THE BIG 3 by Jason "Gator" Pigott

(11/27 - 11/29)

EGG BOWL 2003 @ Starkville

When State and Ole Miss get together at the end of each season, you can throw out the statistics and the records…well, most of the time. That worn out cliché usually applies, but this year the match up will be between a very good team and a very bad team.

Ole Miss has had an excellent season under the direction of field general and future NFL quarterback, Eli Manning. Though they came up short against LSU a week ago, with a win against State and an LSU loss to Arkansas, the Rebels will be playing in the SEC Championship Game for the first time in school history.

State, on the other hand, has had a very frustrating and forgettable season. The Dawgs haven't had anything to play for in over a month and will try to send departing head coach Jackie Sherrill out as a winner in Starkville.

The Bulldogs have averaged about three turnovers a game this season and have been outscored by SEC opponents by an average of 30 points a game. The defense is mostly to blame, as that unit has allowed at least 21 points in every game including 111 total points in the last two weeks!

Ole Miss played their best defensive game of the season last week in the loss to LSU. They intercepted three passes and allowed only 17 points. It will be impossible for them to match the same intensity this week against MSU, but they won't have to. Manning and the offense should have their way with the State defense.

The Bulldogs will put up a fight and keep the 1 st half close, but it won't be enough. The Rebels will be able to shake off the loss last week in time to put this one away early in the 4th quarter.

Gator's Pick: Ole Miss 41 MSU 28

USM

As expected, the TCU Horned Frogs were exposed as a pretender on Thursday night in front of a national TV audience. You could almost hear the sighs of relief released by the "powers that be" of the BCS as the 4th quarter clock showed all zeroes. The 40-28 win assured the Golden Eagles at least a share of the C-USA title. To win the title outright, the Eagles must get by East Carolina on Saturday.

The East Carolina Pirates (1-10) have seen better days. Their only win this season came against a winless Army team and even that was a struggle. The Pirates allowed 18 points in the 4th quarter and only won the game by 6 points. The Pirate defense is one of the nation's worst as they have allowed at least 27 points in every game this season. Their chances of pulling an upset this week are about the same as the New Orleans Saints making the playoffs.

USM has been playing solid football in recent weeks and are winners of five straight games so don't expect much of a hangover in this one. The Eagles will show up to play on Saturday and extend their win streak to six. In doing so, they will punch their tickets to Memphis and represent C-USA in the AXA Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31st .

Gator's Pick: USM 34 East Carolina 13