Egg Bowl Returns to Thanksgiving in 2017 Schedule

(Photo by Ole Miss Athletics)

The 2017 Ole Miss football schedule was unveiled Tuesday night as the Southeastern Conference announced next year’s full league slate on SEC Network.

The big news about the schedule highlights the Egg Bowl returning to Thanksgiving Day.

The Rebels open the season with back-to-back home games, facing South Alabama (Sept. 2) before hosting UT Martin (Sept. 9).  Ole Miss will play seven games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for the 11th consecutive year since the regular season expanded from 11 games to 12.

Three straight road games, along with a bye week, will keep Ole Miss away from Oxford for four weeks. First, the Rebels head west to battle California (Sept. 16) in an SEC vs. Pac-12 showdown. Following a bye week, conference road contests at Alabama (Sept. 30) and at Auburn (Oct. 7) await Ole Miss.

Five of the Rebels’ final seven games of the regular season will take place at home: Vanderbilt (Oct. 14), LSU (Oct. 21), Arkansas (Oct. 28), Louisiana-Lafayette (Nov. 11) and Texas A&M (Nov. 18). A road game at Kentucky (Nov. 4) is sandwiched in between the home matchups.

Wrapping up the regular season, the Battle for the Golden Egg will take place on Thanksgiving (Nov. 23) in Starkville. It will mark the first year in a multi-year agreement that the Ole Miss-Mississippi State rivalry will be played on Thanksgiving night. The last time the Rebels and Bulldogs faced off on Thanksgiving was 2013, also in Starkville.

Not all the fans are excited about the move.

Each SEC team plays eight conference football games to include six games against division opponents and two games against non-division opponents. One of the non-division opponents is a permanent annual opponent (Ole Miss’ is Vanderbilt) and the other non-division opponent rotates each year.

The 2017 season is the second for the SEC that adds a strength-of-schedule component that requires all schools to play an ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 or Major Independent opponent on an annual basis.

The 2017 season will culminate with the first SEC Championship Game to be played in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, December 2.  It will be the 26th edition of the game and the 24th in the city of Atlanta.

The complete list of 2017 football schedules can be found on the SEC’s official website, SECsports.com.

For the latest updates on Ole Miss Football, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissFB), Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (OfficialOMFB) in addition to www.OleMissSports.com.

2017 Ole Miss Football Schedule
Sept. 2                         SOUTH ALABAMA
Sept. 9                         UT MARTIN
Sept. 16                       at California
Sept. 30                       at Alabama*
Oct. 7                          at Auburn*
Oct. 14                        VANDERBILT*
Oct. 21                        LSU*
Oct. 28                        ARKANSAS*
Nov. 4                         at Kentucky*
Nov. 11                       LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
Nov. 18                       TEXAS A&M*
Nov. 23 (Thurs.)         at Mississippi State*

Home games in ALL CAPS

*Southeastern Conference game