LIVE! From the Manning Center: Egg Bowl always personal for Ole Miss LB Ashanti Cistrunk
Ole Miss veteran linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk can’t help himself.
Cistrunk, at least in his public Rebel football appearances, such as his press conference on Monday, is almost always all smiles and laughs. He’s got an easy-going deposition to him, which has, more often than not, served him well over a productive five-year career at Ole Miss. He’s currently second on the team in tackles (59.0).
He was his same, jovial self on Monday, but mixed in was a serious note or two. Because on Thanksgiving night Ole Miss heads to Starkville to face off with in-state rival Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl. And the Egg Bowl is never a laughing matter.
“I’d describe it as a war,” he said. “Don’t take it lightly. The fans don’t take it lightly, so don’t joke about it. This is a serious moment.”
The Rebels are 9-2 (5-2 SEC) on the season following their win over ULM on Saturday.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are 5-6 (1-6) and fresh off beating Southern Miss. They’re vying for bowl eligibility, while Ole Miss has a spot firmly secured. The Rebels appear headed somewhere in Florida, most likely the Citrus Bowl.
Actually, the lead-up to the game, in some ways, mirrors 2009, when a heavily-favored Ole Miss went into Starkville and was upset by a lowly Mississippi State team.
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Cistrunk, for his part, is aiming to make sure the Rebels aren’t in for a repeat. A win would secure them their second-ever 10-win season. If they win a bowl, too, they’ll have their first 11-win campaign in program history.
“Every year, I get so excited to play this game,” Cistrunk, a Louisville, Mississippi, native, said. “Growing up, Mississippi State was the team I watched every Saturday. On top of that, I have family member (Bulldog defensive lineman Ty Cooper) that plays for them. I know a lot of the guys.
“It’s a big-time game for me.”
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
“As everybody knows, you hear about this for the whole year,” Cistrunk said. “It leaves a bad taste in our mouth; we’ve just got to hear about it all the time. We’re looking forward to getting that bad taste out of our mouths.”
Cistrunk was one of three Rebels to take to the Manning Center podium on Monday.
The others were EDGE Cedric Johnson and wide receiver Dayton Wade.
Here’s everything they had to say.
