'Bring Our Best!' Ole Miss WR Cayden Lee Isn't Overlooking Egg Bowl

Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver Cayden Lee isn't overlooking the Mississippi State Bulldogs this week.

Nov 9, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Cayden Lee (19) runs after a catch as Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Damon Wilson II (10) pursues during the second half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels have one regular season game remaining in 2024, and although the Mississippi State Bulldogs have not had a successful year, an Egg Bowl opponent can never be overlooked.

Mississippi State is winless in conference play and has an overall record of 2-9 this season with wins over UMass and FCS Eastern Kentucky. Ole Miss wide receiver Cayden Lee has only been part of one Egg Bowl in his collegiate career, but he knows what's at stake in this rivalry game, and his focus is on shutting down the Bulldogs this week.

"At the end of the day, this is an SEC team," Lee said on Monday. "This is the best conference that there is to play in. This is the game that everybody's going to be locked in on, Friday game. They're going to bring their best, we're going to bring our best, and we've got to be better."

Ole Miss has a lot of new faces on its 2024 roster, which means they may not have a great understanding of the intensity of this rivalry game. That's why Tom Luke, the Associate A.D. for Player Development, recently spoke with the team on the importance of the Battle for the Golden Egg.

Luke has been a part of many Egg Bowls, so his expertise on the subject isn't debatable.

"Tom Luke, his message was really good," Lee said. "Just talking to the team and letting us know some of the history of the Egg Bowl, what it means to people in this state, and they're going to bring their best no matter what. Doesn't matter their record prior to this game. They're going to come out like they're an undefeated team, and we need to do the same.

"It's one of those games where records really don't matter. Everybody's going to bring their best. The crowd is going to be more locked into it than ever. It gets into it where the players start chirping a little bit, so we've just got to stay focused on our goal to beat them, at the end of the day."

When Ole Miss lost to Florida on Saturday, it seemed that its chances to reach the College Football Playoff had also fallen by the wayside. After a chaotic late slate of games last week, however, it looks like a three-loss SEC team could find its way into the CFP field.

That provides some motivation for Lee and the Rebels to go out and dominate on Friday, but ultimately, they can't worry about postseason placement. This week should be simply about winning a game, in the wideout's eyes.

"I guess you could say yes because everybody wants to play in the playoff," Lee said. "That was our goal all along: play in a national championship. But we've got to go out and take care of business to even have any hope of that happening. We've got to have some other people lose some games, but our focus is on Mississippi State right now."

Kickoff on Friday between Ole Miss and Mississippi State is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on Friday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, and the game will be televised on ABC.