By Bill Burrus
It was baptism by fire for Rod Gibson and the heated rivalry that is the Egg Bowl.
The Mississippi State director of football recruiting communications has been a part of 14 — two as a player for Jackie Sherrill and one as a graduate assistant and a recruiting specialist. But the former Greenwood High School standouts most memorable Egg Bowl moment came before he ever put on the maroon and white.
Gibson was on an official visit to MSU for the 1997 game where a huge pregame brawl broke out that involved a fellow recruit, Wes Shivers.
“I signed with Mississippi State out of high school and wound up playing two years at Mississippi Delta Community College before winding up back in Starkville,” Gibson said. “A big fight broke out all across the field, and then my buddy Wes Shivers got hit by Deuce McAllister. And we all said that day, on that recruiting trip, that we were coming to Mississippi State because we want to whoop their tails the next season.
“We all signed with Mississippi State, and we came here and we went up there and beat them 28-6 following that next year. So I think that being in that setting during that time, watching that live and how heated that was from coaches, the trainers, to the players. So everybody was a part of both teams going at it in pregame. We was like, yes, we are coming to school here and, um, knew right then what this one was all about.”
That win propelled the Bulldogs to their first and only SEC Western Division title.
The victory sent the Bulldogs to the SEC Championship game and marked their fifth consecutive Egg Bowl win, secured by a strong defensive performance and timely kicking.
“The Egg Bowl in 1998 and in 1999 were both special to me. In ’98, we went to their place and dominated the game and won the West on their turf,” said Gibson, who is most remembered for his 1-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes remaining in MSU’s 17-16 victory against LSU in 1999. “It’s hard to beat that, and all of those guys from those teams are proud of that run.”
When asked what first comes to mind when he hears Egg Bowl, Gibson put it like this: “Let me be correct, it’s a heated rivalry. It’s very hostile.”
The SEC Western championship was obviously a special run, but for Gibson, it was his final Egg Bowl in 1999 that he remembers most fondly.
“The one we beat them in 1999, when we went 10-2. I mean, it was wild. We had to overcome so many turnovers and still be able to come back and win it with the kick from Scott Westerfield that put us in the Peach Bowl,” Gibson added. “We won 10 games, so I think that one was really special to me because we accomplished something that no one else had accomplished at Mississippi State at that point.”
No. 6 Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 SEC) travels south this week as the Rebels will take on their in-state rival Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6) at Davis Wade Stadium on Friday. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. and will be televised on ABC.
Friday’s matchup will be the 122nd all-time meeting between the two programs and the 98th playing of the annual Egg Bowl, as both teams started playing for the trophy in 1927.
Even with the drama surrounding Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin this week, Gibson expects to see the best from both teams on Friday considering the magnitude of this one for both sides.
“I think those kids (at Ole Miss) will be locked in. I know it’s a lot of stuff circling around, you know, what might happen with them, but at the end of the day, it’s football,” Gibson said. “And I think that once you get out there, it will just be all about ball then. I think those guys will be just as focused as our guys are.”
The Bulldogs need one win to clinch bowl eligibility, while the Rebels are aiming to solidify their spot in the College Football Playoff.
