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SEC announces 2023 Egg Bowl kickoff time, TV designation on Thanksgiving Day

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•05/25/23
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A pair of down and distance markers from the Southeastern Conference lay on the turf before a game on Oct. 1, 2022. (Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)

The time and television network have been set for the annual Egg Bowl between Mississippi State and Ole Miss, the Southeastern Conference announced.

According to SEC spokesman Chuck Dunlap, the game will be played at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving with a broadcast on ESPN. That will give the annual Egg Bowl a primetime designation on the annual feast day.

The big game between the two Mississippi schools has been pretty evenly contested in recent years. The teams are 5-5 in the Egg Bowl in the last decade.

This year’s game will be intriguing because it will pit Ole Miss against a new coaching staff at Mississippi State. Zach Arnett has taken over for the Bulldogs following the death of former coach Mike Leach.

Leach died on Dec. 12 after experiencing an undisclosed health issue that caused him to be hospitalized in Jackson, Mississippi. He had stabilized and built up the Mississippi State program during his three-year tenure, going 4-7 in his first season, 7-6 in Year 2 and 8-4 in Year 3 in 2022.

He was 1-2 in the Egg Bowl but had managed to pull off a thrilling 24-22 win in last year’s meeting.

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Now it’s the Rebels who look to be building some momentum under coach Lane Kiffin, particularly with a lot of weapons returning on offense, including starting quarterback Jaxson Dart and star running back Quinshon Judkins.

Judkins took home all kinds of awards during his freshman season, when he rushed for 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns, while also adding 132 yards receiving and a touchdown catch.

Like Mississippi State, Ole Miss is coming off an eight-win campaign in 2022. However, it was a bit of a disappointing eight-win season for the Rebels, coming on the heels of 10 wins in 2021.

Ole Miss started the season 8-1 and reached as high as No. 11 in the AP Poll, beginning to earn some consideration as a potential College Football Playoff contender, before things really fell apart. The Rebels lost their last four games to end the season, including the annual Egg Bowl.

Both programs will be looking to put a stamp on the new direction for their program — in Mississippi State’s case beginning anew and in Ole Miss’ turning the trajectory upward again — in 2023, and the Egg Bowl figures to be another terrific game for college football fans to take in.

This time with a little Thanksgiving turkey.