Football is more than a game in the state of Mississippi. It’s an institution.

Fathers teach their children to throw spirals as soon as they’re old enough to hold a ball. They pass on the legacies of Archie and Eli Manning, Chucky Mullins and famed broadcaster Jack Cristil before their toddlers graduate their cribs. Boys turn into men under the Friday night lights that illuminate the state to begin every weekend in the fall. Simply put: football is not just a part of life for most Mississippians; it is life.

Whether a child is born into an Ole Miss family or a Mississippi State family will define that particular Mississippian for a lifetime. Some kids grow up learning the words to the famed Hotty Toddy chant, while others are taught the proper form to effectively wave a maroon-clad cowbell. One thing Rebels and Bulldogs fans do have in common, however, is a troubling familiarity with losing.

But that all changed on Saturday, as both Ole Miss and Mississippi State stepped between the white lines with an entire nation watching, and put forth two of the greatest performances the Magnolia State has ever seen.

It was the greatest day of football in the history of one of the great football states of America, and that is not an understatement in the slightest.

On the first day two Mississippi schools were both involved in top 15 matchups in more than 60 years, the Rebels and Bulldogs cashed in monumental victories that will likely vault both into the top 10 of Sunday’s updated Associated Press Poll. The victories could not have looked any different, but the result was the same — glorifying victory that Mississippians near and far will take with them to the grave.

But the greatest day in Mississippi football history began well before any players took the field. It began at 8 a.m. CT, as Ole Miss hosted ESPN’s College GameDay for the first time ever.

For the first time, college football fans from across the nation were able to experience a tailgate in the Grove. For the first time, it was Ole Miss taking center stage on an autumn Saturday. Not Alabama or Oregon or Oklahoma, but the University of Mississippi.

America learned the words to Hotty Toddy, flim flam bim bam and all, and saw there really is a place for bow ties in football. They saw the greatest pregame experience this great country has to offer, and I like to think fans of teams from all 50 states took part in their own extension of the Grove tailgate in backyards and living rooms everywhere.

Oh, and fans of every other team learned you’ve never met a beautiful woman until you’ve been to the Grove:

Popular Memphis radio host Greg Gaston “guesstimated” there were close to 120,000 fans present in the Grove for GameDay. That’s nearly twice the capacity of Oxford’s Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and proof of just how much this meant to Ole Miss. The exposure Ole Miss received was unprecedented, and the university and its fans/students hit a home run on the opportunity. If Hugh Freeze can maintain this level of success at Ole Miss long term, it’s safe to say GameDay is coming back.

Fast forward to 9 a.m. CT, as Paul Finebaum, Tim Tebow and the rest of the SEC Nation pregame crew took their seats in the heart of the Junction in Starkville, Miss., a mere 98 miles from the Ole Miss campus.

The SEC Network’s Saturday pregame show also spent the day in the Magnolia State, ensuring any fans who missed the party in Oxford still got a taste of what Mississippi football is all about. Like the Grove, the Junction was loaded with fans, booze and hilariously crafted signs, and like Ole Miss, Mississippi State cashed in on its national exposure Saturday morning.

There were storylines galore: from the history of the Junction to Dan Mullen’s tenure as Tim Tebow’s offensive coordinator at Florida and even Tebow’s similarities to current Mullen quarterback Dak Prescott. The Bulldogs nailed the moment, and set themselves up to win the day before their game even began.

But then their game did begin (at 11 a.m. CT), and fans everywhere really learned a thing or two about Magnolia State football.

Without leading receiver Jameon Lewis (injured right leg) and veteran center Dillon Day (suspension), Mississippi State took the field and promptly delivered a spanking to the No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies. The Bulldogs led 28-10 at halftime and 41-17 through three quarters, limiting A&M to its lowest offensive output of the season. Mississippi State would have earned itself a spot in next week’s top 10 by simply coming away with a win; instead, they came away with a STATEment. (See what I did there?)

There wasn’t a fan in America thinking to themselves after the game, “Boy, Mississippi State sure was lucky to come away with a win today.” I’d have to imagine they mostly stuck to lines like “Holy cow!” and “What a tail whipping.”

This wasn’t just a win that allowed the Bulldogs to fight another day. It was a win that turned around the entire program and the entire culture of the Mississippi State community.

Before the game the Bulldogs were just a dark horse team, but after the game they are now a contender in the SEC West. Before the game Dan Mullen was mostly considered a good coach with no upside, but after the game he’s now one of the trendier names on the coaching carousel. Before the game Dak Prescott was a Heisman sleeper. After the game he’s wide awake.

Mullen won his second straight game against a top 10 opponent after losing 15 straight to ranked teams entering this year, and he’s now done enough to prove to America his history in Starkville has no bearing on his current team. The way the Florida Gators looked today, they may want their old offensive coordinator back as a head coach.

Figure that, a legendary power like Florida wants something the state of Mississippi has. My how the times have changed.

Dak Prescott added five total touchdowns in the win — three on the ground and two through the air. He’s now accounted for 20 total touchdowns in five games this season, and has thrown for 200 yards while rushing for at least 75 in four straight games. He even hauled in his second reception of the year, and the fourth of his career.

Prescott’s entire day was one big Heisman moment on an enormous stage. Watch out, Todd Gurley and Amari Cooper.

What a day for Mississippi State, but it was still just the start of a chaotic day in the state of Mississippi.

As the Bulldogs were putting the final touches on their rout (at 2:30 p.m. CT), Ole Miss was just kicking off in Oxford against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in what would be the game of the day for fans from coast to coast, the game of the year in the SEC and perhaps the greatest game in the history of Ole Miss football.

You see, Ole Miss hadn’t beaten Alabama since 2003, and there weren’t exactly a ton of close calls from then until now, either. If Ole Miss was going to beat Alabama, it was going to have to earn it. And that’s exactly what Ole Miss did.

The Rebels and Tide engaged in a defensive struggle that Alabama led 14-3 at the half thanks to a strip, scoop and score by defensive back Cyrus Jones. Ole Miss continued to trail for most of the second half, staring down a 17-10 deficit in the fourth quarter with time winding down. Eventually one thing became patently clear: the game was going to be won or lost by inconsistent but experienced Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace.

Most might have expected a game-breaking interception from Mr. Pick himself in the biggest game of his career, but Wallace played with poise, intelligence and confidence to keep his team in the game. He marched the Rebels down the field and found fellow senior Vince Sanders on a 34-yard post for a touchdown to tie the score on a play executed to perfection. Then, after an abrupt Alabama turnover, he marched the team down the field again and found Jaylen Walton on a 10-yard completion in the end zone to take a 23-17 lead.

Ole Miss did everything it could to pull an “Ole Miss” and give the game away, drilling the PAT off the upright only to be saved by a roughing the kicker foul only to then have the PAT blocked again to keep the lead at six. The Rebels were not safe, and an Alabama touchdown would not have just tied the game, but rather won it.

And it looked like Alabama was going to spoil an otherwise perfect day for the state of Mississippi. The Tide did what Nick Saban teams do and moved the ball right back down the field, getting inside the Ole Miss 40 in the final minute of the game. Quarterback Blake Sims took a daring shot to the end zone with O.J. Howard streaking down the field, and it seemed certain Alabama would score because, frankly, that’s what Alabama does.

But instead it was the much smaller Senquez Golson who won the jump ball and somehow touched a foot down in the end zone before soaring out of bounds.

The officials reviewed the play. It was ruled an interception. Insanity ensued.

Ole Miss fans stormed the field in masses, and security guards were actually helping fans onto the field rather than keeping them off it, even though Ole Miss will receive a (bogus) fine from the SEC as a result. Quarterback Bo Wallace was spotted taking selfies with fans amid the celebration, and the CBS cameraman hoping to film Hugh Freeze’s postgame interview was washed away into some other part of the crowd with no chance at getting a look at the victorious coach. It was awesome. 

The Rebels’ celebration picked up right where Mississippi State’s left off, as the entire state began to truly absorb what had happened before their eyes.

Mississippi’s two SEC schools, ranked in the top 15 on the same day for the first time since the ’50s, beat two top 10 schools on the same day in the same state with every media outlet in American keeping an eye on both campuses before, during and after the games. Tebow was there. PAWWWLLLL was there. Uncle Verne was there. So was Kirk Herbstreit, and Lee Corso, and pop sensation Katy Perry (along with a choker necklace, a batch of corndogs and plenty of Hotty Toddy spirit).

Mississippi parents will tell their kids of this day — October 4, 2014 — for decades to come. And believe me, there will be more than a few new Mississippians conceived tonight. (The alcohol industry is going to appreciate Mississippi’s efforts as well.)

It was, without hesitation, the greatest day of football in Mississippi’s proud history. Hail State and Hotty Toddy, Mississippians.