Egg Bowl Preview: Ole Miss and Mississippi State Meet With Different Goals

Mississippi St. Bulldogs vs. Mississippi Rebels, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

The Egg Bowl comes this year with Mississippi State and Ole Miss both needing a win for the postseason possibilities, but for very different reason. The Rebels need another win to make a trip to the bowls at all, while the Western Division Bulldogs would like to strengthen their resume a little more; a win today would mean a bowl victory would get Mississippi State a 10-win season. That's kind of milestone that Dan Mullen can build on, regardless of how many people carp about State's schedule.

Ole Miss' offense is one of the reasons they've come this far, though, and the 35 points they scored against LSU is the clearest indication yet that it wasn't a smoke-and-mirrors job. Meanwhile, Mississippi State is coming off of a thumping victory against Arkansas that showed that the Bulldogs are indeed a quality team -- even they're not quite on the same level as Alabama and LSU, at least not yet.

We'll give the margin on motivation to Ole Miss, for now. It's a change from what I felt just a week go, and more of a feeling than an analytical decision. It wouldn't surprise me if State revels in the chance to show once again that they're really that good.

Ole Miss 34, Mississippi State 32