Is it Saturday yet?
When Mississippi State and Ole Miss play home games Saturday, it will mark something that has not happened in more than 60 years.
Nov. 30, 1953, marked the last time Ole Miss and Mississippi State were both ranked in the Top 15 and played a game in Mississippi when the Bulldogs and Rebels played to a 7-7 tie in Starkville.
This Saturday marks a occasion of even greater significance. On Oct. 4, four teams ranked in the top 12 will play in Starkville and Oxford. No. 11 Ole Miss will play No. 3 Alabama while No. 12 MSU will host No. 6 Texas A&M.
Clearly, the focus of the college football world will be on Mississippi in a way the state has never seen. ESPN’s wildly popular pregame show, “College Game Day” will set up shop in the Grove in Oxford while the new SEC Network will hold its pregame show “SEC Nation” at the Junction.
The State-A&M game begins at 11 a.m. and will be televised on ESPN while the Rebels and Tide will play at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Both the Rebels and Bulldogs go into Saturday unbeaten and the buzz around both programs is almost palpable. State set up its meeting with the Aggies two weeks ago with an impressive 34-29 win over then-No. 8 LSU in Baton Rouge, snapping a 14-game losing streak to the Tigers. Ole Miss, meanwhile, is 4-0 for the first time since 1970 when a skinny redhead from the Delta named Archie was the Rebels’ quarterback.
The early line on the games from Las Vegas has Alabama favored by 5 points while MSU is a one-point favorite over the Aggies.
Regardless of the outcome, Saturday will be one of those rare instances where the national spotlight will shine brightly on Mississippi for reasons that we all can enjoy.
No, it isn’t Saturday yet, but we can hardly wait.
So Go Dawgs! And Hotty Toddy, too!
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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