.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Rebels Host No. 23 Mississippi State On Thanksgiving
11/21/2000 | Football
Nov. 21, 2000
OXFORD, Miss -- The Ole Miss Rebels are in preparation for their regular season finale - a Thanksgiving date with No. 23 Mississippi State in Oxford. The annual Egg Bowl matchup between the Rebels and Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m., Thursday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Ole Miss (6-4, 3-4 SEC) enters on a two-game skid. The Rebels jumped out to a 14-point lead on No. 21 Georgia Saturday in Athens, before the Bulldogs took over in a 32-14 UGA win.
Mississippi State (7-3, 4-3 SEC) also slides in after being upset by Arkansas, 17-10 in overtime Saturday in Starkville. The loss eliminated the Bulldogs from the SEC Western Division race.
Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe feels that both teams will be eager to play on Thursday, despite suffering conference losses the previous week.
"We were deflated after our loss to Georgia," Cutcliffe said. "We had the lead and felt like we should have won the game. It's something that you have to deal with. You go right back to work and get ready to play. I think that both teams will be ready to play Thursday night."
In last year's Egg Bowl in Starkville, State overcame a 20-6 fourth quarter deficit, rallying to defeat the Rebels 23-20 on Scott Westerfield's 44-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in regulation.
"Last season's Mississippi State game was a tough loss," Cutcliffe said. "It's a big rivalry, and it was a game where we had a lead in the fourth quarter. Any time you have the lead in the fourth quarter and lose is tough."
According to Cutcliffe, Thursday's game carries serious SEC bowl implications, but his players will be focused on the task at hand rather than a potential holiday destination.
"Our players are aware that November is an important month," Cutcliffe said. "It decides many of the matchups for bowl games. However, we won't think about those things on the field. We are just excited about the challenge Thursday."
The Thanksgiving battle will be the 97th all-time meeting between the two schools, dating back to 1901. It is tied for the 16th longest rivalry in NCAA Division 1-A history with North Carolina-Wake Forest and Michigan-Ohio State. Ole Miss holds a 54-36-6 edge in the series, including a 16-10-3 advantage in Oxford.