Bowlin'! The Rebels Regain the Golden Egg!

I'm still a bit stunned that Hugh Freeze has this program bowl eligible in his first year, a year which is one season removed from a disastrous 2-10 record. I think we all are. We will have more on this one soon (read: tomorrow), but for now, we want to just share with you the excitement we at the Cup feel after an Egg Bowl victory in year one of the Hugh Freeze era.

Oh, and while we're on that topic, it wasn't just a "victory." Oh no sir or madame, it was a downright domination. The Rebels got 527 offensive yards to State's 333. The Rebel running game gained 233 yards on the evening; State's earned 30. Aside from a meaningless touchdown in garbage time, Ole Miss shut the Bulldogs out completely in the second half. State only converted one of their 13 third down attempts. The Rebels scored 24 unanswered points at one point in the second half (at one point in the second half=most of the second half).

But, football aside, the win was good from the standpoint of our rivalry. Ole Miss fans released and are still releasing a lot of pent-up frustration tonight. When your head coach makes proclamations of "never losing to (Ole Miss) again" and when your marketing gurus start a "This is our STATE" campaign, among many other stupid gimmicks which were more indicative of a maroon obsession with the Rebels than an actual, you know, marketing campaign, the rivalry becomes more than a game. People put a lot of pride into this type of thing, and when you toy with that, well, Donte Moncreif burns your all-SEC cornerback for like a billion yards and a trio of touchdowns.

I'm just glad someone listened to these two tuxedo-clad gents.