It’s Egg Bowl week in Mississippi, the perfect excuse for residents of the state to forget what they’re thankful for and take vulgar pokes at their team’s hated rival. Mississippi State was a 15-point favorite as of Tuesday, according to Bovada odds. You never know what’s going to happen in the storied series but here is an attempt at 10 bold and not-so bold predictions.
1. Twitter will be unruly
Twitter is always unruly when it comes to the Egg Bowl. All season, members of each side relish the other team’s losses almost more than their own team’s wins. The 24 hours after the Egg Bowl won’t be pretty – but it will make for great reading while folks wait in line for the Black Friday deals.
2. Mississippi State will run – a lot
There is no reason to think the Bulldogs won’t have their way on the ground. Ole Miss is next to last in the SEC in rushing defense, allowing 241 yards per game. Mississippi State rushes for 246 yards per game, third in the SEC behind only Alabama and Georgia. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald has barely stopped running from last year’s win in Oxford and will easily get the 32 yards he needs for 1,000 this season – and then some.
3. Jordan Ta’amu will have himself a day
Ta’amu had the worst of his four starts in Saturday’s loss to Texas A&M, the first time he has thrown for less than 368 yards. He can play freely against the Bulldogs, with nothing to lose in the Rebels’ de facto bowl game. MSU is third in the league in pass defense and the Rebels are first in passing offense. It’s a matchup Ta’amu can and must win if Ole Miss is to have any shot.
4. Haynes will get two sacks
Ole Miss defensive end Marquis Haynes has eight sacks and is headed into his final game after deciding to forego the NFL to give it one more go in Oxford. He’ll close his college career in Starkville and his motor might run higher than it ever has before – two sacks for the future Sunday star.
5. Leo Lewis will get 10 tackles
Leo Lewis can’t wait for this game. Lewis has been in the middle of the Ole Miss-NCAA ordeal. If his game speaks as loudly as his voice he’ll lead the Bulldogs in tackles and be the first to hoist the Golden Egg.
6. Matt Luke says goodbye
If this is Matt Luke’s last game he’ll leave with the shortest tenure as Ole Miss coach since Joe Lee Dunn’s 11-game reign in 1994.
The Ole Miss coach was put in a precarious situation when he got the interim head coaching job amid NCAA turmoil. Tough to deny that Luke, an Ole Miss guy, has gotten a lot out of a team with nothing to play for and had he beaten Texas A&M and Mississippi State to close the season, it would have been really tough to not give him the full-time gig. It would be odd for him to win the Egg Bowl and lose the job, but that will happen to him win or lose.
7. A.J. Brown will score twice
Brown will play his first game in Starkville since graduating Starkville High and shocking his hometown by bolting for Oxford. The future NFLer has had an eye-popping season, leading the SEC in catches (69), yards (1,085 – the only player in the league over 1,000) and touchdowns (10). He’ll add two scores to that total.
8. A Bryant pick in his return
Mississippi State DB Brandon Bryant missed the Arkansas game after suffering a concussion late in the game against Alabama. Bryant should return Thursday and get his second pick of the season. If Mississippi State is going to cover a large spread in an unpredictable game, a defensive score could do it. The Bulldogs lead the SEC in interception return yards at 319 and are tied with Florida with three returns for touchdowns. Bryant will add to at least one of those totals.
9. There will be cheering in the press box
Let’s open the veil a little on SEC media. There is an unnerving trend of fans working the games and they’ll be on the sidelines Thursday. Pay attention to the folks taking photos with their school’s polo on. Not all of them work for the school. That’s in the box as well, but in a more controlled environment. The vitriol spills into the media members in this obsessive rivalry – people cracking back on Twitter, others writing books while covering one school (unbiased) while spewing hate on the other school in its pages. Media credentials have gotten out of control on both sides. Pay attention and it won’t be hard to see.
10. Lives will be ruined
At least temporarily, a lot of people will as usual take football way too seriously and let the outcome ruin their Thanksgiving and the following days. Especially if it is a close game or a last-minute outcome, the devastation losing fans feel will carry over for days. Lives will be temporarily ruined by a football game.
