Why is it called the Egg Bowl? How Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State rivalry game got its name originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State quietly engage in one of the messiest Thanksgiving traditions of the year: The Egg Bowl. Formally known as the "Battle for the Golden Egg," these two Southern schools have developed an annual rivalry with one of the most unique names in the sport.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Rebels and Bulldogs first met in 1901, owning one of the longest-standing annual matchups in the country. However, it's been since 1927 that they've officially played in the "Egg Bowl."
A trophy came first, before the rivalry was named — the "Golden Egg" award arose in 1927, meant to keep things more civil between the two fanbases after postgame fights on the field in 1926. Over 50 years later, a local newspaper officially dubbed the game the "Egg Bowl."
Here's what to know about the storied history of the Egg Bowl, including the two teams' history against each other.
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AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhy is it called the Egg Bowl?
The Egg Bowl's namesake comes from the trophy Ole Miss and Mississippi State play each other for, "The Golden Egg."
In 1979, Tom Patterson of "The Clarion-Ledger" gave the game its official name.
The name, however, has a double meaning. In the 1979 edition of the game, it was a thoroughly uninspiring matchup. Both teams were 3-7 entering the game, and they weren't playing for bowl appearances. But according to writer Rick Cleveland, Patterson decided to blow out the coverage all the same.
"From a distance of 38 years I can assure you: Never has so much been written about so little," Cleveland wrote in "Mississippi Today" in 2017. "Instead of one game story, we had stories about each quarter of the game. As the new guy, I was assigned the first quarter. It was, of course, scoreless."
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How the Egg Bowl got its name
The Egg Bowl earned its name by 1979 because of the trophy awarded in the annual rivalry, the "Golden Egg." That trophy was created because of rising tension between Ole Miss and Mississippi State's fanbases in 1926.
While the teams have met almost every year since 1901, in 1926, Ole Miss ended a 13-game losing streak in the matchup, and its fans rushed the field. That didn't go over well with Mississippi State fans, especially with attempts to tear their goalposts down, and fights broke out.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo prevent further incidents in the future and add some civilness to the rivalry, students of the schools created "The Golden Egg" trophy. If there was a tie, then the winner of the previous year would keep the trophy for the first half of the new year, then send it to the other team for the other half of the year.
Because of the "Golden Egg" trophy, the annual Ole Miss-Mississippi State rivalry went on to be dubbed the "Egg Bowl."
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Egg Bowl trophy
The Egg Bowl is named after "The Golden Egg," the trophy for the game. It got its name for its shape, appearing as a football-shaped piece perched on a placard. The ball, however, is smooth and is in the shape of the ball in 1927, which was less elongated than it is now.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn a literal sense, it looks like an egg.
Meant to symbolize supremacy in Mississippi college football, here's a look at the "Golden Egg" trophy:
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Why isn't the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving?
While the Egg Bowl used to be played on Thanksgiving often, including most matchups from 2008-17, that's no longer the case.
The Clarion Ledger reported in 2024 that the Egg Bowl was moved to Black Friday because the broadcaster, ABC, requested the game to be moved for a prime television slot. Because of the move, the Egg Bowl then wouldn't be competing with other top Thanksgiving sports events, like the NFL slate.
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Egg Bowl history
Ole Miss leads the all-time series by a significant amount, sitting at 66-46-6.
Mississippi State still has the longest winning streak at 13 games from 1911 to 1925 (the teams played twice in 1918 and did not play from 1912 to 1914), a streak that somewhat culminated in the trophy being created. Ole Miss, however, has the longest unbeaten streak in the series from 1947 to 1963. Ole Miss won 14 of their 17 meetings in that span, with the other three games being ties.
The year 1926 might be the most influential game in terms of necessitating The Golden Egg's trophy in the first place.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA ground war occurred on the field when Ole Miss snapped then-Mississippi A&M's 13-game winning streak in Starkville and responded by rushing the visiting field and trying to take down the goalposts. A&M defended the goalposts with furniture and some people were injured.
Here is an account of the incident from The Mississippian, according to the Ole Miss website archives:
"After the final pistol, the Ole Miss boys rushed to the field, warmly congratulated their warrior, and proceeded to tear down the goal. The Aggies swarmed the field, but were late to save the goals. A fistic combat ensued, but the melee was put to a stop by the more sober minded before the Aggie 'chair brigade' got into serious action."
As a result, and in an attempt to prevent future such incidents, The Golden Egg was purchased by students in both schools. The holder of The Golden Egg was considered the top football school in Mississippi.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOther notable games
1983: The Immaculate Deflection
The Immaculate Deflection has noting to do with a pass breakup. It's all about special teams.
It's perhaps the clearest case of Divine Intervention in a football game. Artie Crosby was in the game to kick a 27-yard game-winner, and he kicked a ball that had the distance and was on-target. But as it was about to go through, a massive gust of wind stuffed the ball at the uprights, and it dropped to the ground for an Ole Miss win.
This is unexplainable:
The rivalry has heated up more in recent years. 2018 marked "The Egg Brawl," which was sparked when A.J. Brown scored a touchdown for Ole Miss and had a Mississippi State player continuing to fight him for the ball.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThings eventually escalated to punches, which led to both benches clearing. Every player on both teams got unsportsmanlike conduct flags, effectively a zero-tolerance policy for the rest of the game.
The following year, Elijah Moore reignited the drama by mimicking a dog peeing in the end zone after scoring a touchdown in one of the most hilariously misguided celebrations in recent memory. Moore's penalty led to a missed extra point, and Mississippi State eventually won 21-20.
Ole Miss issued several apologies on Moore's behalf, and Matt Luke was fired after the loss.
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AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEgg Bowl scores all-time
Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 66-46-6.
Here's the full list of results from the Egg Bowl:
Year
Location
Final Score
1901
Starkville
Mississippi A&M 17, Ole Miss 0
1902
Starkville
Ole Miss 21, Mississippi A&M 0
1903
Oxford
Ole Miss 6, Mississippi A&M 6 (tie)
1904
Columbus
Ole Miss 17, Mississippi A&M 5
1905
Jackson
Mississippi A&M 11, Ole Miss 0
1906
Jackson
Ole Miss 29, Mississippi A&M 5
1907
Jackson
Mississippi A&M 15, Ole Miss 0
1908
Jackson
Mississippi A&M 44, Ole Miss 6
1909
Jackson
Ole Miss 9, Mississippi A&M 5
1910
Jackson
Ole Miss 30, Mississippi A&M 5
1911
Jackson
Mississippi A&M 6, Ole Miss 0
1915
Tupelo
Mississippi A&M 65, Ole Miss 0
1916
Tupelo
Mississippi A&M 36, Ole Miss 0
1917
Tupelo
Mississippi A&M 41, Ole Miss 14
1918
Starkville
Mississippi A&M 34, Ole Miss 0
1918
Oxford
Mississippi A&M 13, Ole Miss 0
1919
Clarksdale
Mississippi A&M 33, Ole Miss 0
1920
Greenwood
Mississippi A&M 20, Ole Miss 0
1921
Greenwood
Mississippi A&M 21, Ole Miss 0
1922
Jackson
Mississippi A&M 19, Ole Miss 13
1923
Jackson
Mississippi A&M 13, Ole Miss 6
1924
Jackson
Mississippi A&M 20, Ole Miss 0
1925
Jackson
Mississippi A&M 6, Ole Miss 0
1926
Starkville
Ole Miss 7, Mississippi A&M 6
1927
Oxford
Ole Miss 20, Mississippi A&M 12
1928
Starkville
Ole Miss 20, Mississippi A&M 19
1929
Oxford
Ole Miss 7, Mississippi A&M 7 (tie)
1930
Starkville
Ole Miss 20, Mississippi A&M 0
1931
Oxford
Ole Miss 25, Mississippi A&M 14
1932
Starkville
Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 0
1933
Oxford
Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 0
1934
Starkville
Ole Miss 7, Mississippi State 3
1935
Oxford
Ole Miss 14, Mississippi State 6
1936
Starkville
Mississippi State 26, Ole Miss 6
1937
Oxford
Mississippi State 9, Ole Miss 7
1938
Starkville
Ole Miss 19, Mississippi State 6
1939
Oxford
Mississippi State 18, Ole Miss 6
1940
Starkville
Mississippi State 19, Ole Miss 0
1941
Oxford
Mississippi State 6, Ole Miss 0
1942
Starkville
Mississippi State 34, Ole Miss 12
1944
Oxford
Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 8
1945
Starkville
Ole Miss 7, Mississippi State 6
1946
Oxford
Mississippi State 20, Ole Miss 0
1947
Starkville
Ole Miss 33, Mississippi State 14
1948
Oxford
Ole Miss 34, Mississippi State 7
1949
Starkville
Ole Miss 26, Mississippi State 0
1950
Oxford
Ole Miss 27, Mississippi State 20
1951
Starkville
Ole Miss 49, Mississippi State 7
1952
Oxford
Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 14
1953
Starkville
Ole Miss 7, Mississippi State 7 (tie)
1954
Oxford
Ole Miss 14, Mississippi State 0
1955
Starkville
Ole Miss 26, Mississippi State 0
1956
Oxford
Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 7
1957
Starkville
Ole Miss 7, Mississippi State 7 (tie)
1958
Oxford
Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 0
1959
Starkville
Ole Miss 42, Mississippi State 0
1960
Oxford
Ole Miss 35, Mississippi State 9
1961
Starkville
Ole Miss 37, Mississippi State 7
1962
Oxford
Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 6
1963
Starkville
Ole Miss 10, Mississippi State 10 (tie)
1964
Oxford
Mississippi State 20, Ole Miss 17
1965
Starkville
Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 0
1966
Oxford
Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 0
1967
Starkville
Ole Miss 10, Mississippi State 3
1968
Oxford
Ole Miss 17, Mississippi State 17 (tie)
1969
Starkville
Ole Miss 48, Mississippi State 22
1970
Oxford
Mississippi State 19, Ole Miss 14
1971
Starkville
Ole Miss 48, Mississippi State 0
1972
Oxford
Ole Miss 51, Mississippi State 14
1973
Jackson
Ole Miss 38, Mississippi State 10
1974
Jackson
Mississippi State 31, Ole Miss 13
1975
Jackson
Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 7
1976
Jackson
Mississippi State 28, Ole Miss 11*
1977
Jackson
Mississippi State 18, Ole Miss 14*
1978
Jackson
Ole Miss 27, Mississippi State 7
1979
Jackson
Ole Miss 14, Mississippi State 9
1980
Jackson
Mississippi State 19, Ole Miss 14
1981
Jackson
Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 17
1982
Jackson
Mississippi State 27, Ole Miss 10
1983
Jackson
Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 23
1984
Jackson
Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 3
1985
Jackson
Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 27
1986
Jackson
Ole Miss 23, Mississippi State 3
1987
Jackson
Mississippi State 30, Ole Miss 20
1988
Jackson
Ole Miss 33, Mississippi State 6
1989
Jackson
Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 11
1990
Jackson
Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 9
1991
Starkville
Mississippi State 24, Ole Miss 9
1992
Oxford
Ole Miss 17, Mississippi State 10
1993
Starkville
Mississippi State 20, Ole Miss 13
1994
Oxford
Mississippi State 21, Ole Miss 17
1995
Starkville
Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 10
1996
Oxford
Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 0
1997
Starkville
Ole Miss 15, Mississippi State 14
1998
Oxford
Mississippi State 28, Ole Miss 6
1999
Starkville
Mississippi State 23, Ole Miss 20
2000
Oxford
Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 30
2001
Starkville
Mississippi State 36, Ole Miss 28
2002
Oxford
Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 12
2003
Starkville
Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 0
2004
Oxford
Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 3
2005
Starkville
Mississippi State 35, Ole Miss 14
2006
Oxford
Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 17
2007
Starkville
Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 14
2008
Oxford
Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 0
2009
Starkville
Mississippi State 41, Ole Miss 27
2010
Oxford
Mississippi State 31, Ole Miss 23
2011
Starkville
Mississippi State 31, Ole Miss 3
2012
Oxford
Ole Miss 41, Mississippi State 27**
2013
Starkville
Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 10
2014
Oxford
Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 17**
2015
Starkville
Ole Miss 38, Mississippi State 27
2016
Oxford
Mississippi State 55, Ole Miss 20
2017
Starkville
Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 28
2018
Oxford
Mississippi State 35, Ole Miss 3***
2019
Starkville
Mississippi State 21, Ole Miss 20
2020
Oxford
Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 24
2021
Starkville
Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 21
2022
Oxford
Mississippi State 24, Ole Miss 22
2023
Starkville
Ole Miss 17, Mississippi State 7
2024
Oxford
Ole Miss 26, Mississippi State 14
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