(11/22/03)The Ole Miss-LSU series is set to add another chapter to its outstanding rivalry this afternoon in Oxford.

Before the game begins, youngsters can climb up on grandpa’s lap and hear him tell stories of the classic matchups of games past.

There will be tales of Billy Cannon’s infamous Halloween run in 1959 that gave LSU a 7-3 win over the eventual national champion Rebels.

One can hear about the 1972 game in which the LSU clockkeeper failed to run off the final four seconds of the game, giving the Tigers a second chance to score from the Ole Miss 1-yard line. LSU won 17-16 when Bert Jones found Brad Davis for a touchdown on the next play as time expired.

A yarn that few may know was spun in 1896 when Ole Miss and LSU played for just the second time in their young series. And they played in Vicksburg.

It was a battle between two budding college football franchises that had just gotten on their feet. Both Ole Miss and LSU officially began their programs in 1893. Ole Miss finished 4-1 in its inaugural season. LSU known as the University of Louisiana at the time played only one game that year, a 34-0 loss to Tulane.

The two squared off in Baton Rouge, La., on Dec. 3, 1894 for the first of many games to come. Ole Miss pulled away with a 26-6 win and finished the season at 6-1. In 1895, the game in Oxford was cancelled, postponing the rematch to the next season.

Louisiana finally got its chance for revenge on Nov. 13, 1896.

The fans’ excitement was high for the game, even though the young sport was in its early stages.

“In view of the fact that these two teams represent their respective States and Universities, naturally State pride makes all Mississippians desirous of seeing the crimson and blue victorious and the men on these teams realizing that they represent their State, will put them to the metal,” The Vicksburg Evening Post wrote before the game on Nov. 13, 1896.

Ole Miss entered the game at 1-0 after defeating St. Thomas Hall 20-0. Louisiana came in with a 2-0 record, winning 46-0 against Centenary and 6-0 over Tulane.

Despite being smaller in size, Ole Miss was expected to win the game after what happened two years before. George McLean, the captain for Ole Miss, had played well against LSU the first time the teams met.

Louisiana’s players tipped the scales at a hefty 175 pounds, while Ole Miss’ boys weighed in at 154.

In the end, Louisiana edged by with a shocking 12-4 upset.

“The campus is quiet and seems almost deserted today,” The Post wrote on Nov. 14, 1896 in a report from Oxford. “And the students who are out all wear long, sorrowful faces. Mississippi expected to win the game and its loss is felt keenly.”

The Rebels fell again two weeks later against Tulane to post its first losing season. Louisiana went on to finish the season at 6-0, shutting out all five of its other opponents.

Ninety games and 107 years later, the two are at it again, ready to etch another classic in the annals for followers to tell their grandchildren about in future years.