Ole Miss Permanent Rivals

LSU Tigers – “The Magnolia Bowl” is played each year between the LSU Tigers and the Ole Miss Rebels. The tradition started back in 1894 and has been played a total of 111 times. Full disclosure, the game didn’t get the name “Magnolia Bowl” until there was a vote by both student bodies in 2008. The name came from the fact that the magnolia flower is the state flower of both Mississippi and Louisiana. I have to admit, growing up in Mississippi, I obviously knew our state flower was the magnolia, but I had no idea it was also theirs. I feel a little violated, if I’m being honest! 

It seems as though this series has been defined mainly by streaks. LSU owns the longest one, 8 in a row from 1928-1937. Both teams have a 6 in a row streak, the Rebels did it from 1952-1957 and the Tigers from 2002-2007. Overall, LSU leads the series 64-43-4 with LSU winning 7 of the last 10.

Mississippi State Bulldogs – Ahhh, the “Egg Bowl”. Traditionally called the “Battle for the Golden Egg”. Ole Miss and Mississippi State have been playing this game since 1901. It has been contested annually for 119 of the last 123 years. As a proud Mississippian, I can tell you that this game ranks right there with the “Iron Bowl”, Army/Navy, and “The Game”. Although Oxford and Starkville are only 90 miles apart, they could just as well be on different planets. ~Credit Reporter Here 

In simple terms (in deference to Southern Miss), Ole Miss trains doctors and lawyers while Mississippi State trains engineers and veterinarians. Although their respective student bodies are the same age, these two groups of kids are not the same!

Ole Miss currently holds the edge in the series 66-47 with 6 ties and they have won the last two in a row. The “Egg Bowl” will be contested this year on Black Friday, November 28th in Starkville.

Oklahoma Sooners – This game is the first one we’ve looked at that doesn’t make any sense. There is no rivalry between Ole Miss and Oklahoma. They have only played two times EVER!! They are separated by ~550 miles. I think the Head Coach of the Rebels, Lane Kiffin had it right when he said “Yeah, Oklahoma is really disappointing,”. “We don’t have anything in common with them or our fans, so that doesn’t make any sense at all. So, that’s unfortunate, with so many great teams that we’ve played for a long time here, especially from our SEC West years. That’s unfortunate.” 

There are a lot of people out there saying Alabama or Arkansas would have been a better choice for the Rebs. Oh well, we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Maybe someone will say something stupid and create a rivalry out of thin air. I don’t think Brent Venables will do it. Lane Kiffin certainly doesn’t mind talking, he rarely says anything that isn’t true, much less stupid. It irks this MS State guy to say that! Lol!