Louisiana and Mississippi share a border, but there is no love lost between the two states when gridiron supremacy is on the line.
LSU and Ole Miss began playing football in 1894 and have played each other every year since 1945.
The Tigers take a 55-39-4 series lead into Saturday’s matchup. The rivalry, which has seen a number of memorable games, still gets the fans riled up.
“A lot of my boys go to Ole Miss, and a bunch of them are going to be in town, so this is a big game,” said Jordan McGuire, business administration sophomore. “It’s about bragging rights — total bragging rights game.”
Topping the list is the 1959 game, a game that is arguably tops in LSU football history.
The Tigers entered the game as the defending national champions and ranked No. 1 in the country, and the Rebels were No. 3. The Rebels led, 3-0, in the fourth quarter when LSU running back Billy Cannon fielded a punt at the LSU 11-yard line and broke free, scampering 89 yards for a touchdown and a 7-3 LSU victory.
Next, is a game dubbed “the night the clock stopped.” In 1972, No. 6 LSU trailed Ole Miss, 16-10, with four seconds to play. Following an incomplete pass — which is rumored to have taken quite a bit of time — the clock still read one second. LSU quarterback Bert Jones connected with his running back Brad Davis for a touchdown as time expired. With the extra point, LSU took home a 17-16 victory.
Soon after the game, a sign appeared at the Louisiana-Mississippi border saying, “You are now entering Louisiana. Set your clocks back four seconds.”
The 2003 game was quite possibly the most anticipated matchup between the two teams since that epic 1959 showdown. LSU was No. 3 in the country, and Ole Miss was No. 15.
Ole Miss was undefeated in Southeastern Conference play and was one win away from clinching its first trip to the SEC Championship Game. LSU led, 17-14, with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
Ole Miss had a fourth-and-10 situation when quarterback Eli Manning attempted to drop back to pass and was tripped by his own offensive lineman. LSU won the game and eventually the national championship.
Then there was the “Mississippi Meltdown” of 2009. LSU completed a 40-yard pass to the Ole Miss 6-yard line with one second remaining. LSU had no timeouts, and mass confusion ensued on the sideline. LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson looked for a sign from the sideline — which never came — and time expired with Ole Miss clinging to a 25-23 victory.
“We’ve lost the past two times to Ole Miss, so a win this weekend would be great for the program,” said Kevin Copus, petroleum engineering junior.
The win would also mean a second consecutive senior class at LSU would win its final home game.
“I’ve been here for five years, and I came here and got real attached,” said LSU senior running back Richard Murphy. “These guys are like my brothers, so there will be a lot of emotions on Saturday.”
One off-the-field issue that is sure to arise Saturday is the recent fiasco surrounding the Ole Miss mascot. Recently, the school decided to pull its historical mascot Colonel Reb from the field and replace him with the Rebel Black Bear.
The bear was chosen over a handful of other options that included a landshark, a Rebel steamboat captain, a couple named “Hotty” and “Toddy” and even the mythical “Star Wars” creature Admiral Ackbar.
There was a strong response from LSU students for Ole Miss to keep Colonel Reb, but LSU junior offensive lineman T-Bob Hebert had a different view.
“I’m kind of a sci-fi geek myself, so I thought the Admiral Ackbar would have been pretty cool,” Hebert said. “But I guess they couldn’t really get it done.”
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]