If there’s anyone who knows the Egg Bowl through and through, it’s Matt Luke, who grew up in Mississippi, and has played and coached in the game.

The Ole Miss coach has said that the game this year is a season within the game, mostly because the Rebels are out of bowl contention. Mississippi State, meanwhile, can still clinch a bowl berth.

“This is a very emotional and passionate game, and it should be, like all rivalry games should be with two passionate fan bases,” Luke said at his Monday press conference. “It’s a great college football game, but at the end of the day, you still have to go out there and play football. You have to play football between the whistles and take care of your business and go play really hard. All the other stuff is not going to affect the outcome of the game.”

Being on national TV on Thanksgiving provides unique exposure for the state.

“I think you want to be real, you don’t want to be fake,” Luke said. “It is an emotional and passionate game. I think the whole thing is that I am born and raised in the state of Mississippi. When the game is on Thursday night, and it’s a national television game, you want the whole state of Mississippi to be shed in a good light with a good football game, two passionate fan bases and two good teams out there playing hard. That is the way it should be.”