Lane Kiffin shares his emotions of the Egg Bowl rivalry

Before arriving in Oxford, Lane Kiffin had no sense of how important the Egg Bowl was. Kiffin had never worked for Ole Miss or Mississippi State. While he had multiple jobs in the SEC and participated in plenty of rivalry games, getting involved is the only way to fully understand.

So, entering his fifth game against Mississippi State, Kiffin shared his emotions of the game. The process of learning about the rivalry has certainly taken place over the years. And while four wins have been great for Ole Miss, the lone loss still sits with him to this day.

“I think I’ve just learned more about it,” Kiffin said. “… Been on the winning side of it every year but one. To see the losing side and how that felt, makes you want it even more.”

Ole Miss lost the 2022 edition of the Egg Bowl, 24-22. The other three have been quite competitive as the Rebels have an average win margin of nine points. It’s one of those games where the record books are thrown out with 60 minutes of pure hatred unfolding.

This year’s game might have a little extra juice behind it for Kiffin. A former assistant will be on the other side, Jeff Lebby. The first-year Mississippi State head coach was the Ole Miss offensive coordinator before leaving the program in favor of Oklahoma. After two years in Norman, Lebby made his way back to the Sip.

Kiffin says there has not been any communication between the two this year. But there appears to be some excitement about facing off.

“I have not spoken to him this year,” Kiffin said. “Kind of is what it is. I think he said when he got the job it would be a really fun Egg Bowl this year. Said he was really excited about it. I guess we’re excited too.”

Kickoff will be a little different this go-round, with the game taking place on Black Friday. Vaught Hemingway Stadium will play host and will begin at 2:30 p.m. CT.