Luke is undoubtedly the first coach to win the Egg Bowl and lose it due to losing it. We’ll explore some of this history. First, let me share my thoughts on Luke. I covered him as a player and assistant coach, and I considered him a solid hire for Ole Miss when he was promoted from interim to permanent coach two years ago. Luke could have been a successful coach if he had the right resources. We won’t know. We do know that he is an Ole Miss man. The place is a special place to him. There was a place his dad used to play. There was also a brother there. Matt Luke was a coach and played there. Matt Luke loved Ole Miss so much that he continued to play there even though he was offered scholarship money elsewhere. As a high school senior in Gulfport, Luke saw Ole Miss’s scholarship opportunities as limited due to NCAA probation. This was the same situation when Luke became head coach. Luke was too small to be a center in SEC but he started as a freshman and continued for three years. One memorable Egg Bowl memory is that the Rebels were trailing State 14-7 in Starkville in 1997. Luke had injured his knee ligament in an earlier game. Doctors and trainers had already advised him to remove his pads and that he was finished for the day. He put his pads on again when Ole Miss looked like they might be able to get the ball back for one more drive. He was determined to play, regardless of his limp leg. He limped onto field with his injured leg, and Ole Miss returned the ball. He had to block State’s excellent nose guard Eric Dotson in the two-minute drill while calling out the lines signals. The short version is that Luke managed to block Dotson. Ole Miss won, and went for two. This was one of the most thrilling Egg Bowls ever. The Rebels were able to win the Motor City Bowl with this victory. You can watch Luke drag his winning leg down the field during the Egg Bowl. Yes, it is true that being a hardy, determined, and valiant football player doesn’t necessarily make you a successful head coach, even at your university. Luke’s tenure as interim head coach was 6-6. He went on to coach 5-7 teams in 2018 and 4-6 this season. They will argue that this is not a positive trend. I would argue that Ole Miss made real progress this season. They lost five games by eight points or less while playing two freshmen quarterbacks. They were much more competitive. They were much more defensively sound. The best part? Many of the Rebels’ top players were freshmen. There was still hope for the future. If the new Rebel coach can keep many of these outstanding young players, there is still hope. This is not a given. This column is not a 800-word pity party to Luke. He was well paid. Ole Miss still owes $6.5 million to him. This is a staggering amount of money and more than most people will ever make in their lifetime. Luke will be back as a coach. David Cutcliffe, Luke’s former coach at Ole Miss and Tennessee, said that Matt is a great football coach. If he had the time and resources, he would have been a great coach at Ole Miss. “I believe he’ll be successful elsewhere.” Cutcliffe is one of few Mississippi State and Ole Miss head coaches to lose their jobs after winning an Egg Bowl. After losing the Egg Bowl, almost all State and Ole Miss coaches (including Luke) have lost their jobs. Many people entered the game with the sole purpose of winning it. Johnny Vaught, an Ole Miss legend, needed to win the 1950 Egg Bowl in order to keep his job. He did. He also watched six Mississippi State coaches lose their jobs after his Egg Bowl wins. Sylvester Croom, Ed Orgeron and others have lost the Egg Bowl in recent years and had to then lose their jobs. It is probably absurd that one football game has such importance in a small state, where the SEC schools have to compete against Alabama, Auburn and Texas A&M, even though they are in their own division. The Egg Bowl has never been accused of being insane.