole Miss against Mississippi State came to an end as the Bulldogs claimed a 20–17 victory.

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

• 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.^[18]

• 1991 – Back to Campus: In the first Egg Bowl played on either campus since 1972 and the first played at Mississippi State since 1971, first year MSU head coach Jackie Sherrill led the Bulldogs to a 24–9 victory over 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: The 1997 contest was notable for two things: first for the melee that broke out between the teams before the game kicked off and second for the dramatic way in which it ended.^[19] Trailing 14–7 with 2:12 remaining the Rebels put together a 64-yard drive that culminated with a 10-yard TD pass to WR Andre Rone. Ole Miss then elected to attempt a two-point conversion to take the lead rather than kick the extra point for the tie. Rebel QB Stewart Patridge completed a pass Cory Peterson with 25 seconds left that gave Ole Miss a 15–14 lead. A late pass by MSU was intercepted by Ole Miss DB 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 State would fail to reach a bowl for the 3rd consecutive season.^[20][21]

• 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 head coach Tommy Tuberville was leaving to be the new coach at Auburn.

• 1999 – 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 - Number 100: The 2003 game marked 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.^[22]

• 2007 – The Comeback: 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 head coach after the Rebels went 0–8 in the SEC.

• 2008 – Croom's Farewell: In Houston Nutt's first Egg Bowl as Ole Miss' Head Coach, the Rebels would avenge the loss from 2007 in impressive form, utterly dominating Mississippi State in Oxford by the score of 45–0.^[23] The game featured the largest margin of defeat in any Egg Bowl game since 1971 and was Ole Miss' second shutout win in 5 years. The game brought Ole Miss to 8–4 (5–3 in the SEC) and eventually secured them a bid to the 2009 Cotton Bowl Classic. The loss dropped Mississippi State to 4–8 (2–6 in the SEC). Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom, resigned only hours later, leaving MSU after 5 years at the helm and with a career record of 21–38.^[24]

• 2009 – From Dixon With Love: One of the first things new Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen did upon taking the job was to install a countdown clock in the Mississippi State locker room to count down the seconds until the next Egg Bowl.^[25] The Rebels, fresh off an upset win over LSU, came into Starkville with an 8-3 record and a #20 ranking, while the Bulldogs had already clinched bowl ineligibility at 4-7. However, Mullen's emphasis on the game paid off, as Anthony Dixon ran for 133 yards and a touchdown, backup quarterback Chris Relf ran for 131 yards a touchdown and completed two touchdown passes, and cornerback Corey Broomfield sealed the 41-27 win by returning an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.^[26] In the game's closing seconds, the phrase "From Dixon With Love" appeared on the video board,^[27] a pun on Dixon and the "From Dixie with Love" incident, in which the Ole Miss marching band had to stop playing the song in November 2009 after some Ole Miss fans continued to chant a racially insensitive cheer after being repeatedly asked not to by the school.^[28] After the game, Mullen made his famous on-field assertion that "There's only one program in this state that's definitely on the rise,",^[29] reigniting the rivalry to a new level of intensity.

• 2013 – The Dak Back Game: In the first Egg Bowl ever to go into overtime, Mississippi State claimed a 17–10 victory. Mississippi State entered the game with both of their primary quarterbacks, Tyler Russell and Dak Prescott, injured. True freshman Damian Williams made his first collegiate start after having scored a game winning TD in overtime against Arkansas the week before in relief of an injured Tyler Russell. Down 10–7 in the middle of the 4th quarter, a still injured Dak Prescott, who had only been cleared to play earlier that day, entered the game.^[30] After tying the game with a field goal, Mississippi State missed a potential game-winning field goal as time expired. In overtime, Prescott scored a touchdown on fourth down from the three yard line. On the ensuing Ole Miss possession, Nickoe Whitley stripped the ball from Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace as he tried to score a game-tying touchdown. Mississippi State's Jamerson Love recovered the ball in the endzone for the victory.

Game results

Ole Miss victories are colored ██ blue. Mississippi State victories are colored ██ maroon. Ties are white. Victories vacated by the NCAA are shaded gray.

Date Location Winner Score October 28, 1901 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 17–0 October 25, 1902 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 21–0 November 14, 1903 Oxford, MS Tie 6–6 October 22, 1904 Columbus, MS Ole Miss 17–5 November 30, 1905 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 11–0 November 29, 1906 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 29–5 November 28, 1907 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 15–0 November 26, 1908 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 44–6 November 25, 1909 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 9–5 November 24, 1910 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 30–0 November 30, 1911 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 6–0 November 6, 1915 Tupelo, MS Mississippi State 65–0 November 3, 1916 Tupelo, MS Mississippi State 36–0 November 3, 1917 Tupelo, MS Mississippi State 41–14 November 28, 1918 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 34–0 December 7, 1918 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 13–0 November 8, 1919 Clarksdale, MS Mississippi State 33–0 November 6, 1920 Greenwood, MS Mississippi State 20–0 October 29, 1921 Greenwood, MS Mississippi State 21–0 October 21, 1922 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 19–13 October 20, 1923 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 13–6 October 18, 1924 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 20–0 October 24, 1925 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 6–0 November 25, 1926 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 7–6 November 24, 1927 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 20–12 November 29, 1928 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 20–19 November 28, 1929 Oxford, MS Tie 7–7 November 27, 1930 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 20–0 November 26, 1931 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 25–14 November 24, 1932 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 13–0 December 2, 1933 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 31–0 December 1, 1934 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 7–3 November 30, 1935 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 14–6 November 21, 1936 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 26–6 November 25, 1937 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 9–7 November 26, 1938 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 19–6 November 25, 1939 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 18–6 November 23, 1940 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 19–0 November 29, 1941 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 6–0 November 28, 1942 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 34–12 November 25, 1944 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 13–8 November 24, 1945 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 7–6 November 23, 1946 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 20–0 November 29, 1947 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 33–14 November 27, 1948 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 34–7 November 26, 1949 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 26–0 December 2, 1950 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 27–20 December 1, 1951 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 49–7 November 29, 1952 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 20–14 November 28, 1953 Starkville, MS Tie 7–7 November 27, 1954 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 14–0 November 26, 1955 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 26–0 December 1, 1956 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 13–7 November 30, 1957 Starkville, MS Tie 7–7 November 29, 1958 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 21–0 November 28, 1959 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 42–0

Date Location Winner Score November 26, 1960 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 35–9 December 2, 1961 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 37–7 December 1, 1962 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 13–6 November 30, 1963 Starkville, MS Tie 10–10 December 5, 1964 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 20–17 November 27, 1965 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 21–0 November 26, 1966 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 24–0 December 2, 1967 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 10–3 November 30, 1968 Oxford, MS Tie 17–17 November 27, 1969 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 48–22 November 26, 1970 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 19–14 November 25, 1971 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 48–0 November 25, 1972 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 51–14 November 24, 1973 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 38–10 November 23, 1974 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 31–13 November 22, 1975 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 13–7 November 20, 1976 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 28–11† November 19, 1977 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 18–14† November 25, 1978 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 27–7 November 24, 1979 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 14–9 November 22, 1980 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 19–14 November 21, 1981 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 21–17 November 20, 1982 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 27–10 November 19, 1983 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 24–23 November 24, 1984 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 24–3 November 23, 1985 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 45–27 November 22, 1986 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 24–3 November 21, 1987 Jackson, MS Mississippi State 30–20 November 26, 1988 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 33–6 November 25, 1989 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 21–11 November 24, 1990 Jackson, MS Ole Miss 21–9 November 23, 1991 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 24–9 November 28, 1992 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 17–10 November 27, 1993 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 20–13 November 26, 1994 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 21–17 November 25, 1995 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 13–10 November 30, 1996 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 17–0 November 29, 1997 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 15–14 November 26, 1998 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 28–6 November 25, 1999 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 23–20 November 23, 2000 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 45–30 November 22, 2001 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 36–28 November 28, 2002 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 24–12 November 27, 2003 Starkville, MS Ole Miss 31–0 November 27, 2004 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 20–3 November 26, 2005 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 35–14 November 25, 2006 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 20–17 November 23, 2007 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 17–14 November 28, 2008 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 45–0 November 28, 2009 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 41–27 November 27, 2010 Oxford, MS Mississippi State 31–23 November 26, 2011 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 31–3 November 24, 2012 Oxford, MS Ole Miss 41–24 November 28, 2013 Starkville, MS Mississippi State 17–10OT November 29, 2014 Oxford, MS November 28, 2015 Starkville, MS

† Mississippi State was later forced to forfeit as part of NCAA penalties.

Notes

• The University of Mississippi is colloquially known as Ole Miss.
• In the early days of Ole Miss athletic their teams were called the Red and Blue. In 1929 they became known as The Flood and in 1936 they changed their nickname to the Rebels.^[7]
• From 1880–1932 Mississippi State was named Mississippi A&M College, from 1932–1958 it was named Mississippi State College, and in 1958 was granted university status and changed its name to Mississippi State University.^[31]
• Although references as long ago as 1905 refer to Mississippi State as the Bulldogs, the Bulldog wasn't adopted as the official mascot until 1961. The first teams representing Mississippi State were called the Aggies, and when the school officially became Mississippi State College in 1932 they were nicknamed the Maroons.^[32]