Another change to a historic college football rivalry game is garnering some notable backlash from fans ahead of the 2025 season.
The Ole Miss-Mississippi State Egg Bowl is one of the longest-running rivalry games in history, with the 122nd meeting between the two SEC schools set to take place next season.
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The Rebels have won six of the last 10 matchups, including two straight. Last season’s game was ultimately a decisive 26-14 win by Ole Miss at home.
The Bulldogs’ last win in the series came in late head coach Mike Leach’s final game, as unranked Mississippi State marched into Oxford and left with a 24-22 victory over No. 20 Ole Miss.
The Egg Bowl has traditionally taken place on Thanksgiving week, but the matchup moved to Black Friday last year.
The 2025 Egg Bowl will also be held on Friday, Nov. 28 in Starkville. However, there is another change, as the programs announced on Thursday that the game will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT rather than the traditional evening slot.
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And, not surprisingly, Mississippi State and Ole Miss fans don’t seem to be too happy with the early kick.
Mississippi Rebels fans rush the field after winning the Egg BowlSpruce Derden-Imagn Images
“I can’t express how devastating this is,” one MSU fan wrote.
“Friday 11:00am Egg Bowl. Why? This is just silly,” another MSU fan added.
“Please listen to the fan base,” one MSU fan pleaded.
It’s rare to see opposing fans in a heated rivalry like the Egg Bowl find common ground, but that appears to be the case here. Some fans would rather move the game back to Thanksgiving than have an early kickoff on Black Friday.
“11 A.M. ON FRIDAY????? Y’all have ruined the Egg Bowl,” one Ole Miss fan wrote.
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“Egg Bowl belongs on Thanksgiving night,” an Ole Miss fan responded.
“Why didn’t you stick up for yourselves? 11 a.m. Egg Bowl? At least it’s not a home game sheesh,” another Ole Miss fan added.
Unfortunately for the opposing fan bases in this case, kickoff slates are determined by television partners and the conference.
The 2025 matchup will be the sixth time in history that the two have met on a Friday, including 1916, 1921, 2007, 2008 and 2024.
The Rebels maintain the overall lead at 66-47-6 all-time. Since the Golden Egg was introduced in 1927, Ole Miss has posted a 60-30-5 record against the Bulldogs.
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