The 2015 edition of the Egg Bowl between No. 18 Ole Miss and No. 21 Mississippi State might not be quite the heavyweight showdown it was in 2014, when the Rebels upset a then-No. 4 Bulldogs squad, spoiling any hopes that the SEC might have had of placing two teams in the College Football Playoff.
Egg Bowl 2015, Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State 2015: Time, TV schedule, live stream and 3 things to know
The Rebels and Bulldogs are playing for a golden egg, and maybe a lot more.
But it might still be a whole lot of fun on Saturday night, when the two teams clash for the 112th time, and in the 88th Egg Bowl, in Starkville.
For the Rebels, faint SEC Championship Game hopes are still on the line. Ole Miss would head to Atlanta for a rematch with Florida if the Rebels win on Saturday after an Alabama loss to Auburn, though the Rebels would have to win in Starkville for the first time since 2003 to do so.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, can play spoiler, much like the Rebels did last November, and burnish their own credentials in hopes of backdooring a slot in a New Year’s Six bowl.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Radio: Ole Miss, Mississippi State
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: Ole Miss opened as a two-point favorite.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Red Cup Rebellion (for Rebels fans) and For Whom the Cowbell Tolls (for Bulldogs fans).
Three big things to know
1. Think Sugar, not just the Egg. While Mississippi State can't win the SEC, and Ole Miss's chances of doing so are remote, both teams have shots at making New Year's Six bowls by virtue of their current standing in the College Football Playoff rankings. Alabama is the heavy favorite to win the SEC, but that probably only helps the Rebels or Bulldogs make a push to overtake Florida as the SEC's second-highest-ranked team in the final CFP rankings, earning the automatic bid to the Sugar Bowl that would come with it.
And given that Ole Miss hasn’t played in the Sugar Bowl since 1970, while Mississippi State never has, that’s a bit of extra motivation for this one.
2. Roll reversal? Including the 2008 meeting, when Ole Miss blasted Mississippi State 45-0 in a loss that produced Sylvester Croom’s resignation and replacement by Dan Mullen, five of the last seven Egg Bowls have been decided by at least two touchdowns. But those beatdowns have been equally traded: No team has routed the other in consecutive games, with an eight-point win in 2010 by Mississippi State sandwiched between two other Bulldogs beatdowns of the Rebels.
3. One last Dak attack. Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott has been one of the nation's unsung great players during his career, and so good that Mullen -- whom you may remember coached a guy by the name of Tebow -- said Prescott might be the best player he's ever coached. But the senior star's chances of making it to New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony seem slim, given that Alabama's Derrick Henry is likely to soak up much of the Southern support, and Clemson's Deshaun Watson is sure to siphon off more of it.
If Dak can move the needle with a magnificent performance against Ole Miss, though, minds might change.
See More:
