STARKVILLE, Miss. — Just a few months ago, Starkville was known — when it was known at all — as a sleepy Southern town, even by the standards of sleepy Southern towns.

Its main attraction, Mississippi State University, was a land-grant school that, in the tradition of “Moo U’s” around the country, churned out self-effacing scientists, engineers and, yes, dairy farmers. The university took up a lot of real estate in a less-visited area and existed in the shadow of the state’s flagship university, the one with the larger history and quaint town (in this case, Ole Miss).

And then there was its name, “Starkville,” which you probably would not want taken literally.

But Saturday, No. 4 Mississippi State, not No. 18 Mississippi, will play for a shot at a playoff spot in the annual Egg Bowl between the two rivals, held this year 100 miles up the road at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. The Bulldogs (10-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference), led by the star quarterback Dak Prescott, have won 10 games for just the third time in their program’s history.