Mighty Mississippi football teams take national spotlight

On a delicious college football weekend where nearly half of the top 25 are playing each other, the emphasis will be on games within 100 miles of each other in Mississippi.

To get from Starkville, home of Mississippi State and site of the 12th-ranked Bulldogs’ game against No. 6 Texas A&M at 11 a.m., to Oxford, where 11th-ranked Mississippi plays host to No. 3 Alabama at 2:30 p.m., you take Highway 9 through Bellefontaine to Europa and pick up Highway 182.

Can’t miss it.

And you can’t miss these games among undefeated teams on Saturday.

Never have the Rebels and Bulldogs been as highly ranked together this late in the year. Their season-ending rivalry, known as the Egg Bowl, has produced some fantastic finishes, but few outside the state usually notice. At this rate, the finale could be one of the nation’s most anticipated.

“Mississippi people deserve this,” Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said. “They’re great people, generous people with great hearts and have tremendous passion for the game at both places. It’s exciting for this to happen.”

Of course, for the game to have national and perhaps College Football Playoff meaning, they’ll have to keep up this pace, beginning with Saturday’s daunting tasks.

Alabama has won 10 straight over Ole Miss. Mike Shula was the Crimson Tide coach for the Rebels’ last victory. Mississippi confidently went into Tuscaloosa last season and got smacked down 25-0.

A&M and Mississippi State don’t have much of a history, although they provided a great bowl game, with the Bulldogs claiming a 43-41 overtime victory in the snow at the 2000 Independence Bowl. This game marks the first time since 1986 that top 15 teams will oppose each other at Davis Wade Stadium.

“We came here to build a winning program, and we’ve put ourselves in a great position,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said.

Based on talent that resides in the state, Mississippi schools should be good. The state has produced more NFL Hall of Famers per capita than any other, and it is annually among the top feeder states for top college talent.

But historically, some of the best players looked elsewhere. Future stars and Mississippi natives like Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Brett Favre and Steve McNair stayed in state but weren’t Rebels or Bulldogs.

Now, more are signing with the state’s power programs. In Mullen and Freeze, the SEC has head coaches who have produced consistent winners.

Mullen’s first team in 2009 just missed a bowl game. Mississippi State hasn’t missed one since, and his 40-28 record translates to a .588 winning percentage, the best for the program since Darrell Royal in the mid-1950s.

Last week, the Bulldogs won at LSU for the first time since 1991, and fans are dreaming of a first SEC title since 1941. It’s gotten to the point where Mullen’s name, a week into October, is already being bandied about on message boards for potential openings at Michigan and Florida.

Freeze, in his third season at Ole Miss, also will get caught in the coaching rumor mill, although his career path could find permanence in Oxford, his birthplace. When he took the job, Freeze said he wanted “to retire at Ole Miss.”

The opportunity for both coaches to endear themselves further at their programs kicks off presents itself on Saturday.

This story was originally published October 2, 2014 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Mighty Mississippi football teams take national spotlight."