I have lived in Mississippi long enough to have lost the typical Yankee greeting reserved for most northerners, however I have never seen football fans in the state as rabid as they are now.
It’s been an exciting two weeks in Mississippi football history, perhaps the most exciting. Ole Miss and Mississippi State fans usually would take turns bashing each other over the 19 years I have lived in the south.
All that changed this week when both teams landed at the No. 3 spot in college football’s top ten. Wow! How did that happen?
The Rebels dispatched Alabama in what some have said is the beginning of the end of the Tide’s dynasty while the Bulldogs went down to Texas and had a feast.
Ole Miss was on the radar before the season began and was talked about as being an SEC contender while MSU flew under the radar. State has quietly amassed a fantastic season and emerged as legitimate contenders for a national title with Dak Prescott being mentioned as a Heisman contender.
The Rebels are impressive this season as well, and with the indefinite suspension of Georgia’s Todd Gurley, Bo Wallace might sneak onto the Heisman dark horse list.
Wallace led the SEC in interceptions last year with 17, but was allowed to remain in the game and learned the old fashioned way at the school of hard knocks. His coach’s faith in him didn’t falter and Ole Miss fans are seeing the results of that now.
With big wins against No. 2 Auburn and the No. 14 Aggies falling to another Mississippi school this weekend the stakes are looking pretty good for a possible one/two matchup for the Egg Bowl this year.
How would that affect the College Football Championship Game in Arlington Texas?
Could it be a rematch of the greatest Egg Bowl ever played?  Would it be a sign that the end is near?
One thing is for sure, this is the greatest year for Mississippi football that I have ever experienced and still it feels a little empty.
As an alumnus of that often overlooked school down Hwy 49 in Hattiesburg, not William Carey University but the other school, I feel left out of the pigskin lottery. With two wins this season the University of Southern Mississippi has doubled last season’s win total. Just like their big brothers, Southern fans had a good weekend. The Golden Eagles had a bye week.
That sound in the distance isn’t thunder, it is either Southern’s season going down the tubes or Ole Miss and State fans heading to Texas.
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Paul Barry is the managing editor and can be reached by email at paul.barry@vicksburgpost.com or by phone at 601-636-4545 ext. 123.