Mississippi State lost its motivation to play for a bowl game when Ryan Mallett and Arkansas beat the Bulldogs 42-21 in Little Rock last week.

But it didn't lose all of its motivation to take on arch-rival Ole Miss, which it will do Saturday at Scott Field in Starkville. That motivation came a year ago in this rivalry game.

That's when the Rebels throttled State 45-0, dominating the Bulldogs at the line of scrimmage and carrying the beating the rest of the way. It was the widest margin of victory in an Egg Bowl game in nearly four decades.

Sylvester Croom resigned under pressure after that game and a new tone was set with Dan Mullen's hiring. Since then, Mississippi State players have hardly gone a day without being reminded of the embarrassment in Oxford.