After all, when I was a high school senior, the Rebels were winless in the SEC under Ed Orgeron. In Orgeron’s last Egg Bowl, Ole Miss had a 14-point lead with 10 minutes left. But Ole Miss was stuffed on a fourth down and Mississippi State gained momentum, scoring 17 unanswered points and winning the game.
The following four years — my four years at Ole Miss — Houston Nutt helped give Rebels fans a small taste of winning, with two nine-win seasons and upsets of Florida (which went on to win the national title) and Texas Tech.