Bigger Rival - LSU or Ole Miss?

[rljjr]

We're playing Ole Miss this week, so Ole Miss is who my focus is on for despising for many, many reasons. As long as the crowd is rowdy, loud and obnoxious like last Saturday then we'll be alright. That was a great experience to be a part of. Let's do it again.

[Torqued pork]

If these Hogs bounce back after wins the way they've bounced back after tough losses, they'll be fine. Expect a strong effort.

[Inhogswetrust]

The answer depends on which Rebel fan you ask.  If you ask an older fan, 50+, they're more likely to say LSU.  Between 1959 and 1962, Ole Miss loss 3 games, and all 3 were to LSU.  We even played (and defeated) LSU in a Sugar Bowl in that span.  Everyone's seen the Billy Cannon return.  And someone in the Ole Miss crowd always yells "Go to hell LSU!" as soon as the national anthem is over--they use to yell right after the invocation, so that ought to tell you everything you need to know.  Even though the series cooled while Ole Miss sucked during the 70s and 80s, it's been heating up again.

Younger fans will tell you it's Mississippi State.  Back when the LSU/Ole Miss series was hot, the Ole Miss/State series was ice cold.  Even though State won most of the early contests, Ole Miss dominated the series in the post-war era until the 90s.  Since that time, State has made a push to be more competitive and its coaches have made the game a centerpiece of their tenures, and the rivalry is natural given its intrastate nature.  With games like the Hand of God play and the Stand for the 40 or so and under crowd to grow up with, it's easy to see why the series is probably the more popular.

You are correct. I guess I should have mentioned the age factor. From an old misses fans perspective age is a big deciding factor. Probably from older Arkansas fans as well.

[1highhog]

I meant the Ole Miss being bottom feeders part.

I love beating LSU more, but hate losing to Ole Miss more

Ole Miss lays claim to 3 National Championships, they were the real deal back in the day, just as we were.  They crushed our dreams a couple of times, and the game in War Memorial in 1960 was the game that eventually led to the series being shut down, although the teams did play again next year, they chose to play in Jackson, where fighting broke out again, many car windows were smashed, and many from both sides ended up bruised and battered.  The series resumed in 1981.  Although they quit the series, they still had to play each other in the Sugar Bowl in 1962, and 1963, both won by the Rebs.  Here's a short write up about it;

The 1960 contest between the teams was won by Ole Miss 10–7 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas, on their way to a final record of 10–0–1 for the 1960 season and the second of their three claimed national championships. Sometimes called the Tommy Bell game by Arkansas fans, he called a timeout in an attempt to quiet Razorback fans.[9] Rebel Allen Green did not hear the whistle and kicked the ball through the uprights. After the timeout, fans swear Bell signaled that the kick was good as soon as Green connected with the ball. Fans also swear that the kick was no good. Fighting broke out all around the stadium and because of this, the annual series between the two schools was played the next year in Jackson and then canceled until the two teams renewed the series in 1981.

So, we have every reason to hate these Rebels(Black Bears), and I had that opportunity when my Dad told me of his hatred of them because of these old games.  Even though my parents see Orange as the most insulting of colors, choosing the color chartreuse to wear for hunting instead, they still bare their teeth at the mere mention of Ole Miss.  May the Lord not have mercy on their souls this Saturday.

[NLRHog92]

Last weekend LSU were bigger rivals. This weekend it's Ole Piss.  :razorback:

[jgphillips3]

The only time LSU has dominated the series in modern times is when a guy named Saban was their coach.  Otherwise, we have been competitive with them.  Ditto Alabama for that matter.  LSU and Bama, to Arkansas, are our biggest rivals.  I don't know that anyone thinks of us as a rival...yet.

[1highhog]

I know for a fact LSU fans hate us and hate to play us, we here them and love playing them, so what makes a rival?  Hate from opposing sides.  They hate playing us because we are so competitive with them, even when we are supposed to suck, they don't get the reason that we have our A game against them.  Its a sin that the SEC took this game away from us, as far as National exposure is concerned, and is trying to force us into a rival with Mizzou.  I'll hate Mizzou plenty when we play them in two weeks, but the name they picked sucks, so did the ArMogeddon crap.  A rival game doesn't need a silly name to be a rival, and both of these names will make us laughing stock across the football nation. 

[Mike_e]

Neither.  Both are worthy of scorn but rival?  No.

Arkansas is Un.Rivaled.

[regi]

LSU. The Tigers aren't traditional bottom feeders like the Rebs.

Sums it up

[Locutus_of_Boar]

Both Series were ended back in the 1960's due to fights between the fans in the stands and parking lots.  My Great Uncle tells about fighting with Ole Miss and LSU fans in the late 1950's!

Arkansas began playing LSU regularly when Hugo Bedzek was coach and continued to do so up until the Tigers became a professional franchise during the Huey P. Long era.  The Hogs and Tigers met rarely after that up through the 66 Cotton Bowl and then not at all until joining the SEC.

Arkansas played Texas off and on until the SWC round robin was established in the early 1930's and annually thereafter.  Texas can't properly be classed as a true rival but until 1992 it was always the chief nemesis.

Arkansas and Ole Miss met off and on in the 1910's & 20's and then regularly beginning in the late 1930's.  This game developed into a true rivalry in the 1940's and 1950's bigger in the fans mind than even Texas.  One way you know it's a rivalry is when the two teams don't agree on the series record debating a game that was played 100 years ago this season.

It wasn't fan fights that ended the series, it was Frank Broyles who wanted to focus Arkansas 100% on beating Texas and eliminate the October games with Ole Miss that were as distracting as OU/Texas was to those teams.  Once Frank retired as coach he restarted the Ole Miss series largely because even back as far as the early 1980;s he was beginning to align Arkansas with the SEC.

The way the schedule has been set with LSU then Ole Miss then Mizzou back to back at year's end and two of the games already trophy games it really can be said that all three are legitimate rivalry games.

[geauxhawgs]

  LSU hands downs. CANT STAND those crazy Cajuns!!!  Ole Miss #2, TAMU #3

BTW: THE BOOT IS BACK HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LSU BLEAUXS!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO PIG Y'all!!!!!

[HogFansReunited]

Wait, when did anyone start to consider Ole Miss a rival?

[1highhog]

Wait, when did anyone start to consider Ole Miss a rival?

I've always considered them a rival, because they used to be one of the elite programs, you're probably just not old enough to remember when they were a power.  They used to be a huge thorn in our side.

[1highhog]

Arkansas began playing LSU regularly when Hugo Bedzek was coach and continued to do so up until the Tigers became a professional franchise during the Huey P. Long era.  The Hogs and Tigers met rarely after that up through the 66 Cotton Bowl and then not at all until joining the SEC.

Arkansas played Texas off and on until the SWC round robin was established in the early 1930's and annually thereafter.  Texas can't properly be classed as a true rival but until 1992 it was always the chief nemesis.

Arkansas and Ole Miss met off and on in the 1910's & 20's and then regularly beginning in the late 1930's.  This game developed into a true rivalry in the 1940's and 1950's bigger in the fans mind than even Texas.  One way you know it's a rivalry is when the two teams don't agree on the series record debating a game that was played 100 years ago this season.

It wasn't fan fights that ended the series, it was Frank Broyles who wanted to focus Arkansas 100% on beating Texas and eliminate the October games with Ole Miss that were as distracting as OU/Texas was to those teams.  Once Frank retired as coach he restarted the Ole Miss series largely because even back as far as the early 1980;s he was beginning to align Arkansas with the SEC.

The way the schedule has been set with LSU then Ole Miss then Mizzou back to back at year's end and two of the games already trophy games it really can be said that all three are legitimate rivalry games.

Hate to dispute your word, but it wasn't Broyles that ended this series, it was mutually halted between the two Programs because of the near riots and damage of property the last two games had caused that resulted in the series.

[razortrack]

Must have been really bored to think of this one!!!  LSU !!!!!!

[redeye]

According to my source, we've played Ole Miss and LSU the same number of games.  Also, it may be fair to say that LSU is better then both Ole Miss and Arkansas, but the series margin against us is lopsided mostly due to games played between 1930 to 1956, when we went 0-11-1 against them.  We were 12-11 against LSU before then and have gone 9-15 against them since, with all but 1 of those games coming in SEC play.  Point being that historically LSU isn't much better then us.

You could also argue that a reason we've fared better against Ole Miss is because more of those games have come in the modern era, when we had better teams.  We'd only played Ole Miss a few games before 1940, unlike LSU, but we've played them fairly regularly since.  Had we played LSU more then 1 time between 1958-1992, I'm sure the series would be much closer today.  In other words, LSU basically avoided playing us during the best decades of our program, with the exception of the '65 game, while I believe we played Ole Miss 17 times during this span.

Personally, I consider every SEC-W team a big rival nowadays.  I probably get less excited about MSU, but they're all big games.  I didn't care about Ole Miss for years, but that's come around for me.  Still, if I had to choose, I'd probably pick LSU, simply because we have a manufactured rivalry against them and so we've put a little extra into those games.

[Locutus_of_Boar]

Hate to dispute your word, but it wasn't Broyles that ended this series, it was mutually halted between the two Programs because of the near riots and damage of property the last two games had caused that resulted in the series.

"Mississippi had a suggestion:  If Arkansas did not want to play the Rebs between Texas and A&M why not play them first and get it over with,  Barnhill agreed to that for 1961 but in the interim he let the contract run out.   

Ole Miss fans chided Broyles:  they said that he wanted out because he could not beat Johnny Vaught, something that his predecessors accomplished with gusto three timeds in four years.  However the decision to end the series was Barnhill's alone."

- The Razorbacks a Story of Arkansas Football   - Orville Henry and Jim Bailey 1973

Now that last sentence was Orville coverin' for Frank but there is no doubt they wanted Arkansas focused solely on winning the SWC.  It worked but it left Arkansas with a lot of two game seasons: Texas and the bowl game.

[atekido]

LSU is our only ral decent rivavly.

  Texas is no longer a rival.  That has been dead and over with for a long long time.  Ole miss isn't any kind of rivalry either.  Louisiana and Arkansas has always have disdain for each other and it carries over into football.

[KennyForAD]

Ole Miss will always have a special place in our hearts for thinking (foolishly) that 'if Houston Nutt could do that well at Arkansas, he could win it all here" - while we all knew his 'more with less' was, uh backwards.    Still, in the southern half of the state, its LSU.  They matter more than any other right now.  Just how it is.

[cypert2]

I'm in east central Arkansas. Here it's Ole Miss, ainec.

[LZH]

I enjoy watching both teams play (when they're good).  But I pretty much gauge my disdain for programs based on their fanbase.  LSU has the most obnoxious fans in the SEC.....except for when Nuttball went to Ole Miss.  For two years we heard all the crap they spewed about how the Rebs were gonna do this and do that because we were too stupid to not let HDN go.  I enjoyed immensely their demise as Nutt fell flat on his butt.

I still do, in fact.

[demonHOG1013]

I was taught this chant growing up:

Alligator, Alligator, Alligator Piss
If $hi+ was a college, they'd call it Ole Miss!

Anything like that for LSU?

[1highhog]

I was taught this chant growing up:

Alligator, Alligator, Alligator Piss
If $hi+ was a college, they'd call it Ole Miss!

Anything like that for LSU?

I like it.

[ldfergu]

For my 28 yr old self it's LSU. Some of the most exciting games I remember have been against LSU with me sitting 3 ft from the TV at my parents house the day after Thanksgiving.

Really hope we can bring that back. Battle line rivalry is really, really dumb.

[hogtilicus]

LSU for sure. I live 15 miles from Ar/La border (El Dorado) and often see more LSU hats and shirts in Walmart than Hogs. Not seeing as many this year since they are down.

[sowmonella]

LSU for sure. I live 15 miles from Ar/La border (El Dorado) and often see more LSU hats and shirts in Walmart than Hogs. Not seeing as many this year since they are down.

I call for a boycott of El Dorado's Walmart until this crap is corrected.

[Brer Hog]

You haven't hated a college until you've had two drunk mommas boys sit behind you at football game in their penny-loafers(no socks), khakis, blue shirts with pink and yellow ties, moussed hair, and tortoise shell glasses and purposely talk loudly and obscenely, in effeminate tone, like valley girls (before valley girls were even popular- this was the 70's) chanting Hoddy-Today and laughing and giggling obnoxiously.  That is the imprint on the memory of 10-yr old me that is forever with me and the lone image I have of that school in north Mississippi that was continually reinforced by a number of Rebels, I have unfortunately known.  .  By far, my most hated SEC school. 

[DEVICEHIGH]

The only thing that has felt like a rivalry to me since we joined the SEC is Ole Miss when Houston Nutt was the head coach.

Although it is gaining ground, we all know LSU was contrived out of necessity.

I do think that Missouri has the potential to be a real rivalry.

[ronmahony]

To me it will always be the Sneaking across the Border rivalry, or what ever they call it. That's one of the biggies, been going on now for what, two years? Naw, LSU for me, but I am old school, Texas Sucks! Growing up in the SWC days I bated Texas period, always used to like most SEC schools during bowls back then. I still don't hate any of the schools unless we are playing them, but I do get an extra kick out of beating LSU.

[Count De Money]

Last week our biggest rivalry was LSU.  This week our biggest rivalry is Ole Miss.  Next week it will be Missou.

[demonHOG1013]

Last week our biggest rivalry was LSU.  This week our biggest rivalry is Ole Miss.  Next week it will be Missou.

What a cop out...next two weeks will be tough as both teams still have a chance to go to the SECCG and will be playing to keep those hopes alive.

I hate LSU and I hate Ole Miss. I'm on par with SEC fans from the early 90's and their feelings about Arkansas, but towards Missouri.  I dont think Mizzou belongs in the SEC.

[tolerati]

We have traditions with both.... LSU usually has better teams and obnoxious fans... Ole Miss as mentioned from 40s-early 60s, and can have obnoxious fans.  I would like to see us re-ignite the rivalry with Ole Miss... and crush some of their dreams..... Right now LSU is the one that comes closest to a rivalry game. I also would like to see Mizzou become a rival.  It would be fun finish the season with rivalry games.

[Lard]

I don't like either one but I have really come to dislike Ole Miss in recent year.  When they picked up Nutt and thought they had just hired Bear Bryant reincarnated and claimed that Nutt left Arkansas for Ole Miss rather than being fired from Arkansas that bothered me.  Then they tasted a little bit of success under Nutt and have had a little bit of success under Freeze and now they think way too highly of themselves.  My aunt and uncle lived in Memphis for many years and they couldn't stand Ole Miss fans.  I think I understand why now.  So for me.....I think I dislike Ole Miss more than LSU.  Plus I like to have a rival that we have a winning all time record against.  Just makes me feel peachy.

[jbcarol]

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo  ·  1 hour ago
Ole Miss' 17-point deficit is its largest deficit this season

[jbcarol]

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo  ·  2 hours ago
Arkansas is the first unranked team to shut out a ranked opponent in back-to-back games