The home team hasn’t won an Egg Bowl since 2014.
It will take an upset befitting the sometimes-bizarre nature of the series for that to happen this year.
Ole Miss comes limping into the Thanksgiving night matchup wounded with key players questionable and emotionally drained from watching losses multiply, two of the last three with the Rebels coming up short on potential game-winning drives.
No. 22 Mississippi State has had some head-scratching losses too, but the only loss for the Bulldogs (7-4, 3-4 SEC) in the last month has been at No. 1 Alabama.
MSU is coming off Saturday’s 52-6 win over Arkansas to close its home schedule.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, saw three touchdowns overturned on replay, including an apparent A.J. Brown catch that could have forced a second overtime in a 36-29 loss at Vanderbilt.
“We’ve got to find a way to regroup. We’ve got a big game Thursday,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said. “It’s a short week. That’s really the only thing that will make this better, try to find a way to prepare and get this taste out of our mouth.”
The Rebels will be playing at home for the first time since South Carolina when they lost a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and fell 48-44, turning the ball over on downs on their final possession.
Ole Miss was ranked No. 18, MSU No. 4 when the Rebels won 31-17 in Oxford in 2014.
Both teams advanced to New Years Six bowl games.
The 2015 meeting began what is now a three-game winning streak for the visitors when the No. 18-ranked Rebels earned a Sugar Bowl trip by beating No. 21 MSU 38-27 in quarterback Dak Prescott’s final home game.
Last year in Starkville, Luke — still an interim coach — watched his defense play inspired and his offense make big plays in a 31-28 upset of No. 14 MSU.
The win helped the Rebels avoid a losing season by finishing 6-6 and helped Luke get the permanent job.
“They came out and handled business last year,” State safety Johnathan Abram said.
“They got the Egg Bowl. We have to go up there and do what we have to do to get the trophy back.”
Ole Miss (5-6, 1-6 SEC) will have a losing season this time if it doesn’t end the string of home losses in the series.
The Arkansas game was yet another where the MSU defense did not allow an opponent to score a touchdown.
In seven SEC games, the Bulldogs have only given up three touchdowns. Moorhead said all of the credit goes to defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and his staff.
“(They) do an excellent job putting a game plan in place,” MSU coach Joe Moorhead said.
“It allows our kids to play fast, play with confidence and play with physicality. (With) the way these kids practice, it is something to watch. You turn on film during the week and it looks like a game. They are going 100 percent (at) 100 percent of the time.”
