STARKVILLE — Thursday night’s game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss falls on a holiday.
To Mike Leach, it’s not the one most people are familiar with.
It’s Egg Bowl Day, not Thanksgiving Day.
“Thanksgiving is Friday,” Leach said. “Some might even push it to Saturday; I don’t know. But it’s not Thursday, and it’s not Wednesday. It’s not like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to squeeze it in before the game.’”
That’s how it has to be for a team playing on Thanksgiving, particularly in the biggest game of the Bulldogs’ season every year.
MSU (7-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) takes on No. 20 Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3 SEC) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the 119th edition of the Battle for the Golden Egg.
It’s a critical game, Leach acknowledged Monday night.
But which one isn’t?
“Well, you only get 12 of them up until the bowl or the playoffs or something, so hell yeah, they’re important,” Leach said.
Thursday carries added significance for a fan base hoping Leach will notch an Egg Bowl win for the first time in Starkville. Ole Miss retook the trophy in 2020 in Oxford and kept it with a 31-21 win last year at Davis Wade Stadium.
This year’s game won’t be inside the friendly confines for Mississippi State, although rain in the forecast could put a literal damper on the Oxford crowd.
Leach recalled coaching Washington State in games at Stanford where it felt like “playing in a practice gym” and said he’d rather see a little energy in the atmosphere.
“You like a little noise, a little juice, a little action,” Leach said. “If you’re at home, they tend to yell when you want them to rather than when you don’t.”
So how does Mississippi State keep Vaught-Hemingway Stadium quiet?
The Bulldogs have to play fast, matching an Ole Miss tempo that gave them fits last November in Starkville.
The Rebels have a pair of dynamic running backs in Quinshon Judkins and Zach Evans, but Leach singled out quarterback Jaxson Dart as the catalyst of the Ole Miss offense.
“They have plenty of good players, and you can even argue he’s not the best of all of them,” Leach said. “I mean, he’s a very good one. He’s key because he’s a guy who transitions it to everybody else. The more you can frustrate that, the better off you are.”
Mississippi State has a chance to frustrate a Rebels defense that gave up 335 rushing yards to Arkansas last week in a 42-27 loss in Fayetteville.
The Bulldogs rarely run the ball, but Leach indicated he’s willing to take what the defense gives him Thursday.
“With rare exception, defense kind of dictates to a point what’s ideal to run and execute to begin with,” Leach said.
MSU moved the ball on Ole Miss last season, but drops and self-inflicted wounds cost the Bulldogs a chance for bragging rights.
The Rebels now lead the all-time series 64-46-6 in one of college football’s fiercest rivalries.
Leach said the geographical proximity between the two schools is part of what makes the Egg Bowl so contentious.
“It gives them something spirited to talk about and do throughout the year,” he said. “They know more people who are on the opposite side. I just think it’s good that way.
“People always gravitate toward rivalries. Occasionally, you’ll get a rival fan or somebody who thinks they’re special, but if somehow they left or went to a different conference, heck, we’d have them replaced by the end of the week. If Ole Miss disappeared or, say, went to the Big East or whatever, we’d replace them with Arkansas or LSU, I would imagine, by the following Thursday, wouldn’t we?”
Mississippi State fans might disagree with that, but it doesn’t mean the Bulldogs won’t play their hardest against Ole Miss to close out the regular season.
Leach said he knows — and doesn’t like — that some players are holding back, saving something for their in-state rival.
But it’s not the prevailing opinion as MSU prepares for the biggest game on its schedule — this and every year.
“Everybody’s out there trying as hard as they can, and they may mis-try or may be incorrect or may even inspire and do something special,” Leach said. The right players, right coaches are trying to do their best and be the best they can.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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