University of Mississippi-Ole Miss Athletics

OXFORD, Miss – No. 14 Ole Miss football and in-state rival Mississippi State will battle it out on Black Friday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for their final game of the 2024 regular season, the annual Egg Bowl.

Head coach Lane Kiffin held its Monday press conference to review the Florida game and preview Mississippi State. Jordan Watkins, JJ Pegues, Trey Washington And Cayden Lee also met with the media, which can be found below.

Classic rivalry

There are many rivalries in college football that can throw out records that always seem to be equal, regardless of how each team performed throughout the season. The Iron Bowl, Red River Rivalry, Backyard Brawl, Michigan/Ohio State, Army/Navy and of course The Egg Bowl all make the short list.

“Short week, just a huge game,” Kiffin said. “Obviously this matchup has a lot of history that means a lot in this state that I wasn’t very familiar with five years ago and that I’ve become very familiar with, especially as I went around the state and talked to people . So, I’ve spoken extensively with our players about this because there are so many, I think it’s 48 players Tom Luke said those who weren’t here or who are new. So it’s a lot of people trying to understand how big this is and why records don’t matter in this game and how much passion there is and how hard the players play in this game.”

Seven of the last eight Egg Bowls have been decided by 10 points or fewer, including the last five and all four in the Lane Kiffin Epoch. From 2004 to 2014, the home team won all but two games. Since then, the road team has won six of its last nine games. Like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you’re going to get.


“We talked about it a lot last night. One of the reasons I did it.” Tom Luke Talk about how much this game means and how it glosses over the fact that they only won two games and didn’t beat a Power Five team all year. “Throw that away,” Kiffin said. “This is the Egg Bowl and you have to be ready to play.”



Lebby returns
Kiffin will face one of his former protégés, Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby. Lebby was Kiffin’s first offensive coordinator at Oxford, leading the Rebels’ offense and quarterbacks in 2020 and 2021 before taking the same position at his alma mater, Oklahoma.


“I don’t think I’ve spoken to him this year. So that’s how it is. And I think he said when he got the job that it was going to be a really fun egg bowl,” Kiffin said. “He said he was really excited this year. I think we’re excited too.”


Lebby is in his first season as head coach of the Bulldogs and is working to rebuild a program that ended a streak of 13 straight seasons with a bowl appearance last year. The former Rebel OC praised the talent in the current Oxford squad.


“I think our guys understand that, and if you watch the tape, I don’t think there’s any doubt about it. The most talented squad we’ve played against all season,” Lebby said. “It’s on the tape, exactly what it is from a personnel perspective.”



Game that you absolutely have to win
Raised in Oxford, JJ Pegues knows exactly how intense the fight for the Golden Egg is. After starting his career at Auburn, he also got a taste of one of the sport’s other great rivalries, the Iron Bowl, giving him a deep understanding of what the Rebels must do to achieve victory.


“Have to win,” said Pegues. “It’s a great team over there. No matter what the score is, we both still want to go in and do our best. We believe we are the kings of the sip, so we have to prove it.”

Besides the Golden Egg Trophy and in-state bragging rights, there could be more at stake for the Rebels. Ole Miss is ranked 14th and still has a chance to sneak into the College Football Playoff, depending on what happens elsewhere in the country. Regardless, they know they have to finish their work this week against the Bulldogs to have any chance.


“It’s something I see on Instagram, but it’s not the main focus,” Pegues said. “We just wanted to beat Mississippi State, our rival, and that was about it.”



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