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Egg Bowl has many subplots
Ole-Miss hoping for Cotton Bowl with Egg win.
By CHRIS TALBOTT
Associated Press
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Forget about recruiting and bowl games. And rankings and records, too.
When it comes to the Egg Bowl rivalry between No. 25 Mississippi and Mississippi State, Bulldogs coach Sylvester Croom explained to reporters this week, none of that matters. It’s simply personal, a game that will resonate 20 years down the road when rivals meet again on the street.
“You will look him in the eye and neither of you will say a word, but each of you will know that one of you got whipped in this game,” Croom said.
Hating each other’s guts makes for good drama. The coaches save their most colorful quotes for this game. Every recruit is looking closely for validation of their decision. And the players get themselves worked up and say things that might be mistaken for dialogue in “The Sopranos.”
“It’s all about respect,” Ole Miss defensive tackle Peria Jerry said. “This game is all about respect.”
First-year Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt hasn’t been involved in a bloodthirsty intrastate rivalry since he was a player at Oklahoma State. But he said he felt the intensity of the Rebels-Bulldogs rivalry shortly after making the move from Arkansas.
“I know from the first time I got here whether you go to a coffee shop or down the road, it’s always Mississippi State or Ole Miss — ’I graduated from Mississippi State; no, I graduated from Ole Miss,”’ Nutt said. “There’s a rivalry, and it’s competitive. This will be the most competitive game of the year, forget about the records. You throw it all out. It’s going to be a fight.”
This year, though, there is much more to be fired up about because all that other stuff really does matter. After long droughts, both teams believe they are on the move toward contender status.
When it comes to the Egg Bowl rivalry between No. 25 Mississippi and Mississippi State, Bulldogs coach Sylvester Croom explained to reporters this week, none of that matters. It’s simply personal, a game that will resonate 20 years down the road when rivals meet again on the street.
“You will look him in the eye and neither of you will say a word, but each of you will know that one of you got whipped in this game,” Croom said.
Hating each other’s guts makes for good drama. The coaches save their most colorful quotes for this game. Every recruit is looking closely for validation of their decision. And the players get themselves worked up and say things that might be mistaken for dialogue in “The Sopranos.”
“It’s all about respect,” Ole Miss defensive tackle Peria Jerry said. “This game is all about respect.”
First-year Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt hasn’t been involved in a bloodthirsty intrastate rivalry since he was a player at Oklahoma State. But he said he felt the intensity of the Rebels-Bulldogs rivalry shortly after making the move from Arkansas.
“I know from the first time I got here whether you go to a coffee shop or down the road, it’s always Mississippi State or Ole Miss — ’I graduated from Mississippi State; no, I graduated from Ole Miss,”’ Nutt said. “There’s a rivalry, and it’s competitive. This will be the most competitive game of the year, forget about the records. You throw it all out. It’s going to be a fight.”
This year, though, there is much more to be fired up about because all that other stuff really does matter. After long droughts, both teams believe they are on the move toward contender status.
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