Monday night tailgate tents lined the the intramural field, the Famous Maroon Band warmed up while the Mississippi State Cheer and Spirit squad kept themselves warm, and Bully made his rounds through the fans. It was cold, and a perfect night for football. 
Special Olympics Mississippi’s 2016 Unified Egg Bowl capitalized on that.
The Unified Egg Bowl is one of the many sports programs by the Mississippi branch of the Special Olympics; this one mirrors the traditional Egg Bowl game all the way down to MSU ROTC firing the cannon after each touchdown. However, while the Egg Bowl is typically a manifestation of the fierce rivalry between MSU and the University of Mississippi, the Unified Egg Bowl’s main objective is in the name– to unify Special Olympians and their supporters and bring them together for a night of unparalleled sports performances by some of the most dedicated athletes in the state.
Special Olympics Mississippi Director of Public Relations Jim Beaugez said the Unified Egg Bowl had its first match up three years ago. Since then, both schools form flag football teams comprised of Special Olympians and ‘partner’ student athletes who go head to head to see who will take home the towering golden egg bowl trophy while fans from both sides participate in an online donation drive to see which school can raise the most money for Special Olympics. This year over 20,000 dollars were donated. 
After two straight losses in the series against Ole Miss in the Unified Egg Bowl, the Mississippi State Unified Bulldogs dominated the Unified Rebels 42-18 at home Monday night.
Head coach Kris Upchurch loved every second of the win, stating that this was a revenge game for the Unified Bulldogs.
“It’s awesome to win,” Upchurch said. “It’s revenge from last year where we lost on a last second touchdown. To come out and win this year is awesome.”
The Mississippi Special Olympics had seven members on the team while partnering fraternity Phi Kappa Tau had six students on the roster.
“We got lucky to get partnered here with Phi Tau here in Starkville, and they’re awesome. We worked with them last year as well and they work well with our guys. We actually had to limit it down from everyone who wanted to play and make it five or six guys we could fit on our roster.”
The Bulldogs offense was firing on all cylinders from the start, when partner student Micah Nichols took a short pass from partner student Matthew Wilson and ran it in for a touchdown on the first play of the game. 
On the following possession, special Olympics player Demarcus Pippens caught an interception which led to fellow special Olympics player Danta Cotton scoring a touchdown.
The Bulldogs continued to dominate, going up 22-0 on a Pippens touchdown pass to Josiah Goines. The Rebels got on the board with a touchdown pass of their own, breaking the shutout. Mississippi State scored one last touchdown before the half and brought the game into intermission with a 29-6 lead.
Ole Miss received the ball first in the second half, and struck quick. The Bulldogs then quickly put up two more touchdowns and took a 42-12 lead right before the game ended. The Unified Rebels scored a final touchdown in garbage time to cut the lead to 42-18, which held until the end.
Newly named MSU Athletic Director John Cohen took the field and addressed the crowd before the game.
“In my time with MSU athletics, I’ve been part of a lot of wins, and I’ve been a part of a lot of losses. Events like these are wins,” Cohen said. “It’s a win for Starkville, it’s a win for Mississippi State, it’s a win for our friends from the University of Mississippi, it’s a win for everyone involved.”