Longtime rivals try civility for Egg Bowl

Coaches adopt different tactics

Dan Mullen is gone. So is the Egg Bowl bravado.

First-year Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead will experience his first “Battle of the Golden Egg” Thursday when the 22rd-ranked Bulldogs make the short trip to face Ole Miss in Oxford.

So far, he has shown little interest in continuing the trash-talking gamesmanship that Mullen — who left for Florida last year after nine seasons in Starkville — clearly enjoyed. Mullen never called Ole Miss by its name, instead referring to “The School Up North,” and he rarely missed an opportunity to needle the Rebels.

Moorhead said he doesn’t have much use for emotional rhetoric because the benefit is fleeting. The Bulldogs (7-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) are a 10-point favorite against the host Rebels (5-6, 1-6), who have lost four consecutive games.

“That is going to last for about a series or a half of a quarter, but ultimately, when that wears off, you are going to fall back on your preparation and you are going to win the game because of your effort and your execution,” Moorhead said.

Like Moorhead, Ole Miss coach Matt Luke isn’t big on taking verbal potshots at his school’s rival.

Both coaches said the game is always emotional because of the rivalry’s high stakes, but there’s no need to for insults.

“It doesn’t take away from the importance,” Luke said. “You can handle things the right way, and it still be an important game. You can do things the right way, and it still mean a lot to you.”

The rivalry has been remarkably even the past few decades, with both teams winning 14 times since 1990. Ole Miss has won four out of the past six, including the 31-28 upset last season in Starkville.

Ole Miss can get to six wins with a victory against Mississippi State, but there will be no bowl game for the Rebels. The program is ineligible for the postseason for a second season in a row as part of its punishment from an NCAA infractions case.

“Every one of these seniors had an opportunity to go somewhere, to transfer, but they chose to stay here and do this together knowing they weren’t going to a bowl game,” Luke said. “It’s been very impressive with their fight.”

Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta’amu needs just 212 yards to break the school record for passing yards in a season. Right now, he’s behind Chad Kelly, who threw for 4,042 yards in 2015, and has averaged nearly 350 yards passing per game.

Mississippi State has 85 tackles for loss this season, which is 13 short of the school record set in 2015. With two games remaining, the Bulldogs have a good chance at breaking that mark. Jeffery Simmons leads the team with 12½ tackles for a loss while Montez Sweat has 12..

Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is back in the Egg Bowl one year after suffering a gruesome dislocated ankle in the first quarter of the game last year. He has recovered to throw for 1,504 yards and run for 901.