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Here's How Rebel Fans Reacted on Social Media to Egg Bowl Victory
The Ole Miss Rebels pulled off an upset and set new team records in Thursday night’s win over Mississippi State, but reactions to the game have been mixed.
A pregame fight between Ole Miss and State players set the tone for what many fans on both sides felt was an unusually ugly game. And the 6-6 finish has left Rebel Nation divided on whether Matt Luke should keep his position as head coach.
But a win is a win, and this one couldn’t have been much sweeter for an Ole Miss team that has endured injuries to key players (including starting quarterback Shea Patterson) and heartbreaking last-minute losses, not to mention the sudden departure of former Head Coach Hugh Freeze just a few months before the season opened and the looming dark cloud of a seemingly interminable NCAA investigation.
As always, Clarion-Ledger cartoonist Marshall Ramsey put the Ole Miss-State rivalry into humorous perspective before the game kicked off in Starkville:
While thrilled with the win, some Rebel fans were disappointed in the on-field behavior of Rebel players and took to social media to share their mixed feelings:
Bill Bunting, an Ole Miss grad now working at the University of Virginia, offered a more wry perspective on the decades-long rivalry and this year’s outcome:
Still others merely savored the victory over a 14th-ranked Bulldog team that was predicted to coast to an easy victory on its home turf:
Former Ole Miss safety Cody Prewitt expressed solidarity with the team:
Directly addressing the question on nearly every Rebel fan’s mind, Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated reporter Bruce Feldman believes Matt Luke proved he was the right man for the permanent head coaching position at Ole Miss:
Other Rebel fans were just happy to see Luke come out on top, if only for one night, after such a long and difficult season:
In the end, the Golden Egg returned to Oxford in a surprising finish to a turbulent season, and it’s ours for the next year. So Hotty Toddy and fins up, Rebel Nation, and just wait ’til next year!
Rick Hynum is editor-in-chief of HottyToddy.com. Email him at rick.hynum@hottytoddy.com.
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | L, 24-17 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | W, 26-14 |
Jim Hays
November 25, 2017 at 8:08 am
I think the last time we “promoted from within”in 1946, our coach heard his Mama calling and left a 2/6 record at Ole Miss to go back to Alabama. I was a freshman that year. With no success in the past and no top prospects available, “Tad” Smith (AD) just promoted his 1st year defensive coach to the head coaching job. I can’t think of his name…….oh!yes, now I remember , it was John Vaught. turned out It was a good pick! The rest is history!
neal brown
November 25, 2017 at 10:47 am
Mudcats should be mascot for Ole Miss and would be associated with the state of Mississippi since Catfish is one of our global sales. Landmarks were low life people that were carpet baggers who came here to buy our land for pennies after the war,