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By Andy Baeuerle
Rivalry week is always fun in college football. Rivals at the top and bottom meet up to face off against each other for bragging rights. Michigan took on Ohio State in one of the biggest games in history, while the night of Thanksgiving saw the 120th Egg Bowl. And Saturday, it looked as if a matchup dating back to 1935 might create a new rivalry between Southern Miss and Troy.
Southern Miss 17, Troy 35
Southern Miss and Troy have met on the field 12 times between 1935 and 2022. Southern Miss held an 8-4 record over the Trojans before Saturday. Despite their close distance, roughly 245 miles, these schools didn’t take to the field that much due to Troy being a Division I-AA (FCS) school until 1993. USM joined Division I-A (FBS) 15 years earlier.
After defeating Louisiana and Texas State, the Troy Trojans became the winners of the Sun Belt West. A win over Southern Miss would help their case to host the Sun Belt Championship, while a USM win would give the Golden Eagles a little more hope for the ‘24 football season. Southern Miss came in to this game as the underdogs to the 9-2 Trojans. However, the Golden Eagles weren’t going to let the records intimidate them.
Southern Miss held the Trojans to only one touchdown, which was not expected of the 3-8 Eagles. In the second quarter, Frank Gore, Jr. and Andrew Stein paired together to get the Golden Eagles in a 10-7 lead, midway through the second quarter. Following this short USM lead, Troy was able to stack on another touchdown to give the Trojans a 14-10 lead at halftime. And, as usual with other Southern Miss games this year, the opposing team took off after halftime. In the second half of the game, Troy outscored the Golden Eagles 21-7, and Troy was able to walk out of M.M. Roberts Stadium with a 35-17 win and a 10-2 record. Southern Miss left with a 3-9 record.
You may ask, “Okay, Andy. What makes this a rivalry?” In rivalries, fights and meltdowns are openly common. Two fights occurred between the Trojans and Golden Eagles to make the game more heated despite these teams’ performances this season.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles News
Saturday, shortly before the Troy-USM matchup, it was announced that Golden Eagle head coach Will Hall’s contract would be renewed for a fourth year. Following Saturday’s loss, however, three members of Coach Hall’s staff were relieved of duty Sunday, those being defensive coordinator Dan O’Brien, defensive line coach Brandon Lacy, and tight ends coach Cayden Cochran. It also seems more firings could possibly be on the horizon.
#12 Ole Miss 17, Mississippi State 7
One of the most widely known college football rivalries in the country is the Egg Bowl. Dating back to 1901, the Bulldogs and Rebels have taken the field in Jackson, Oxford, Starkville, Tupelo, Greenwood, Columbus, and Clarksdale to determine who is the better team. This bitter rivalry between State and Ole Miss is now known as one of the biggest games in the nation, with social media influencer Big Game Boomer ranking it at #4 on his “Top 25 Most Hostile In-State Rivalries.”
The Egg Bowl is usually a very volatile and high-scoring game, but things got a little mixed up Thursday night. It was hard to tell if the two teams were as good or as bad as each other. In around 20 years, the teams went scoreless in the first quarter, with the lowest combined yards as well. Ole Miss only held a 3-0 lead going into the half, the smallest lead the matchup has seen in years. This slow match kept going when Mississippi State got a touchdown on the board after halftime for a 7-3 lead. This made Ole Miss madder than before, and the Rebels scored two more touchdowns to take home the Golden Egg, 17-7 at Davis Wade Stadium.
Ole Miss now leads the Bulldogs 65-47-6 all-time. The Bulldogs and Rebels will keep this rivalry, as well as two other opponents in the new SEC, with no divisions in 2024. Ole Miss’s other annual opponents will include Arkansas and LSU, while Mississippi State will face Kentucky and Texas A&M. Ole Miss, with a 10-2 record, is in an excellent place to attend a New Year’s Six Bowl game, while 5-7 Mississippi State will sit out the bowl season for the first time since 2010.
Mississippi State Bulldogs News
Shortly before the USM-MS State matchup, Bulldog Head Coach Zach Arnett was fired, as Mississippi State had previously fallen to Texas A&M 51-10, their biggest loss to the Aggies since the two first met in 1913. Greg Knox was hired as the interim coach, his second term as the Bulldogs’ interim. His first term as interim came after Dan Mullen left for Florida. But Sunday morning, it was announced the Bulldogs had hired a new coach. Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was hired as Mississippi State’s 36th head coach, and his first game will be the 2024 season opener against Eastern Kentucky.
Delta State Score, Plus Other Rivalry Week Scores
- Delta State 31, Valdosta State 38
- Iron Bowl: #8 Alabama 27, Auburn 24
- The Game: #3 Michigan 30, #2 Ohio State 24
- #1 Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 21
- #14 LSU 42, Texas A&M 30
- #21 Tennessee 48, Vanderbilt 24
- Apple Cup: #4 Washington 24, Washington State 21
FBS Championship Week Schedule
*: Indicates championship game I will review next week
Friday, December 1
- Conference USA Championship, CBSSN, 6:00 PM
- #25 Liberty (12-0) vs. New Mexico State (10-3)
- *PAC-12 Championship, ABC, 7:00 PM
- #4 Washington (12-0) vs. #6 Oregon (11-1)
Saturday, December 2
- Big 12 Championship, ABC, 11:00 AM
- #7 Texas (11-1) vs. #20 Oklahoma State (9-3)
- MAC Championship, ESPN, 11:00 AM
- Toledo (11-1) vs. Miami, OH (10-2)
- Mountain West Championship, FOX, 2:00 PM
- UNLV (9-3) vs. Boise State (7-5)
- *SEC Championship, CBS, 3:00 PM
- #8 Alabama (11-1) vs. #1 Georgia (12-0)
- *Sun Belt Championship, ESPN, 3:00 PM
- Troy (10-2) vs. Appalachian State (8-4)
- AAC Championship, ABC, 3:00 PM
- #23 Tulane (11-1) vs. SMU (10-2)
- Big Ten Championship, FOX, 7:00 PM
- #3 Michigan (12-0) vs. #17 Iowa (10-2)
MageeNews.com is an online news website covering Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi.
