Lane Kiffin downplays impact of coaching change on Egg Bowl matchup
Lane Kiffin doesn’t believe the Mississippi State disarray surrounding the Bulldogs coaching situation will have much of an impact on the Egg Bowl.
Interim head coach Greg Knox will lead the Bulldogs against Ole Miss on Thanksgiving, following the firing of Zach Arnett. Knox actually led Mississippi State to a win in his first game as the team’s interim leader in Week 12, defeating Southern Miss by three touchdowns last Saturday.
Of course, Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels aren’t taking their in-state rivals lightly, as it’s always a battle when these two teams meet.
“I don’t think so,” Kiffin answered, regarding the possibility of an advantage due to Mississippi State’s disarray due to their coaching change. “When it’s a new interim head coach, you don’t know much about their style or what they do, or how they manage a game.
“You know, not having a history outside of a couple of games in his career. It’s not like you can study that. So it is what it is.”
Evidently, Lane Kiffin and the Rebels will simply be looking to focus on playing their game. It’s been another fruitful season for Ole Miss and their head coach, and they’ll be looking to end the campaign strong on Thursday.
Ole Miss vs Mississippi point spread: Picking Rebels vs Bulldogs
Alas, the final week of the 2023 college football season will bring us one of the most historic rivalries in the SEC between the Ole Miss Rebels and Mississippi State Bulldogs, also known as the Egg Bowl.
In the days leading up to the game, on the Andy Staples On3 Podcast, the college football expert brought in Jake Crain to discuss the matchup and make their betting picks for the game.
“Fan Duel has this at Mississippi State +12.5,” said Staples. “I’ve seen it in other places at Mississippi State +11; Ole Miss is gonna cover whatever the spread is. In this rivalry, you don’t feel bad for the other team if they fire their coach. You beat them down if you can beat them down.”
Crain is stride for stride with Staples’s assessment and agrees that Ole Miss should not show any mercy to their in-state rival despite the current disarray of the program. In fact, the college football expert takes it a step further and suggests the Rebels beat the Bulldogs so badly that they set the program back as far as they possibly can.
“If you get a chance to step on the throat, you step on the throat,” said Crain. “You want to set them back as far as you possibly can when they are down.
“Here’s what I’ll say about this game: Mississippi State is going to play free. They’re going to play loose, and that’s great. It is a great story (of) what Greg Knox has been able to do coming off the firing of Zach Arnett, who took over following the tragic loss of Mike Leach… I think Mississippi State will put up a fight early; this game will be tighter than what people think, maybe even going into halftime.”
On3’s Justin Rudolph contributed to this article.