The Ole Miss Rebels and Mississippi State Bulldogs have one of the best rivalries in college football, colloquially known as the Egg Bowl. In the official history books, this rivalry is known as the Battle for the Golden Egg, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a fan on either side of this clash for Mississippi bragging rights or even outside of it that would call it anything other than the Egg Bowl.
But here's a question you might be asking: Why the Egg Bowl? Why the Golden Egg? What's the deal with that.
It's a fair question. Sure, there are farms in Mississippi like in every state in the country, but what makes Ole Miss and Mississippi State play for the Egg Bowl? Let's unpack that.
Why is Ole Miss-Mississippi State rivalry game called the Egg Bowl?
Put simply, the game is called the Egg Bowl because they play for the Golden Egg, which then morphed to the shorter version of what to call the rivalry game. But to fully understand that, you have to understand the Golden Egg itself.
The first time the Golden Egg trophy was unveiled was back in the 1927, which is where the Egg Bowl moniker really sets its roots. However, it's fascinating to learn that the trophy came about because of a raucous brawl-esque scene in 1926 when Ole Miss fans tried to take the Mississippi State goalposts after breaking a long losing streak, which caused now-Bulldogs fans to start throwing chairs and such from the stands.
Thus, they created the trophy as something to play for -- but it was actually supposed to be a dimensionally-correct football from the era, but has since become an egg-like shape. That's why, in 1978, the term Egg Bowl was first officially credited to the Clarion-Ledger for coining the moniker. And it's obviously stuck ever since.
When the teams played for the first time in 1901, there was no trophy as such.
Egg Bowl history, records, last 5 meetings for Ole Miss and Mississippi State
First played in 1901, the Egg Bowl has been played every year since 1944. Ole Miss holds the all-time series advantage through the 2022 season with a 64-46-6 record. Here's a look at how the last five Egg Bowl results have turned out.
- Nov. 22, 2018 (Oxford): Mississippi State 35, Ole Miss 3
- Nov. 28, 2019 (Starkville): Mississippi State 21, Ole Miss 20
- Nov. 28, 2020 (Oxford): Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 24
- Nov. 25, 2021 (Starkville): Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 21
- Nov. 24, 2022 (Oxford): Mississippi State 24, Ole Miss 22