STARKVILLE — For Mississippi State offensive tackle Tyre Phillips, the Egg Bowl is everything.
Phillips, a Grenada native, said his family never went to the annual contest between MSU and in-state rival Ole Miss due to sky-high ticket prices. But every year around Thanksgiving, the bitter rivals did battle on the family’s television set.
“This is one of the biggest weeks ever,” he told The Dispatch. “To be real — you could lose every game but you’ve got to win the Egg Bowl. Growing up in Mississippi that’s my perspective of this week — it’s big.”
Just one of 50 Mississippians on MSU roster heading into Thursday’s game against Ole Miss, Phillips’ anecdote is just one of many Bulldog players shared during Monday night’s media session.
Freshman Nathan Pickering, who has carved out a starting role on the interior of the Bulldog defensive line in recent weeks, voiced similar sentiments to Phillips. Born and raised in Mount Olive, Pickering said he watched the game annually while also attending as a recruit. Thursday, he’ll be on the field for his first ever experience in the bitter rivalry game.
“Even when I was being recruited I always knew I was going here and the one thing I wanted to do was play in the Egg Bowl,” Pickering told The Dispatch. “And now that I’ve got a chance to play I’m going to do my best, I’m going to ball out.”
And while the game bears particular importance to those who were born and bred in the Magnolia State, their out of state teammates have also gained a further appreciation for the divisiveness and competitive fire that drives the game.
Senior captain Darryl Williams — a Birmingham, Alabama product — admitted he grew up in the shadows of Jordan-Hare and Bryan-Denny Stadiums as the yearly meeting between Alabama and Auburn took priority in his household.
Yet after spending five years at MSU, the game has taken on a new meaning for Williams.
“In four years playing in this game, you really could compare it to the Iron Bowl,” he said. “Knowing that this state, Mississippi State and Ole Miss fight it out just like Auburn and Alabama fight it out. It’s a big time rivalry game and I’m sure if people come to this game it’s going to be a game that everyone can remember.”
Graduate transfer quarterback Tommy Stevens has also been indoctrinated into the rivalry since his transfer from Penn State. Despite having played for both Moorhead and James Franklin — the latter of whom often states PSU has no rivals — Stevens said he’s come to understand the importance of the battle for the Golden Egg.
“The people that live in the state of Mississippi obviously know how important the game is,” he said. “It’s different to the people in Mississippi. It’s obviously a really, really big deal and I’ve accepted that message and really taken it as if I was from Mississippi because I know it means everything to my teammates and at the end of the day we just want to win the game.”
Like Stevens, coach Joe Moorhead also comes from Big Ten country. A Pennsylvania native, Moorhead recalled watching the Backyard Brawl between Pittsburgh and Penn State growing up, but he’s also come to find a greater understanding in Mississippi’s annual battle for gridiron supremacy.
“It would mean everything to me,” Moorhead said of what a win this week would mean to him. “I think it would mean everything to these kids and our fans and this university and the great state of Mississippi. This is the game — I understand it. I understand the magnitude of it.
President [Mark] Keenum clearly expressed that when I first got the job. I am very excited for the opportunity to play this game. I know our kids are fired up, and our fans are fired up, as well they should be. It’s Egg Bowl week.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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