Magnolia Bowl

Magnolia Bowl

Teams	LSU Tigers Ole Miss Rebels
Trophy	Magnolia Bowl Trophy

The LSU–Ole Miss football rivalry, renamed the Magnolia Bowl in 2008, is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University (LSU) and the Ole Miss Rebels football team of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). The teams compete for the Magnolia Bowl Trophy. The Tigers and the Rebels first met in 1894, and have been regular opponents in Southeastern Conference (SEC), meeting annually since 1945. The rivalry was at its height during the 1950s and 1960s, when both teams were highly ranked and during which time both teams claimed a national championship. The rivalry died down from the 1970s to the 1990s, owing to Ole Miss not returning to conference or national prominence since the 1970s and because LSU has seen new rivalries emerge when the SEC split into two divisions in 1992, most notably Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, and Florida. Even though the rivalry has not attracted the same national attention in recent years, it still stirs up passion in both Oxford and Baton Rouge.

In 2008, the student bodies of both schools elected to christen the yearly contest the "Magnolia Bowl", the magnolia flower being the state flower of both Louisiana and Mississippi, and award a trophy to the winner. Ole Miss defeated LSU 31–13 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to become the first winner of the new trophy.

LSU vs. Ole Miss

LSU leads the series 59–41–4. However, LSU already held a 20–7 lead in games played prior to 1938. Since then the rivalry has been much tighter with the Tigers leading 38–33–4. In many cases, wins have come in streaks with the longest being 8, (LSU: 1928–37). The next longest win streak is 6, a total reached by both Ole Miss and LSU. The Tigers won from 2002 to 2007, while the Rebels were able to defeat LSU from 1952 to 1957.

It is the second most played rivalry for both teams. The 2011 edition in Oxford was the 100th meeting between the two schools. It was also the most lopsided game in series history, as top-ranked LSU defeated Ole Miss and coach Houston Nutt 52–3.

Notable games

Magnolia Bowl Trophy

• 1959 – Cannon's Halloween Run – Late in the game between number 1 LSU and number 3 Ole Miss, LSU was trailing 0–3. Then Billy Cannon returned a punt 89 yards for a TD, breaking seven tackles. The Rebels then drove down the field but were stopped on the LSU 1-yard line as the game ended resulting in a 7–3 victory for LSU in Tiger Stadium. The Rebels would get revenge however in the Sugar Bowl by defeating the Tigers 21–0, and were declared national champions by several polls.
• 1960 – LSU fought Ole Miss to a 6–6 tie which was the Johnny Rebs only blemish (9–0–1) en route to a 1960 national title and were awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy by the Football Writers Association of America.
• 1972 – Jones to Davis;. "The Night The Clock Stopped" – Number 6 LSU survived an upset bid from unranked Ole Miss in Tiger Stadium by winning the game on a TD pass from QB Bert Jones to RB Brad Davis. Ole Miss fans say the 1972 contest featured a few seconds of free football. The Tigers trailed the Rebels 16–10 with four seconds to play and the ball on the Ole Miss ten-yard line. After a short incompletion by Jones to Jimmy LeDoux at the goal line, the game clock still showed one second remaining. The Tigers used the precious second to win the game on the "last play," 17–16. The home-clock advantage inspired a sign at the Louisiana state line reading, "You are now entering Louisiana. Set your clocks back four seconds."
• 1989 – The 1989 contest in Oxford, the first visit by LSU to the Ole Miss campus since 1960, proved to have a much different flavor than most college football games. One week earlier, Rebels safety Chucky Mullins suffered a career-ending (and ultimately, fatal) injury making a tackle vs. Vanderbilt. The student body passed buckets around the stadium to a then record crowd of 42,700 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. In excess of $150,000 was raised for the Mullins fund. The Rebels nearly pulled off a comeback of 21 points against the 1–6 Tigers, only to have the ball intercepted in the end zone in the waning seconds, allowing LSU to hold on for a 35–30 victory.
• 1997 – The Rebels upset then number 7 LSU 36–21 one week after the Tigers shocked the then top-ranked Florida Gators. It would spark a three-game winning streak against the Tigers, including a thrilling overtime victory in 1998 (37–31).
• 2003 – Ole Miss entered the game an undefeated 6–0 in SEC conference play while LSU entered the game with only a loss to Florida. The winner of this game would represent the SEC West in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. If Ole Miss won, they would be the outright SEC West champion and make the SEC Championship game for the first time. If LSU won, both teams would be SEC West co-champions but LSU would go to Atlanta due to the head-to-head victory tiebreaker. LSU won the game, which was played before the then all-time record crowd to ever watch an on-campus football game in Mississippi. LSU then went on to win both the SEC championship in Atlanta and the BCS national championship.
• 2008 – Ole Miss beat #18 LSU 31–13 in Baton Rouge to snap a six-game losing streak to LSU and to win the first Magnolia Bowl trophy.
• 2009 – With 9 seconds remaining, down by 2 (25–23) on 4th and 26, LSU completes a 40-yard pass to the Ole Miss 6, and left one second on the clock. However, with no timeouts, they simply did not have enough time to execute any sort of play as time expired before LSU could even get off a snap. Oddly enough, LSU was attempting to spike the ball. Ole Miss prevailed for their first win at home against LSU since 1998.
• 2013 – LSU came into Oxford ranked #6 facing an unranked Ole Miss team that had lost their last 3 games. Buoyed by 3 Zach Mettenberger interceptions, however, Ole Miss took a 17–0 lead a third of the way into the third quarter. LSU would then take advantage of numerous Ole Miss miscues and, following a blocked Andrew Ritter field goal and a 4th and long conversion, tied the game at 24 via a Mettenberger touchdown pass to wide receiver Jarvis Landry. But Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace would lead a drive that brought the Rebels to the LSU 24 and was highlighted by two 3rd down conversions in Ole Miss territory. Ritter redeemed himself with a 41 yard field goal with 2 seconds left, putting Ole Miss up 27–24 for good. The win gave Ole Miss their first victory over LSU since 2009.
• 2014 – Undefeated number 3 Ole Miss came into Death Valley facing the 6–2 number 24 LSU Tigers. Early in the game, LSU had multiple chances to put points on the board, but failed to do so, missing a 29-yard field goal and fumbling the ball on the goal line. Ole Miss struck first with a late first-quarter touchdown, but LSU's young defense did not allow Ole Miss to score another point. LSU's offense shot themselves in the foot against one of the best defenses in the country, fumbling twice and throwing two interceptions. At halftime, Ole Miss led 7-3; mid-way through the fourth quarter LSU was given the ball at their own 5-yard line. LSU ran the ball 12 straight times on the backs of Leonard Fournette and Kenny Hilliard, but it would be Anthony Jennings who threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to TE Logan Stokes, his first catch of his career, to take the lead 10-7. Ole Miss was given another chance to win the game. Bo Wallace converted multiple times on third and fourth down to drive Ole Miss down the field. With 9 seconds left Ole Miss had the ball on LSU's 25, and prepared to send out the kicker for a 42 yard field goal; however, due to a delay of game penalty the ball was moved to the 30. Ole Miss kept their freshman kicker on the field, but when LSU head coach Les Miles called a timeout Ole Miss sent Bo Wallace and the offense back onto the field. Instead of attempting a short pass to the sidelines, Bo Wallace threw an under-thrown ball to the end zone where it was intercepted by Senior Safety Ronald Martin. LSU won the game 10-7 and ended Ole Miss's undefeated season and possible shot to go to the first annual College Football Playoffs.

Game results

LSU victories

Ole Miss victories

Ties and forfeits

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	December 3, 1894	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	26–6
2	November 13, 1896	Vicksburg, MS	LSU	12–4
3	November 3, 1899	Meridian, MS	Ole Miss	11–0
4	November 7, 1901	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	46–0
5	November 8, 1902	New Orleans, LA	LSU	6–0
6	November 21, 1903	New Orleans, LA	Ole Miss	11–0
7	November 5, 1904	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	5–0
8	October 20, 1906	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	9–0
9	November 16, 1907	Jackson, MS	LSU	23–0
10	October 9, 1909	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	10–0
11	October 19, 1912	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	10–7
12	October 17, 1914	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	21–0
13	October 15, 1915	Oxford, MS	LSU	28–0
14	November 18, 1916	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	41–0
15	October 13, 1917	Oxford, MS	LSU	52–7
16	October 18, 1919	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	13–0
17	November 12, 1921	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	24–0
18	November 13, 1926	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	3–0
19	November 5, 1927	Oxford, MS	Ole Miss	12–7
20	November 10, 1928	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	19–6
21	November 16, 1929	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	13–6
22	November 8, 1930	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	6–0
23	November 13, 1931	Jackson, MS	LSU	26–3
24	November 8, 1933	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	31–0
25	November 17, 1934	Jackson, MS	LSU	14–0
26	October 17, 1936	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	13–0
27	September 24, 1937	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	13–7
28	September 24, 1938	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	20–7
29	September 30, 1939	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	14–7
30	September 28, 1940	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	19–6
31	November 8, 1941	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	13–12
32	October 17, 1942	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	21–7
33	November 3, 1945	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	32–13
34	November 13, 1946	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	34–21
35	November 1, 1947	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	20–18
36	October 30, 1948	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	49–19
37	October 10, 1949	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	34–7
38	November 4, 1950	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	40–14
39	November 3, 1951	Baton Rouge, LA	Tie	6–6
40	November 1, 1952	Oxford, MS	Ole Miss	28–0
41	October 31, 1953	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	27–16
42	October 30, 1954	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	21–6
43	October 29, 1955	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	29–26
44	November 3, 1956	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	46–17
45	November 9, 1957	Oxford, MS	Ole Miss	14–12
46	November 1, 1958	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	14–0
47	October 31, 1959	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	7–3
48	January 1, 1960	New Orleans, LA	Ole Miss	21–0
49	October 29, 1960	Oxford, MS	Tie	6–6
50	November 4, 1961	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	10–7
51	November 3, 1962	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	15–7
52	November 2, 1963	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	37–3
53	October 31, 1964	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	11–10

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
54	October 30, 1965	Jackson, MS	Ole Miss	23–0
55	October 29, 1966	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	17–0
56	November 29, 1967	Jackson, MS	Tie	13–13
57	November 2, 1968	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	27–24
58	November 1, 1969	Jackson, MS	Ole Miss	26–23
59	December 5, 1970	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	61–17
60	October 30, 1971	Jackson, MS	Ole Miss	24–22
61	November 4, 1972	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	17–16
62	November 3, 1973	Jackson, MS	LSU	51–14
63	November 2, 1974	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	24–0
64	November 1, 1975	Jackson, MS	Ole Miss	24–13
65	October 30, 1976	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	45–0
66	October 29, 1977	Jackson, MS	LSU	28–21
67	November 4, 1978	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	30–8
68	November 3, 1979	Jackson, MS	LSU	28–24
69	November 1, 1980	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	38–16
70	October 31, 1981	Jackson, MS	Tie	27–27
71	October 30, 1982	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	45–8
72	October 29, 1983	Jackson, MS	Ole Miss	27–24
73	November 3, 1984	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	32–29
74	November 2, 1985	Jackson, MS	LSU	14–0
75	November 1, 1986	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	21–19
76	October 31, 1987	Jackson, MS	LSU	42–13
77	October 29, 1988	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	31–20
78	November 4, 1989	Oxford, MS	LSU	35–30
79	November 3, 1990	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	19–10
80	November 2, 1991	Jackson, MS	LSU	25–22
81	October 31, 1992	Jackson, MS	Ole Miss	32–0
82	October 30, 1993	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	19–17
83	October 29, 1994	Oxford, MS	Ole Miss	34–21
84	November 11, 1995	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	38–9
85	November 16, 1996	Oxford, MS	LSU	39–7
86	November 26, 1997	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	36–21
87	October 31, 1998	Oxford, MS	Ole Miss	37–31
88	October 30, 1999	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	42–23
89	November 11, 2000	Oxford, MS	LSU	20–9
90	October 27, 2001	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	35–24
91	November 23, 2002	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	14–13
92	November 22, 2003	Oxford, MS	LSU	17–14
93	November 20, 2004	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	27–24
94	November 19, 2005	Oxford, MS	LSU	40–7
95	November 18, 2006	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	23–20
96	November 17, 2007	Oxford, MS	LSU	41–24
97	November 22, 2008	Baton Rouge, LA	Ole Miss	31–13
98	November 21, 2009	Oxford, MS	Ole Miss	25–23
99	November 20, 2010	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	43–36
100	November 19, 2011	Oxford, MS	LSU	52–3
101	November 17, 2012	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	41–35
102	October 19, 2013	Oxford, MS	Ole Miss	27–24
103	October 25, 2014	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU	10–7
104	November 21, 2015	Oxford, MS	Ole Miss	38–17
Series: LSU leads 59–41–4

See also

• Most played rivalries in NCAA Division I FBS
• List of NCAA college football rivalry games