Let’s get this out of the way first: in-state rivalries trump all. There are no rivalries more heated in all of SEC football than the Iron Bowl and the Egg Bowl. The hatred in both is on par or exceeds any rivalry in all of college football. Both Alabama and Ole Miss, however, have bigger fish to fry in 2016.
Yes, fans of both Ole Miss and Alabama can say the opposite is a bigger fish than their in-state rival in 2016. And anyone would be hard-pressed to argue that fact. But the Ole Miss-Alabama rivalry is still forming after years of Tide dominance.