Mississippi State’s football team has been through a lot in the last year. This time in 2022, they were poised to win the Egg Bowl, in Oxford of all places. That win put them at 8-4 on the season and headed to the ReliaQuest Bowl on January 2nd. They didn’t know that a little over two weeks later, their head coach Mike Leach would suddenly pass away. The head coach to most of these young players is a father figure. Losing someone like Leach can be devastating. But this team rallied around each other, and then interim head coach Zach Arnett, to win their bowl game in gritty come-from-behind fashion. They ended at 9-4 and ranked 20th in the country.
The new season looked promising with returning veterans and new head coach Arnett. It was not to be. Arnett was fired a couple of weeks ago following the loss to Texas A&M 51-10 and a season at 4-6, 1-6 in the SEC. The team had lost its second head coach in 12 months. Still, they managed to carve out a win last Saturday taking down Southern Mississippi 41-20. That win was the Bulldogs’ redemption with one to go for bowl eligibility.
Winning the Egg Bowl means a lot to State and Ole Miss. The Bulldogs have been to a bowl for 13 years straight, and there’s a burning need to resurrect the season at home. Beating Ole Miss would make up for the whole year. For Ole Miss’ head coach Lane Kiffin, he needs redemption for his first Egg Bowl loss last year. Oh, there is the fact they are number 12 in the country, which they want to preserve.
He Did What with a Four-Wheeler?
Following the firing of Arnett, offensive analyst Greg Knox stepped into the role of interim head coach. He’s been here before when Dan Mullen exited Mississippi State for Florida. He knows what that kind of thing can do to players. Following the win over Southern Miss, Knox unveiled part of his strategy. “They lost two head coaches within a year,” Knox said. “That’s difficult when you think of 18, 19, 20-year-old kids – the emotional side of that. That’s where I started the approach is working on the mental mindset of what you’re facing.”
The night before the USM game, Knox had shown a motivational video by former Tennessee player Inky Johnson. In the video, Johnson and his son have fallen off a four-wheeler. He instructs his son to face uncertainty, get back on the four-wheeler, and attack the thing that didn’t turn out as expected.
It was defensive coordinator Matt Brock who suggested Knox ride a four-wheeler through the locker room. With some help, one was hidden around a corner of the locker room, and during his pregame speech, the four-wheeler was cranked up and Knox rode it through the room. “I come around that corner, and the excitement in that locker room − they were ecstatic,” Knox said. “It was a great feeling. It was what they needed. It was what they wanted − the excitement, the build-up. They enjoyed it, and they had fun with it.”
In his first stint as interim coach, Knox had to prepare for the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl. He led the Bulldogs to a 31-27 win over the Lamar Jackson Louisville Cardinals. His mountain is a little steeper this time with one win under his belt and Ole Miss on the menu for Thanksgiving.
The Boys Are Back in Town
Injuries plagued the Dawgs in midseason, but none as sharply felt as the loss of quarterback Will Rogers and star running back Woody Marks. They were out for the three-game losing streak, prior to Southern Miss. No offense was generated against Auburn, Kentucky, or Texas A&M. Only 26 points were scored between the three games by the Bulldogs. The offense only scored six of those. Special teams scored the remainder.
But last weekend against the Golden Eagles, Rogers was back in the saddle, and it was evident who the leader of the offense should be. He threw 12 for 27 (44%), not a great percentage, but he hit for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Marks was also back with a touchdown reception as well as Tulu Griffin who had a touchdown catch as well.
But the most obvious difference was the running game. Knox had said he wanted to run the ball more, and he did just that. State ran the ball 45 times for 238 yards and one touchdown. Knox joked with his players, “Hey, now I’m the head coach, I can make sure we run the ball.” Jeffery Pittman led in rushing with 98 yards. Even Mike Wright had 24. yards on two carries
The defense seemed to shine as well. The usual stellar play by the linebacking duo Bookie Watson and Jett Johnson was on full display. Watson had 21 tackles, three solo, one sack, and 1.5 TFL (tackle for loss). Johnson was close behind with 18 tackles, two solo and one sack.
Both sides of the ball were sporadic and sluggish at times, but consider that this could have been a dress rehearsal before the finale.
It Just Means More
The Egg Bowl is the second oldest rivalry in the SEC, behind Auburn-Georgia. For the Dawgs and Rebels, this is the seasonal crescendo. For State, it means much more on so many levels. This will be Rogers’ last game as a Bulldog and it gets emotional. “It’s kind of, for a lot of us, the last ride,” Rogers said. “We’ve been playing together for four years, We’ve played a lot of ball together. We’ve won some games for this university.”
What about the boys from Mississippi who grew up with this rivalry? Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart is from Utah and played at USC. Does he get it? Knox related part of a speech Rogers gave to the players after the USM game. “Even after the game Saturday, Will (Rogers) stood up in that locker room, and he made it clear to everyone − whether you’re a Mississippi kid or not − come Monday, we’re getting ready to go,” Knox said. “He made it very, very clear. The Mississippi kids on our roster, they know. They understand. This is why they came to Mississippi State. For this game. This game has been marked on the calendar.”
The Bulldogs are playing for so many reasons, perhaps for coaches who are gone, perhaps for the one they have now. But maybe they win this one for themselves. Now that would be something they can be thankful for.
