Mississippi State Football: Bulldog Egg Bowl Winning Streaks

Mississippi State Football: Bulldog Egg Bowl Winning Streaks

This is the week that every Mississippi State Football fan, old and young, looks forward to. Egg Bowl Week is a week that often splits up families and friends into Bulldogs and Rebels.

Oh, did I say Rebels? I mean Bears, or Sharks, or the Flood. What kind of name is The Mississippi Flood? Regardless of what either team is called this week, Ole Miss Hate Week or GTHOM Week is finally here.

The Battle of the Golden Egg winner gets bragging rights for a year no matter what the record is for either team. I remember watching this game as a young child and just wanting Mississippi State to crush Ole Miss. I am now 40, and I still want Mississippi State to crush Ole Miss.

Mississippi State has won the last two Egg Bowls, and I am hoping my Bulldogs can hold on to the Egg Bowl Trophy for a third consecutive year. The Egg Bowl has had its fair share of legendary players, coaches, plays, and winning streaks.

Mississippi State has strung together seven such winning streaks in the Egg Bowl. I will recap the winning streaks Mississippi State has had in the Egg Bowl. Two of the winning streaks were impacted by NCAA sanctions, but for the sake of the on-the-field victory, I include them.

1911-1925

This era of Mississippi State football was the most dominant period against Ole Miss. Even though the Egg Bowl wasn’t the name of the rivalry and the trophy awarded until 1927. During this 13 game winning streak, Mississippi State outscored Ole Mess, oops, I mean Ole Miss 327-33.

Several coaches led Mississippi State, then known as Mississippi A&M, during the winning streak. The men who lead this dominant period were W.D. Chadwick,  Earl Hayes, Standley Robinson, Fred Holtcamp,  Dudy Noble, Earl Abell, and Bernie Beirman.

Coach Robinson is the only coach to have an undefeated record in the Egg Bowl. Where is Doc Brown with his DeLorean so that I could go back in time and watch a few of these wins?

1936-1937

Coach Ralph Sesse’s two-game Egg Bowl winning streak marked the first time Mississippi State claimed the Egg Bowl trophy in 1936, ending a Rebel 9 game winning streak. One game ended in a tie.

1939-1942

Allyn McKeen won four Egg Bowls in a row. His teams outscored the Rebels 77-18 with two shutouts. When Coach McKeen retired, he was the winningest coach in Mississippi State history with a 65-19-3 record.

1976-1977

Coach Bob Tyler’s winning streak was vacated due to NCAA sanctions for playing an ineligible player.  You can’t deny the butt-kicking that was given out on the field, however. QB Bruce Threadgill like QB Nick Fitzgerald is still running.

1993-1994 / 1998-1999

This was my Golden Age of Bulldog Football. I became a Bulldog fan in 1989 when my cousin William Prince played running back for the Bulldogs. Legendary Bulldog coach Jackie W. Sherrill was in his third season and finished his career as the all-time winningest coach with 75 wins replacing Bob Tyler atop the list.

Coach Sherrill led two Egg Bowl Winning Streaks during his tenure, and all four of these wins included some memorable plays in Egg Bowl history. The1998 and 1999 Egg Bowls featured two of the most dominant Bulldog defenses in recent memory. The 1999 Egg Bowl saw Mississippi State score 17 unanswered points in an unbelievable comeback victory.

2009-2011

Dan Mullen began his Bulldog coaching tenure with three straight Egg Bowl victories and coined the acronym, TSUN, that School up North. During Mullen’s tenure, the rivalry reached a fever pitch as Ole Miss was riddled with NCAA sanctions and actually had to forfeit two Egg Bowl wins. Unfortunately, vacated wins do not count in the win column. If they did, Mullen would have won seven straight Egg Bowls.

2018-2019

After Dan Mullen finally decided to end his Bulldog tenue after years of waffling and entertaining job offers, Joe Moorhead won two straight Egg Bowls before he was fired. The 2018 Egg Bowl victory was forfeited due to NCAA sanctions regarding “Tutor Gate.”

The 2019 Egg Bowl saw Ole Miss blow a chance to tie the game as Elijah Moore decided to emulate D.K. Metcalf’s hindleg raise. This game was given the nickname the “Piss & Miss.” Ole Miss would miss the extra point securing the second straight Egg Bowl win for Joe Moorhead.