By Billy Watkins
They will meet again Thanksgiving night, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and one group of players will provide bragging rights to one group of fans who didn’t have to make a tackle or bleed a drop to get them.
But brag they will. And the Egg Bowl trophy will once again be kissed and cradled during the winners’ postgame celebration, then displayed on campus until the next meeting.
The trophy was first awarded in 1927 and the idea for it is credited to students from both schools. After Ole Miss defeated State in Starkville in 1926, its fans ran onto the field and attempted to wrestle down one of the goal posts. A brawl ensued.
The trophy cost $250 (equal to about $4,500 today) and was paid for by students from both sides. The student bodies passed a resolution saying the trophy was agreed upon to hopefully “foster clean sportsmanship and to promote a lasting tradition.”
Their intent overshot reality, but one has to admire the students’ attempt at peace.
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The numbers and Las Vegas lean heavily toward Ole Miss this year. The Rebels are 9-2 and 12th in the College Football Playoff rankings. State is 5-6 and led by an interim coach, Greg Knox, after Zach Arnett was fired 10 games into his first season as head coach. The Rebels are favored by 10 points.
If this rivalry has taught us anything, it is to ignore records and point spreads when trying to pick a winner. The trophy will be earned, that’s almost guaranteed.
And before we go any further, let’s remember Mike Leach, the Bulldog coach who died last December — 18 days after leading his team to an Egg Bowl win in Oxford.
Leach and Rebel coach Lane Kiffin were both hired before the 2020 season. They caught fans from both schools off guard by openly complimenting the other. They were friends.
Kiffin described Leach as “brilliant” this week on the SEC media conference call. Kiffin added: “He was an amazing person and always had such great stories. I always enjoyed being around him.”
I think of Leach every time I see a Bulldog fan wearing a black sweatshirt with STATE across the front in white letters — just like the one he wore during last year’s Egg Bowl.
State is playing to become bowl eligible. Ole Miss is striving for the first 11-win season in school history with victories in the Egg Bowl and a postseason bowl. Both have plenty of motivation.
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While considering what to write leading up to the game, two senior came to mind — one from each school. And it’s not just about their statistics but what they’ve endured to get here.
Wide receiver Dayton Wade, who grew up in Atlanta, came to Ole Miss via the transfer portal from Western Kentucky. He did so as a walk-on.
At media day this summer in Oxford, Wade explained to me how he wound up at Ole Miss.
“I was at Western Kentucky and a receiver who was ahead of me ended up transferring to Ole Miss,” said Wade, who has an infectious, upbeat personality. “He did his thing here, and after the third game that year I decided to enter the transfer portal. I had a family situation, plus I wasn’t getting much playing time at all.
“After that season, I started getting offers from some teams. But he called me and said, ‘Forget any schools that offer you. Come to Ole Miss, even if you have to walk on. I wouldn’t tell anybody else to do that, but I know you, I know how you play and work.’
“I trusted him. He’d always helped me at Western Kentucky and I decided to take him at his word. I ended up talking with Coach (Derrick) Nix and a walk-on situation was put together. I told him, ‘Coach, thank you so much. When the time comes, I’m there.’ ”
The player who told Wade to come to Ole Miss was Jahcour Pearson, who led the XFL in receiving a year ago. In 2021, Pearson caught 26 passes for 392 yards for the Rebels.
Wade has been one of the Rebels’ most reliable receivers the past two seasons. His 27 catches for 329 yards and three scores as a junior earned him a scholarship.
Wade (5-foot-9, 175 pounds) ranks seventh in the SEC with 755 receiving yards on 50 catches. He has four TDs.
And he has made some eye-popping grabs this season. One against Georgia — a twisting, turning, stretching, one-handed grab — had ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit saying it “might be the catch of the year.”
“I just went to work when I got here and things worked out,” he said. “I’ve always believed in my ability, I just wanted a chance to show it.”
Quarterback Will Rogers entered this season with 10,689 passing yards, 82 TD passes against 24 interceptions. He completed 70.3 percent of his throws.
Those are staggering numbers. He also helped State improve each year from 4-7 to 7-6 to 9-4. Leach’s Air Raid offense fit him perfectly, That’s why Leach had recruited him while at Washington State before taking the State job.
When Arnett was hired, he ditched the Air Raid and brought in new offensive coaches.
Wouldn’t it have made more sense to stay with the Air Raid one more year with Rogers and the players Leach had brought in to fit that scheme?
The results have been underwhelming. The new offense has given the Bulldogs much more run-pass balance, but Rogers (6-foot-2, 215 from Brandon) has not been the same. He missed four games with a (non-throwing) shoulder injury before returning last weekend to lead State to a win over Southern Miss.
His 2023 numbers in seven games: 1,419 yards, 12 touchdowns, four interceptions and a completion percentage of 59.1.
Rogers has been the face of the program since his freshman year. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for him to be thrown a completely new playbook after leading the nation in completions (415), finishing ninth in passing yards and seventh in touchdown passes the year before.
To his credit, he’s never complained publicly, and he’s worked hard to get back on the field for this Egg Bowl.
Rogers deserved better from the program he has given so much.
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