As a show of just how much he truly despised Michigan, legendary Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes was loathe to refer to the Wolverines as anything other than “That School Up North”.
Fast forward about 30 years, and Dan Mullen has taken the TSUN tradition to the Deep South and wholeheartedly embraced it.
Mullen has been Mississippi State’s coach for less than a year, and has yet to refer to Ole Miss by name. At all. As this is Egg Bowl week, the Rebels name might, ya know, come up on occasion.
The coach won’t bite, though. It’s either “the school up north” or “the team up north”. And the former Florida assistant readily credits the volatile Hayes for the idea.
“I just don’t like referring to them by name,” Mullen said. “I think it adds more. You could call them ‘Mississippi.’ I heard that one a lot.
“But I think we represent the people of this state, the people’s university, the state university, so don’t want to give them credit for that. Really, (I) took it from something that I’ve used at different places I’ve been that goes back to Woody Hayes.”
The big question, though: would Mullen take the rivalry so far as to not buy gas in Oxford?
**laughing** Good on ya, Mr. Mullen! So give…would you buy gas in Oxford?
This Buckeye fan appreciates the laugh.