Lane Kiffin saga joins Egg Bowl lore: Revisiting wildest moments from rivalry

The saga of whether Lane Kiffin will or won’t he adds another layer of intrigue to an Egg Bowl rivalry that clearly doesn’t need it.

Sure, it won’t get the national attention of The Game, the Iron Bowl or Army-Navy. But those who have lived it know how intense, sometimes fierce, the Magnolia State rivalry between Ole Miss and Mississippi State can be.

And that’s before you add the subplot of Kiffin’s upcoming decision — which is expected Saturday — on whether he’ll stay at Ole Miss or head to LSU or Florida. As CBS Sports previously reported, Ole Miss is not expected to let Kiffin coach the Rebels college football playoff (should he do so) if he intends to go. No. 7 Ole Miss (10-1) is in good position to make the playoff and even host a first-round game if it beats Mississippi State on Friday, but a loss could be devastating.

In honor of what should be a particularly strange Egg Bowl in Starkville this year, in what may be Kiffin’s last as Ole Miss head coach, we decided to take a stroll down memory lane and give you five other particularly notable Egg Bowl games or moments. I’ve covered a few Egg Bowl games during my time at The Clarion-Ledger in Mississippi, but I still took advice from the two most prominent Egg Bowl experts I know — radio host Brian Haddad and writer Alex McDaniel — about what to make the cut.

Fake Dog Pee Game (2019)

An all-time Egg Bowl moment that led to two coaching changes (one of which brought Lane Kiffin to Oxford) and memes that will live forever on the Internet.

After scoring what should have been a game-tying touchdown, Ole Miss receiver Elijah Moore pretended to be a dog and urinated as part of his celebration. This was a tribute to former Ole Miss receiver DK Metcalf who had a similar celebration against the Bulldogs two years earlier. This time the issue for Moore was that the officials imposed a 15-year non-playing penalty on him. This led to a missed extra point kick, resulted in Ole Miss losing, and ultimately resulted in Matt Luke being dismissed a few days later. This became known as “The Pies and Misses”.

The win made Mississippi State bowl eligible. During preparation for the bowl, starting quarterback Garrett Schrader reportedly got into a fight with a teammate and missed the bowl game due to an eye injury. Following the Music City Bowl loss to Louisville, Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead was fired after only two seasons.

So, all in all, a fake dog pee fest directly or indirectly caused Luke and Moorhead to lose their jobs and Kiffin and Mike Leach to Mississippi.

Rare Road Field Storm (1926)

After finally ending a 13-year losing streak against their in-state rivals with a 7–6 victory, Ole Miss fans felt the need to celebrate on the field.

Of course, those fans were in the rival arena at Scott Field. As Ole Miss fans tried to break down the goalposts, they were met with fierce resistance from the home fans. This included State fans snatching wooden chairs and smashing them over the heads of Ole Miss fans.

It was such a wild scene that a Golden Egg trophy – hence the name Egg Bowl – was created to create a sense of brotherhood.

Immaculate Distraction (1983)

Mississippi State trailed 24–23 when Artie Crosby tried to kick a 27-yard field goal to win the game. The Bulldogs had led 23–7 at the end of the third quarter, but still had a chance to win it behind Crosby’s leg.

Mississippi State’s kicker had already successfully made three field goals that day, including a 51-yard goal, and was poised to kick a fourth to win.

It seemed like Crosby hit it perfectly, the ball flew higher and higher and then… it stopped and fell to the ground. On a windy day with gusts up to 40 mph, Crosby’s kick got caught in the air, stopped in mid-air and fell into the end zone. This is an incredible drama that you have to see to believe.

After the game Mississippi State coach Emory Ballard told longtime Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland, “God decided that Mississippi State was not going to win that game.”

Controversy (1997)

The 1997 Egg Bowl had a dramatic finale, but what people remember best is what happened before the game even started. A wild brawl broke out before the game involving dozens of players and the Mississippi Highway Patrol had to break it up. And because game officials were not off the field at the time of the brawl, none of the players involved were ejected for their role.

Once the pre-game extracurriculars subsided, fans settled into the back-and-forth affair.

Mississippi State led 14–7 at the end of the fourth quarter as Ole Miss attempted one last drive to tie the game. The Rebels got it when quarterback Stewart Patridge connected with Andre Roan for a 10-yard touchdown with 25 seconds remaining. Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville became adventurous and opted for a two-point attempt rather than kicking the extra point to go to overtime.

This time, Corey Peterson made a diving catch for a successful two-point conversion, giving Ole Miss a convincing 15–14 victory. The win sent Ole Miss to its first bowl game since 1992.

The Whiskey Game (1907)

On a cold, rainy Thanksgiving day in Jackson, Ole Miss coach Frank Mason reportedly gave his team coffee mixed with whiskey to keep them warm at halftime. The whiskey did not help the Rebels, who drank it on the sidelines throughout the game, as Mississippi State won 15–0.

After the game Mason famously said that his team would return to Oxford that night but that he would not be joining them.

“I’m going in the other direction, and hope I never see them again!” Mason said.

After the drunken loss to the Bulldogs, Mason never coached another college football game. Ole Miss finished the season 0–6.