STARKVILLE — Winning on the road hasn’t come easy in the Battle for the Golden Egg.
The home team in the Mississippi State-Ole Miss rivalry usually has been won by the home team when the game is played on campus. The game has been played in Columbus, Clarksdale, Tupelo, Greenwood, and Jackson, but it was moved permanently to the schools’ campuses in 1991. Since then, the home team has won 17 times.
“You have your routine, your fans, your home stadium gets behind you, especially in rivalry games,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “It’s such a huge deal. Our fans do such a great job of giving us that home-field advantage. They encourage our team and also make things a little difficult on the visiting team.”
If the trend holds true, No. 23 MSU (8-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference), which is a two-point underdog, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, figures to have the upper hand at 6:15 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) when it plays host to No. 19 Ole Miss (8-3, 5-2) at Davis Wade Stadium.
Overall, the home team is 37-31-6, with Ole Miss holding a 19-18 edge in the rivalry at neutral sites. Ole Miss leads the series 62-43-6.
The home team has won the last four games, and 14 of the last 16 games. The last team to win on the road is MSU in a 31-23 decision in 2010 in Oxford.
Since Mullen took over the MSU program in 2009, the Bulldogs are 4-2 in the Egg Bowl. Three of the wins have been in Starkville.
“We talk about winning at home. Win at home first,” MSU co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy said. “Take care of you house first. Win here and then go on the road. You have learn how to compete on the road with all the environment things you have to deal with.”
Ole Miss last won in Starkville in 2003, with quarterback Eli Manning engineered a 31-0 victory.
In his four-year tenure, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze is 8-10 in road games, including 0-1 in Starkville.
“It’s difficult to play on the road in general,” Freeze said. “Add it to a rivalry game, it adds more fuel to it. If you add that both teams have been playing good football the last four years, you have an advantage playing at home. It may be one of the advantages that helps in the outcome.”
Last week, MSU led Arkansas 31-21 at halftime in Fayetteville, Arkansas. But the Bulldogs trailed 42-31 midway through the fourth quarter before rallying for a 51-50 victory.
MSU first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said teams have to bring a little extra fight when playing on the road because fans can give the home team a lift, especially in rivalry games.
“Rivalry games are huge momentum games,” said Diaz, who was a member of the MSU coaching staff in 2010 that won in Oxford. “A big play that happens in a game is a bigger play in a rivalry game because you feel the ups and downs so much more, so (it is important) to have the crowd behind you when something positive happens, or to have the crowd behind you to help rebound when something negative happens.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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