Houston Nutt’s final game as the head coach of the Ole Miss football program is arguably the most important to his legacy. Coaches, outgoing or not, are remembered by how they finish a season, a career and how they fare against the team’s biggest rival. While some Ole Miss fans still consider LSU the Rebels’ biggest rival, the annual end to a regular season campaign always comes against Mississippi State.
The “Egg Bowl” has decided the fortunes for many coaches on both sides. The 45-0 MSU loss Sylvester Croom experienced in 2008 has left a lasting mark. Jackie Sherrill’s last game as MSU’s head coach resulted in a one-sided loss, while Tommy Tuberville and Ed Orgeron both experienced forgettable losses at the hands of the Bulldogs in what were their final games as head coach at Ole Miss.
In short, the Ole Miss-MSU matchup matters and Nutt, having lost two straight in the series to the Bulldogs, knows that better than anyone else. (November 24, 2011, Page 8A)
