MSU and Ole Miss Fans: Polarized by LSU

Sep 20, 2014; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) celebrates with cheerleaders following a win against the LSU Tigers in a game at Tiger Stadium. Mississippi State defeated LSU 34-29. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

In the Magnolia State, we can get really worked up about our favorite college football teams. Mississippi State and Ole Miss may not have the enrollment and budgets that the Bamas and Floridas of the SEC do, but we certainly are passionate about our teams. That passion can lead to some really bizarre behavior by both fan bases. We are starting to see some more evidence of this bizarre behavior with Mississippi State’s victory over LSU this past weekend.

For the first time since 1999, LSU has lost consecutive games against the two teams from Mississippi in the SEC. Ole Miss was triumphant over the LSU Tigers last year on October 19, and combined with LSU’s loss Saturday night to the Bulldogs, the Tigers have a Mississippi losing streak. It hasn’t happened often, so we are in some uncharted territory to say the least. What is so bizarre is how the rival’s fan base has responded to each team’s win

Last season, LSU was a top ten opponent heading to Oxford. Ole Miss was reeling a bit after having suffered three straight losses to Alabama, Auburn, and Texas A&M. The Rebels were in need of a win in the worst way. A win over their “real” rival would help reignite the fan base’s hopes and dreams that the school was headed in the right direction under Hugh Freeze. That’s exactly what they got.

Mississippi State fans then got worried. Most people didn’t see the Rebels winning that game, and the Bulldogs were in the midst of trying to figure out how they were going to get to six wins. Mississippi State actually had a bye week that weekend, but many fans began to question the direction of the program more that weekend than they had at any other time in the Dan Mullen era. Mississippi State fans were concerned that the Bulldogs were being surpassed by the Rebels.

Fast forward to this season. The Bulldogs entered the game undefeated, but still needing to prove they deserved to be mentioned as an SEC West contender because of the lack of real competition the first three games. A win over LSU in Baton Rouge would go a long way towards doing that. Despite the near meltdown in the end, Mississippi State did what a lot of people didn’t expect in Baton Rouge this past weekend: dominate the Tigers at night in Death Valley. Yes, the score was only a five point victory, but for 56 minutes, the game was completely one sided. Some coaching snafus had more to do with that comeback than performance by the players. As I wrote in the report card, coaches have to learn how to win these games just like players do. There were a number of people who picked the Bulldogs to win the game, but very few, if any, saw the Bulldogs controlling the game the way they did.

At the top of the list of people to not see it coming were Ole Miss fans. During the game and since, the reaction to the win by Ole Miss fans has been intense. We often are blinded by our own perception instead of reality, and many Ole Miss fans believed that Mississippi State was an average team with an over hyped quarterback leading them. Winning the way Mississippi State has challenged that perception. They are trying to find ways to tear down the Bulldogs as a result, and their focus has been on Dillon Day.

Criticism of Dillon Day’s behavior during the game has come from places other than Ole Miss fans, let’s be clear about that. What is surprising is that LSU fans haven’t been as vocal about it though as Ole Miss fans have. Message boards, Twitter, and Facebook have been lit up by Ole Miss fans who have focused all of their energy on lashing out at Dillon Day. I’m not going to debate whether or not it was purposeful. Most everyone has seen the video by now, and there is nothing I can say or do that will influence people one way or the other. It’s just interesting to see how viciously they have come after Dillon Day as a result. If the Bulldogs lose that game, I don’t think the Ole Miss fans would be as vocal about Day as they are now.

So why have both fan bases reacted so strongly to wins by their rivals over LSU? It’s simple.

It makes us scared.

Much has been made about how it is extremely rare for both Mississippi State and Ole Miss to have good seasons at the same time. It just doesn’t happen that often. The last time both programs finished with 8 or more wins was 1999, when Ole Miss finished 8-4 after their win in the Independence Bowl and Mississippi State finished 10-2 after their win in the Peach Bowl. Historically, if one team in Mississippi is going to be good, the other has to be bad, or at least no better than mediocre. Signs that one team is going to be really good or great have often meant that the other team is going to start to stink.

The one thing that Mississippi State needs to learn from Ole Miss after the Rebels upset the Tigers last year is that Mississippi State has to take advantage of the opportunity they now have. When Ole Miss beat LSU last year, many saw them riding the momentum of that win to a possible 9-3 season, at worst 8-4. The Rebels weren’t able to completely capitalize though, losing their last two regular season games and finishing the season 8-5 after their win over Georgia Tech in the Music City Bowl. Since one of those losses came to Mississippi State last season, Bulldog fans were relieved to know that their program was not surpassed by the Rebels. The debate about which school is superior in the state was still alive and well, largely due to the Bulldogs’ win in the Egg Bowl. If Mississippi State wants to capitalize on this momentum, they have to continue to play strong. Winning 7 games with a win over LSU would be extremely disappointing now. The chances of getting to 9 or 10 wins in 2014 have increased exponentially due to the fact that many of us didn’t think LSU would be one of the games we would win.

Mississippi State fans are flying high right now in the wake of their first win in Baton Rouge in 23 years. Ole Miss fans are ticked that the Bulldogs have stolen a lot of the Rebels thunder. The roles have almost completely reversed what they were in 2013. It’s amazing what a win over one program can do to an entire state two years in a row.