As Ole Miss continues to wait on fallout from NCAA issues, the Rebels will look for a big road win this week in Starkville for the latest meeting of the Egg Bowl. Mississippi State, meanwhile, still treats the rivalry game as important, but has looked ahead to bigger things, coach Dan Mullen said.

Both teams are dealing with a short week for preparation, and Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said the short turnaround for a Thursday game is difficult, but the fact that it’s a rivalry game helps those in his football program focus.

Luke deflected a question in his regular weekly press conference about the off-the-field issues that have surrounded the two programs in recent months.

“It’s always been a big game for as long as I can remember to the people of the state of Mississippi, it’s bragging rights and it is every year, no matter the situation,” the interim Ole Miss coach said.

Mullen said he didn’t need to go out of his way to get fans fired up this week, and stress the importance of showing up early. Mullen said he remembers as a kid watching the game on Thanksgiving night. Both coaches said they’ve adjusted the schedule because of the short week, and that already scheduled events are moved around the calendar.

“It’s just that mindset, that (game against Arkansas) was a hard-fought win, a well-deserved win, but we’ve got to win on Thursday and we’ll try to enjoy both of them on Friday and Saturday and take a little combo 48-hour victory window this coming weekend to make up for what we missed last Saturday night,” Mullen said.

At his weekly press conference, Mullen was asked why he’s backed off the description of “the school up north” that was his narrative when he first arrived in Starkville. Mullen said he didn’t want to downplay the importance of the game, but in the same breath, the Bulldogs have “elevated the program to national prominence where it’s not all about one game now. We’re trying to compete for championships.”

“That was a big point for a lot of our fans and we built off that rivalry game, created a lot of excitement off that rivalry game,” he said. “Now, we’re looking to try to have our third nine-win season in four years. … We’ve changed the program around where now we’re a nationally-prominent program.”

Luke was asked if this was Egg Bowl 15 for him, and he laughed and said he’s 41, so it’s “Egg Bowl 41.”

Some Ole Miss players have said they would add some emotion to the end of the season in hopes of helping Luke’s job prospects given the coaching search. Luke said he’s enjoyed being around this team and what it’s accomplished given the circumstances.

“I think this game is emotional for a lot of different reasons,” he said. “My job is to focus on this game and give these players the best chance to win the game.”

“If you’re a coach at Ole Miss, there’s always pressure to win this game, no matter what.”