The Ole Miss football team last played a road game Oct. 5.
While the Rebels finally return to the road this week, they won’t have to travel far.
Ole Miss (7-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) will be in Starkville at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN) to play Mississippi State (5-6, 2-5) in the Battle for the Golden Egg at Davis Wade Stadium.
“Thanksgiving week brings the Egg Bowl,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said Monday at his weekly media gathering. “(This is) one of the most historic and greatest rivalries in college football. … We know the task at hand is going to be a great challenge.”
Ole Miss completed a school-record six-game homestand Saturday with a 24-10 loss to then No. 8 Missouri. During that homestand, Ole Miss secured bowl eligibility for a second-straight season and notched a top-10 victory against LSU.
Against Missouri, Ole Miss had multiple scoring opportunities but couldn’t capitalize in the red zone.
“We had our chances,” Freeze said. “There should have been some really good plays. Whether the back didn’t hit the proper hole or one guy slid off of a block a little too quickly or just didn’t get the job done. There were some opportunities there to have some really nice plays. We just didn’t get it done. Three or four that stand out in my mind were our fault. You have to give them some credit.
“The scheme was a good scheme at times and they beat us. That happens at this level. There were three of four times you just have to say we executed very poorly or we could have had some really nice runs that would have converted. Some of them would have been explosive runs. That didn’t make me feel great. We’ve put it in the trash can, and we’ve got to move on.”
MSU earned its fifth win of the season Saturday with a 24-17 overtime decision at Arkansas. The Bulldogs need a victory Thursday to become bowl eligible for a fourth-straight season.
“The Egg Bowl is always going to be as high as you get in a given game,” Freeze said. “With them having to win to go to a bowl like we were last year, if it’s possible to ratchet it up a little more, it’s possible. That’s something that would do it if it’s possible. I don’t think you have to have that to make this game feel emotional. If there’s anything that would make it more it would be those factors.”
A year ago, Ole Miss snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with a 41-24 victory in Oxford. On Thursday, Ole Miss will look for its first win in Starkville since Eli Manning capped his regular-season career with a 31-0 win in Jackie Sherrill’s final game in 2003.
“(We got a) considerable amount (of recruiting momentum from last season’s win),” Freeze said. “For several recruits, (seeing Ole Miss play in a bowl game) may have been a determining factor in their decision. … We created some momentum from that game last year. I think it was a considerable amount.”
Freeze and MSU coach Dan Mullen downplayed the significance of tying the annual rivalry game result to success on the recruiting trail.
“It goes in cycles,” Freeze said. “It depends on the kid. Some kids have natural tie-ins and maybe affection for one more than the other. It may motivate them more to go help the school they have affection for. If you’re talking 15 recruits or so, you may have one year where five it matters to and 10 it doesn’t. It’s going to come down to relationships, their affection to that school, and their family ties.
“I’ve seen it work both ways. I don’t think there is any recipe you can put on it. I know it doesn’t hurt. It’s going to help you with some. By the time February rolls around, there are a lot of things that have occurred. A lot of people have made decisions and relationships have been built. It’s not the only factor. I know that it doesn’t hurt. It will help in some cases. I don’t think it carries with we won so we’re going to get a certain amount.”
Quarterback Bo Wallace is expected to start Thursday despite battling flu-like symptoms against Missouri. Wallace has been kept from his teammates in an attempt to keep his illness from spreading.
Meanwhile, Freeze is eager for his second installment of the rivalry and looks forward to seeing how some of his young players respond in a short week and on a national stage.
“(This game is) very important,” Freeze said. “We started that as soon as the game was over Saturday night. We’ll continue up until game time. They’ll get baptized really well Thursday night into understanding it. It’s a process for those younger kids. We’ll do everything we can possibly to make them understand it.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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