The Egg Bowl will kick off tomorrow afternoon, with a very notable edition of the rivalry with No. 7 Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State from Starkville. But, much of that may be due to the off-field storylines surrounding the game, as the picks were unanimous by those on the ‘College GameDay Podcast’.
ESPN’s Rece Davis and Dan Wetzel made some of their selections for this final weekend of the regular season, including this one between the Rebels and the Bulldogs. Wetzel went first in going with Ole Miss, as only what’s going on off the field having an impact on them would be able to think there’d be an opportunity for a win for Mississippi State.
“Well, I’ll take Ole Miss. I mean, they’re just a better team. Mississippi State? They had the big night against Arizona State but, other than that, haven’t really done a whole lot. Ole Miss is really talented,” said Wetzel. “So, barring a player mutiny, or the fact that Lane (Kiffin) forgot to install the game plan because he was house-hunting on Zillow, I’m going Ole Miss.”
Then, Davis followed him, and also went with Hotty Toddy. He knows the Bulldogs have a few factors playing their way, including the homefield advantage, but that they won’t be enough for him to not go with a win for the Rebels.
“I’m going to go Ole Miss too because the setup is too perfect. Now, Mississippi State has squandered some opportunities at home this year. They should have beaten Tennessee. They should have beaten Texas. They did not,” said Davis. “I think Ole Miss is too good for them. So, I think it seems like, with all of the other things – oh, this is a perfect setup? It’s also the perfect setup for Lane to go in there and drop 56. So, I’m going to take Ole Miss with a win.”
Anything can happen in a rivalry game, and certainly so in one as competitive as this and especially for a heavily-favored, ranked team coming in on the road against an underdog at home who’s looking for an upset. But, in this one, Davis and Wetzel are both going with the former in Ole Miss, which would mean them doing their part in trying to be in the SEC Championship, while also clinching a spot for the Rebels in the College Football Playoff.