Ole Miss Rebels football The football history of the University of Mississippi ( also officially known as " Ole Miss " ) , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football ' s all - time winning programs . The Ole Miss Rebels posted their 600th win on September 27 , 2008 when they defeated the ( then ranked # 4 and future 2008 BCS National Champ ) Florida Gators 31 – 30 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville , Florida . Throughout the 115 - year history of Ole Miss football , the Rebels have won six Southeastern Conference titles ( 1947 , 1954 , 1955 , 1960 , 1962 , and 1963 ) ; they also have a claim to 3 national championships ( 1959 , 1960 , 1962 ) . Early history . In 1890 , Dr . A . L . Bondurant , later the dean of the Ole Miss Graduate School , rallied Ole Miss students to help form an athletic department to encompass the sports of football , baseball and tennis . The students brought this initiative to reality and in 1893 , with Bondurant as the coach , a football team came to fruition . The first team won four of five games during that inaugural football season . One of those wins was the very first football game ever played by an Ole Miss team , a 56 - 0 victory over Southwest Baptist University of Jackson , Tennessee ( now known as Union University ) . This was on November 11 , 1893 . The next year , 1894 , Bondurant passed on his coaching duties . " Ole Miss Football " , a book published in 1980 by Sports Yearbook Company of Oxford , MS , says J . W . S . Rhea was the first coach at Ole Miss having been hired part - time by Bondurant and having led the 1894 team to a 6 - 1 record . The annual Ole Miss media guide lists C . D . Clark as the coach of the 1894 team and further says about him , " Although it has never been documented , it is thought that C . D . Clark of Tufts was the first paid football coach at Ole Miss . His name appears as manager of the team as shown in the Ole Miss Magazine dated November 1894 . " The College Football Data Warehouse also lists Clark as the coach for the 1894 team . Twice in its history , Ole Miss did not field a football team . In 1897 , a yellow fever epidemic cancelled the football season . In 1943 , football was abolished at all Mississippi state - supported institutions by the state college Board of Trustees due to World War II . National Championships . While the NCAA ' s website states that " the NCAA does not conduct a national championship in Division I - A football and is not involved in the selection process , " it goes on to say that " a number of polling organizations provide a final ranking of Division I - A football teams at the end of each season . " Ole Miss claims three national championships based on other polls . The major polls of the time ( Associated Press & United Press ) named Syracuse University the National Champion in 1959 ( The University of Mississippi was # 2 in both polls ) , the University of Minnesota in 1960 ( Mississippi was # 2 in AP and # 3 in the UPI ) and the University of Southern California in 1962 ( Mississippi was # 3 in both polls ) . In 1955 , the Rebels were declared National Champions by the Massey Ratings , though they are not considered to be a major poll and it is not claimed by the University . Milestones . The most points ever scored in a game by the Ole Miss Rebels was 114 when Ole Miss defeated Union College 114 – 0 on October 29 , 1904 . The Ole Miss football team was the first college team in the nation to fly to a game , having done so in 1937 . The flight was from Memphis , Tennessee to Philadelphia . Ole Miss ' first game to ever be broadcast on television was in 1948 against Memphis . The speed limit on the Ole Miss campus is 18 miles per hour in honor of Archie Manning , who wore the same number during his playing days at Ole Miss . Ole Miss plays a central role in Michael Lewis ' s book " " and its 2009 film adaptation , " The Blind Side " . Great Games . 1952 Maryland The Rebels splashed onto the national scene by defeating the highly ranked Maryland Terrapins in Oxford on Nov . 15 1952 by the score of 21 - 14 . This game is credited by many for being the catalyst to the great run the rebels had from 1952 - 1963 . 1959 LSU On Halloween night , two of the top teams in the country squared of in Baton Rouge , LA . The game would be a defensive struggle with the Rebels clinging to a 3 - 0 lead in the fourth quarter . Future Heisman winner Billy Cannon changed the game off a fortuitous bounce on a punt return that went 89 yards into college football lore . The replay is still played whenever a reference to this rivalry is made . Ole Miss would have one last chance to pull off the win , but was stopped short on 4th and a yard at the goalline by Billy Cannon . LSU won 7 - 3 1960 LSU On Jan 1 , 1960 , one of the most anticipated rematches in college football history took place . This game , however , would not be the classic that transpired only weeks before . Ole Miss dominated the game from start to finish and came away with a decisive 21 - 0 win over the Tigers . The Rebels finished the season having only given up 21 points all year , declared national champions by several polls , and named the 3rd rated team in history ( through 1995 ) by the sagarin ratings , behind only two great Nebraska teams . 1969 Tennessee More affectionately known as , " The Mule Game " , the Rebels faced off against the Tennessee Volunteers in Jackson MS for a crisp mid - November affair . Prior to the game , Tennessee ' s Steve Kiner was interviewed by Sports Illustrated . When asked about the Rebels and all their horses in the backfield , Kiner replied , " . . . more like a bunch of mules . " When asked specifically about Archie Manning , he responded , " Archie who ? " This inspired the Johnny Rebs and propelled them to a 38 - 0 shellacking of the Vols . This win would push the Rebels into the 1970 Sugar bowl where they defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks to cap off the season . 1977 Notre Dame On a hot , humid day in the south , the Rebels took advantage of the weather to stun the Irish 20 - 13 . It would be the only loss the Irish would suffer that season as they went on to claim the 1977 AP national championship . The Rebels were actually awarded the national championship by Reader ' s Digest at the end of the season due to being the only team to defeat Notre Dame that season . 1986 LSU The Rebels jumped out to an early lead in Baton Rouge and managed to hold on to a 21 - 19 win . It was the biggest win for the Rebels in a relatively dry decade that only saw the Rebels go to 3 bowl games . 1997 LSU Coming off 2 years of probation , it was anticipated it would be a couple of more years before the Rebels would fully recover . However , Ole Miss served the rest of the SEC notice that they were far from being dead by knocking off the 7th ranked Tigers 36 - 21 in Baton Rouge a week after LSU shocked the top - ranked Florida Gators . The Rebels would sustain several years of moderate success in the years following culminating with a top 15 finish in 2003 and winning 10 games in a season for the first time in 30 years . 2008 Florida After 3 years of SEC purgatory , the Rebels were in a desperately needed a spark . That spark came in the form of defeating the 4th ranked Florida Gators 31 - 30 in Gainesville . Ole Miss took a 31 - 24 lead with 5 minutes to go in the game on an 86 - yard bomb thrown by Jevan Snead to Shay Hodge . Florida responded within two minutes to bring the game within one , only to have the PAT blocked by Kentrell Lockett . Florida would get the ball gain but would turn the ball over on downs after all - world Heisman winner Tim Tebow would be stopped on fourth and one . The win would catapult the Rebels to back - to - back Cotton Bowl Victories . Modern era head coaches . John Vaught . John Vaught , a line coach at Ole Miss in 1946 under Harold D . " Red " Drew and a former All - American at TCU , remained in Oxford as head coach in 1947 and led the Ole Miss program to national prominence over the next 24 years , posting 23 winning records . In his first season at the helm in 1947 , the Rebels posted a 9 - 2 record and won the first of six SEC crowns ( 1947 , 1954 , 1955 , 1960 , 1962 , 1963 ) . That 1947 season also saw Ole Miss great Charlie Conerly become the first Rebel player to be a contender for the Heisman Trophy , placing fourth in the voting for the prestigious honor . Vaught ' s squads , however , didn ' t stop at just winning league titles , as the Rebels claimed three national championships in 1959 , 1960 and 1962 . Ole Miss won the 1959 Dunkel System national crown , the 1960 Football Writers Association of America , Dunkel System , and Williamson System national championships and the 1962 Litkenhous Ratings national title . Vaught ' s 1962 squad remains the only undefeated team in Ole Miss football history . Vaught ' s 1959 squad , which was honored as the “ SEC Team of the Decade , ” was ranked the third best collegiate football team from 1956 to 1995 , according to the Jeff Sagarin Ratings released in January 1996 . The Rebels were also among the winningest programs in the country under Vaught during the 1950s and 1960s . From 1950 - 59 , Ole Miss posted an 80 - 21 - 5 record ( . 778 winning percentage ) . The 77 . 8 winning percentage was third to only Oklahoma and Miami ( OH ) during that decade . In the 1960s , Vaught guided the Rebels to a 77 - 25 - 6 record and a 74 . 0 winning percentage , which was the ninth best during that decade . The Rebels 1962 season under Vaught is , to this day , the only undefeated season in Ole Miss history . The Rebels ended that season 10 and 0 and as national champions . In the 1950s and 1960s under Vaught , Ole Miss was a fixture in the national polls . The Rebels were ranked atop the Associated Press poll for three weeks during the 1960 season and one week during the 1961 campaign . In 1964 , Ole Miss was ranked preseason No . 1 in the Associated Press poll . Vaught also made going to postseason play the norm rather than the exception for the Rebel football program . Ole Miss played in 15 consecutive bowl games from 1957 - 71 which , at that time , was a national record . In all , Vaught led Ole Miss to 18 bowl game appearances , posting a 10 - 8 record in those contests . For his efforts , Vaught was named SEC Coach of the Year six times ( 1947 , 1948 , 1954 , 1955 , 1960 , 1962 ) . Unfortunately , after fighting integration with everything they could muster , black athletes became prominent in college football and the Ole Miss rebels were never able to regain an upper hand in the SEC or the NCAA . During his time at the helm , Vaught coached some of the best players ever to wear the Red & Blue . In 24 seasons , Vaught produced 26 All - America first teamers . He also coached four players who finished in the top five in the Heisman Trophy voting . Along with Conerly in 1947 , Charlie Flowers ( 5th in 1959 ) , Jake Gibbs ( 3rd in 1960 ) and Archie Manning ( 4th in 1969 , 3rd in 1970 ) were in the running for college football ' s top honor . Failing health forced Vaught to resign his position in 1970 and the reins of the Ole Miss football program were turned over to Billy Kinard . Billy R . Kinard . Billy Kinard became the first Ole Miss alumnus to head up the football program , while Frank “ Bruiser ” Kinard , an offensive line coach under Vaught since 1948 , was named athletic director that same year . The Rebels went 16 - 9 under Billy Kinard , including a 10 - 2 record and a 41 - 18 Peach Bowl victory over Georgia Tech in his first year in 1971 . Kinard ' s 10 victories are tied for fourth most by a first - year head coach in NCAA Division I history . Kinard coached the Rebels through the 1972 season and through the third game of the 1973 season . After the disappointing 5 – 5 season in 1972 , there was some pressure among the alumni to have Kinard removed . The administration bowed to this pressure after the Rebels started the 1973 season 1 – 2 , including a shutout loss to Missouri , 17 – 0 , and was upset by Memphis State , 17 – 13 . Both Billy Kinard and Frank Kinard were fired , and John Vaught was rehired as both the head coach and athletic director . Following the 1973 football season , Vaught resigned once again as head coach , but remained on as athletic director . His final record with the Rebels was 190 – 61 – 12 . The 190 victories still rank Vaught in the top 25 winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history , and he is the fourth - winningest coach in SEC history . In 1979 , Vaught was inducted in the National College Football Hall of Fame . Ken Cooper . Ken Cooper , an assistant under Kinard since 1971 , was named head coach on Jan . 17 , 1974 , and took Ole Miss through the 1977 season . Cooper compiled a 21 - 23 record during his four years at the helm , and his tenure is probably best remembered for one hot and humid day in September 1977 . In one of the most memorable games in Rebel football history , Ole Miss upset Notre Dame , 20 – 13 in Mississippi Memorial Stadium on Sept . 17 , 1977 , in Jackson . That loss was the Irish ' s lone setback of the 1977 campaign , as Notre Dame finished the season with an 11 – 1 record and claimed both the AP and UPI national titles . Steve Sloan . Following the 1977 season , Steve Sloan , the former All - American quarterback at Alabama under Paul " Bear " Bryant , was hired as the new Rebel boss and began his five - year stint in 1978 . Sloan posted a 20 – 34 record from 1978 – 82 . Billy Brewer . After stepping outside the Ole Miss family football tree the previous nine seasons , Ole Miss looked for a familiar face to lead the football program , and the Rebels found that person when Billy Brewer returned to Oxford to take over as head coach in December 1982 . In his first season in 1983 , Brewer guided the Rebels to their first winning regular season since 1977 with a 6 - 5 record . The Rebels also went to their first bowl game since 1971 losing to Air Force 9 - 3 in the Independence Bowl . Brewer remained in Oxford for another ten seasons , leading the Rebels to five winning seasons and four bowls , including Ole Miss ' 1990 New Year ' s Day Gator Bowl appearance , which was the program ' s first January bowl game since 1969 . He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1986 ( 8 – 3 – 1 record ) and 1990 ( 9 – 3 record ) , and in 1986 , the Rebels return to the national rankings for the first time in over a decade . Brewer coached 11 years ( 1983 – 93 ) and compiled a 67 – 56 – 3 record , making him ( at the time ) the second winningest Ole Miss football coach behind Vaught . Brewer also led Ole Miss to eight Egg Bowl victories over rival Mississippi State . Brewer was dismissed just prior to the 1994 season after the NCAA infractions committee found him guilty of " unethical conduct , " and Ole Miss defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn took over as interim coach , directing the Rebels to a 4 – 7 record under difficult circumstances highlighted only by a 34 - 21 victory over rival LSU . Tommy Tuberville . On Dec . 2 , 1994 , Tommy Tuberville was selected as the coach in charge of getting the Rebels on the right track . After serving as an assistant coach on the collegiate level for nine seasons ( eight at Miami and one at Texas A & M ) , Tuberville began creating excitement in his first season in 1995 , finishing the campaign with a 6 – 5 record and an Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State . That excitement grew in 1997 , when Ole Miss recorded its best season since 1992 with an 8 – 4 record , a thrilling 15 – 14 Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State and a Motor City Bowl win over Marshall University . The bowl appearance was the program ' s first since 1992 , and the Rebels earned a final national ranking of No . 22 in both polls . The revitalized Ole Miss program continued in its success in 1998 , but suffered a setback after the Egg Bowl when Tuberville , despite repeated assurances that he would not leave - even going so far as to say " They ' ll have to take me out of here in a pine box " - , agreed 2 days later to become the head coach at SEC West rival Auburn University . David Cutcliffe . David Cutcliffe took over as head coach on Dec . 2 , 1998 . Cutcliffe , who came to Ole Miss from his offensive coordinator post at Tennessee , took over the reins just 29 days before the Rebels ' Sanford Independence Bowl date versus Texas Tech . Despite the short preparation time for the game , Cutcliffe led the Rebels to a 35 – 18 victory over the Red Raiders , quite arguably the biggest upset of the 1998 bowl season . Cutcliffe brought with him to Oxford a high - powered offensive style that energized the Rebel fanbase . In the time from 1997 – 2003 , the Rebels played in six bowl games , tied with Arkansas for the most bowl appearances among SEC Western Division schools during that span . Cutcliffe had four winning seasons in his first five seasons at Ole Miss , in 1999 ( 8 – 4 ) , 2000 ( 7 – 5 ) , 2001 ( 7 – 4 ) and 2002 ( 7 – 6 ) , becoming the first Rebel mentor since Harry Mehre ( 1938 – 41 ) to post winning marks in his first five years . Cutcliffe also directed Ole Miss to four bowl appearances in his first five seasons , and is the only head coach in Ole Miss history to do so . In 2003 Cutcliffe guided the Rebels to a 10 – 3 overall mark and a share of the SEC West title with eventual BCS National Champion LSU . Following their 31 – 28 victory over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl Classic , the Rebels finished # 13 in the final poll . It was Ole Miss ' first New Year ' s bowl since the 1991 Gator Bowl against Michigan , in which they were thoroughly embarrassed by a clearly better program . Despite his 44 – 29 record , five straight winning seasons , and guiding the team to its first 10 win season in over 30 years , Cutcliffe was fired by Ole Miss ' s Athletic Director Pete Boone in December 2004 after the team posted a disappointing 4 – 7 record and three consecutive losses to LSU . Ed Orgeron . Ed Orgeron , regarded as one of college football ' s premier defensive line coaches and recruiters , was named the 35th head football coach in the history of the University of Mississippi on December 16 , 2004 . Orgeron , who took control of the Ole Miss program after serving the previous seven seasons as defensive line coach at the University of Southern California , and played a role in Pete Carroll ' s Trojan championship in 2004 . He also served as USC ' s recruiting coordinator from 2001 – 2004 and was named assistant head coach in 2003 . Orgeron was named the 2004 National Recruiter of the Year by The Sporting News and Rivals . com . Orgeron ' s talent as a recruiter created a buzz among Rebel fans and drew national attention when Ole Miss ' 2006 signing class ranked as high as fifteenth in the rankings . His 2007 recruiting class was also listed among the best in college football ( # 31 according to scout . com ) . However , his recruiting success did not translate to on the field performance . In 2007 , Ole Miss was last in the SEC in scoring offense , turnover margin , rushing offense , rushing defense , punt returns , opponent first downs , red - zone offense , opponent third - down conversions , field goal percentage , time of possession and kickoff coverage . In 2007 , 20 Ole Miss football players were placed on indefinite probation by the University for having stolen pillows and clock radios from hotels in which the team had stayed in . All 20 players paid for the stolen items and therefore no NCAA rules were broken , according to the NCAA . Coach Orgeron stated that the incident would be dealt with internally and that no one would miss the season finale against arch - rival Mississippi State , because none of the 20 players had been a discipline problem before . For the same reason , that being no previous discipline issues , the school refused to release the names of the players . The 2007 season was a historic one for Ole Miss . The Rebels went winless in the SEC for the first time since 1982 – 25 years . The Rebels , under Orgeron , ended the season at 3 – 9 ( 0 – 8 in SEC play ) . The 2007 season culminated with the firing of Orgeron on November 24 , 2007 . Three days later , Houston Nutt was hired as the next head football coach . Houston Nutt . On November 27 , 2007 , Houston Nutt was hired as the new head football coach of the Ole Miss Rebels . Nutt ' s hiring made him the 36th head football coach at Ole Miss . The next day , November 28 , 2007 , just five weeks after having defeated Ole Miss as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks , Nutt was officially introduced as the new Ole Miss head football coach at a press conference at the Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for Performing Arts on the Ole Miss campus . During the press conference , Nutt stated , " One thing I love about Ole Miss is the tradition , " naming past players such as Archie Manning , Jake Gibbs , Frank " Bruiser " Kinard , Deuce McAllister and Eli Manning . " It ' s about tradition . That ' s the reason I am here . I feel like this place can be successful . I feel like this place can win . I can ' t wait to tell our players this afternoon . That ' s how you spell fun . The way you spell fun is “ W - I - N . ” That ' s what it is all about . " During Nutt ' s first season , he guided the Ole Miss Rebels to a 9 - 4 record with marquee victories over the eventual BCS National Champion Florida Gators squad , the reigning BCS National Champion LSU Tigers , and the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2009 Cotton Bowl Classic . At the end of this season , the Rebels were ranked in the Top - 15 in both major polls . It was announced on April 16 , 2009 that Nutt and his wife Diana had committed to give a gift of $ 100 , 000 dollars to Ole Miss . Half of the contribution will create scholarships for student - athletes . The other half of the gift will be used toward the university ’ s Indoor Practice Facility , which opened in 2004 and cost $ 17 million to build . Recent history . 2007 season . The 2007 season was a historic one for Ole Miss . The Rebels went winless in the SEC for the first time since 1982 – 25 years . The Rebels , under head coach Ed Orgeron , ended the season at 3 – 9 ( 0 – 8 in SEC play ) . Orgeron ' s talent as a recruiter created a buzz among Rebel fans and drew national attention when Ole Miss ' 2006 signing class ranked as high as fifteenth in the rankings . His 2007 recruiting class was also listed among the best in college football ( # 31 according to scout . com ) . However , his recruiting success did not translate to on the field performance . In 2007 , Ole Miss was last in the SEC in scoring offense , turnover margin , rushing offense , rushing defense , punt returns , opponent first downs , red - zone offense , opponent third - down conversions , field goal percentage , time of possession and kickoff coverage . The 2007 season culminated with defeats to LSU ( 27 - 41 ) and MSU ( 14 - 17 ) which resulted in the firing of Orgeron the following day . Three days later , Houston Nutt was hired as the next head football coach . 2008 season . The biggest change for the Rebels going into the 2008 football season was the head coach . Houston Nutt began his first season as head coach of the Rebels , replacing Ed Ogeron , who was fired after his 2007 team failed to win an SEC game . With a new head coach also came new assistants , including Tight ends / special teams coach James Shibest , Running game coordinator Mike Markuson , Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker , Recruiting coordinator and Safeties coach Chris Vaughn and High School Relations director Clifton Ealy , all of whom were assistants at Arkansas under Nutt the previous season . Tyrone Nix left his position as Defensive Coordinator of the South Carolina Gamecocks to join Nutt ' s staff at the same position . Before his time at South Carolina , Nix spent 10 years at Southern Mississippi . Former Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee originally agreed to follow Nutt from Arkansas to Ole Miss , however , he later accepted an offer to become the Quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins . Upon Lee ' s resignation , former Ole Miss quarterback star Kent Austin , who was coming off a 2007 Grey Cup win as head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders , was hired as offensive coordinator . Projected to place 5th in the SEC Western Division in the pre - season , the Rebels finished 2nd in the West , knocked off the last 2 national champions on the road in No . 4 ( at the time ) Florida and No . 18 ( at the time ) LSU and ended the regular season on a five - game win streak . The 20th ranked Rebels then beat the 8th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl Classic . 2009 season . The 2009 season was one of ups and downs for the Rebels , as the team entered the year with some of the highest expectations of any Ole Miss team in almost half a century . Ultimately , the Rebels failed to meet those lofty expectations . The Rebels finished with an 8 - 4 ( 4 - 4 SEC ) record and an invitation to the Cotton Bowl Classic , a respectable showing but far short of the results that the team , its fans and the national media had anticipated before the season . The Rebels began the 2009 season ranked no . 8 by the Associated Press Poll and no . 10 by the USA Today Coaches Poll . Ole Miss started the season with wins over Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana , and after some key early season losses by other top - 10 schools , the AP poll put the Rebels at no . 4 in week 3 — the team ' s highest ranking since 1970 . The Rebels didn ' t play up to the ranking , however , and a lethargic Ole Miss squad was defeated by the University of South Carolina in Columbia , 16 - 10 , on a Thursday night before a national television audience . The Sept . 24 loss snapped an 8 - game winning streak for the Rebels dating back to the 2008 season and sent them tumbling in the polls , never to rise higher than no . 20 for the rest of the year . The Rebels bounced back to beat Vanderbilt on the road , but then fell to # 3 Alabama at home the next week . Ole Miss recovered to win consecutive home games against UAB and Arkansas in impressive fashion before losing at Auburn in another uneven performance , establishing what would become a signature pattern for the Rebels in 2009 : strong play at home but weak efforts on the road . Following the Auburn loss , the Rebels won three straight home games , including quality wins over Tennessee and LSU . Entering the final week of the season , the team was back in the rankings ( no . 20 ) and seemed set for another winning record in the SEC and a trip to the Capital One Bowl , the SEC ' s highest - paying bowl destination outside of the BCS . Those plans were dashed , however , when Rebels lost to Mississippi State in Starkville , 41 - 27 , finishing the regular season at 8 - 4 overall and 4 - 4 in conference play . One week later Ole Miss accepted an invitation to play in the AT & T Cotton Bowl Classic , marking the team ' s second - consecutive trip to Dallas and the program ' s first back - to - back January bowl births in 40 years . Ole Miss defeated Oklahoma State 21 - 7 . Uniforms . The Ole Miss Rebels currently have four combinations of uniforms that they are known to sport . All combinations involve gray pants with stripes of red and blue . The Rebels use blue jerseys for their primary home uniforms and red jerseys as alternates ; both have bold white numbers and white shoulder stripes . White jerseys with red numbers and stripes are used on the road . On October 30 , 2010 , the Rebels wore all - gray uniforms for the first time in their annual bout with the Auburn Tigers . The gray jerseys are adorned with blue and red shoulder stripes and blue numbers outlined in red . Although worn at home , Mississippi ' s all - gray uniforms are considered white jerseys ( rather than colored ) ; consequently , visiting opponents will wear their home , colored jerseys while the Rebels wear all - gray . Rivalries . Mississippi State . The Battle of the Golden Egg ( nicknamed the Egg Bowl ) is an annual college football game between the Ole Miss Rebels and in - state fellow SEC team Mississippi State University ( MSU ) Bulldogs . While the 2 teams have played each other since 1901 , with 2003 being the year in which the 2 teams had played each other 100 times and now having played each other a total of 106 times , the first game officially known as " The Battle of the Golden Egg " was in 1927 . While it is called a " Bowl " , the game is not a postseason bowl game , but rather a regular season Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) game . Ole Miss leads the series with 60 wins to MSU ' s 41 wins . There have been 6 ties . LSU . Ole Miss first played LSU on December 3 , 1894 winning 26 – 6 in Baton Rouge , Louisiana . Throughout the fifties and sixties , games between the two schools featured highly ranked squads on both sides and seemingly every contest had conference , and at times national title implications - a tradition recently renewed , as the 2003 matchup decided the SEC Western Division Champion , and helped propel LSU to a national championship . A trophy has now been named for the LSU - Ole Miss rivalry known as the " Magnolia Bowl " which began in 2008 with a 31 - 13 victory by the Ole Miss Rebels . The 2009 game was also won by Ole Miss 25 - 23 . The latest edition was another classic , typical of the games between these two , with LSU scoring with under a minute left to prevail 43 - 36 . LSU leads the overall series over Ole Miss 56 - 39 - 4 . 2011 will mark the 100th edition of this great rivalry . Vanderbilt . The Vanderbilt - Ole Miss rivalry is an annual college football rivalry between the Vanderbilt University Commodores and the University of Mississippi Rebels . The Rebels are the Commodores ' second - longest , continuous football rivalry . Both teams are founding members of the Southeastern Conference , and their universities have the smallest and second - smallest , respectively , student body populations among SEC schools . This similar size , the schools ' proximity to one another ( Nashville is less than 4 hours from Oxford ) , and the similar culture of Greek life ( both schools ' student bodies have high percentages of participation in fraternities and sororities ) led them to choose to be one another ' s inter - divisional non - rotator when the SEC grew to 12 teams for the 1992 season . The schools have lately been rather evenly matched . In the last ten years , Ole Miss leads the series , 6 - 4 , but Vanderbilt has won 3 of the last 5 . The series has also been marked by close games , with the average margin between the teams since 1999 only 7 points . Ole Miss leads the series , 47 - 35 - 2 Although , since 1950 , Ole Miss leads the series 42 - 13 - 2 . Arkansas . Ole Miss first played Arkansas in 1908 , with Arkansas winning that game 33 – 0 . They would play each other many times , though sporadically , over the next several decades , including two meetings in the Sugar Bowl in 1963 and 1970 ; Ole Miss won both Sugar Bowl matchups . The two teams have played annually since 1981 . In 1991 , Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference , and was placed in the same division as Ole Miss when the conference split into two divisions in 1992 . Ole Miss won the first conference contest in Little Rock by a score of 17 - 3 . The 2001 Ole Miss - Arkansas game set a NCAA record for most overtime periods played ( 7 ) . It has since been tied , but never broken . Arkansas won that game 58 – 56 . 2007 saw the already intense rivalry heat up even more when after Houston Nutt resigned as the head coach for Arkansas , Ole Miss hired him as their new head coach days later . 2008 saw the first game between Ole Miss and Arkansas in which Nutt returned to Arkansas in his first game against his former team . Ole Miss , and Houston Nutt , won 23 - 21 though Arkansas disputes a late offensive pass interference penalty which would have given the Hogs the ball first & 10 near the 20 with less than a minute remaining . They would ultimately give up the ball on downs . This of course only made the rivalry that much more intense . The following season , 2009 , Arkansas went to Oxford to take on Ole Miss . Ole Miss again won , 30 - 17 , but this time off the shoulders of an explosive Dexter McCluster . The Hogs finally got the upperhand on the johnny rebs in 2010 with a decisive , weather delayed 38 - 24 decision in fayetteville . " Team of the Century " . 1893 – 1992 Offense OE - Floyd Franks OE - Barney Poole OL - Jim Dunaway OL - Gene Hickerson OL - Stan Hindman OL - Everett Lindsey OL - Marvin Terrell OC - Dawson Pruett QB - Archie Manning QB - Charlie Conerly RB - John Dotley RB - Charlie Flowers PK - Robert Khayat Defense DL - Frank M . " Bruiser " Kinnard DL - Kelvin Pritchett DL - Ben Williams DL - Freddie Joe Nunn LB - Tony Bennett LB - Kenny Dill LB - Larry Grantham LB - Jeff Herrod DB - Billy Brewer DB - Glenn Cannon DB - Chris Mitchell DB - Jimmy Patton DB - Todd Sandroni P - Jim Miller Bowl history . Ole Miss has participated in 33 bowl games with a record of 21 wins and 12 losses . Notably , Ole Miss ' win percentage of 0 . 636 ranks third all - time among football programs that have played in 25 or more bowl games ( behind USC and Penn State ) . Twenty - one bowl wins also ranks 12th all - time . On December 31 , 1921 , Ole Miss lost 0 - 14 to University of Havana , of Cuba , in the Bacardi Bowl . The University of Mississippi Athletic Association does not recognize this game in the Rebels ' official bowl record . Hall of fame . Ole Miss has ten former players and coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame . Ole Miss has two former players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Ole Miss has three former players in the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame . Ole Miss has one former player in the National Quarterback Club Hall of Fame . First round draft picks . Ole Miss has had 19 players selected in the first round of professional football drafts . Songs and cheers . Songs . Official . The school ' s fight song is " Forward Rebels " , also known as " Rebel March " . Another official song is called " Alma Mater " . The song ' s lyrics are as follows : " Way down south in Mississippi , " There ' s a spot that ever calls , " " Where amongst the hills enfolded , " " Stand old Alma Mater ' s Halls . " " Where the trees lift high their branches , " " To the whispering Southern breeze , " " There Ole Miss is calling , calling , " " To our hearts fond memories . " Unofficial . " Dixie " The song dixie , written prior to the civil war by a Daniel Emmett , is traditionally played at Ole Miss football games , generally after a score proceeding the official fight song , or after a defensive turnover . A modification of the Elvis Presley song " An American Trilogy " , now known as " From Dixie with Love " or " Slow Dixie " , was also played during football games , both home and away . The song was first played during the half - time performance at the Ole Miss / LSU game of 1984 in Tiger Stadium . Upon its completion , the band received a standing ovation from 70 , 000 + on hand that day . It soon became a staple of the band for many years . During Ole Miss ' s winning streak of 2003 , students and fans alike began chanting " The South will rise again " in place of " His truth is marching on " at the end of the song . The chant remained a staple for the next several years . In 2009 , with Ole Miss in the national spotlight for football success , political pressure mounted to do away with the chant . The Student Body Government even proposed to call for the chant to be changed to " To Hell with LSU " . When , unsurprisingly , that idea failed to get traction , the University asked the band to quit playing the song . Another unofficial song a rendition of the Gospel Hit " I Saw the Light " . Cheers . The school cheer is entitled " Hotty Toddy " : " Are you ready ? " < br > " Hell yes ! Damn Right ! " < br > " Hotty Toddy , Gosh almighty " < br > " Who the hell are we , Hey ! " < br > " Flim Flam , Bim Bam " < br > " OLE MISS BY DAMN ! " Retired numbers . The numbers 18 for Archie Manning and 38 for Chucky Mullins are the only two retired numbers in Ole Miss football history .