Music City Bowl: Ole Miss Rebels and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Don't Have Much History, Considering SEC Past

In 1932, fourteen schools formed the Southeastern Conference. Two of the conference's original founders were Ole Miss and Georgia Tech, the two opponents for this year's Music City Bowl. Georgia Tech stayed in the SEC until 1964 (couldn't handle the Tide, PAWWWWLLL) before they went independent and, eventually, found themselves in the ACC.

So Ole Miss and Georgia Tech should, therefore, have a long history of football competition which will be rekindled in this year's bowl matchup, right? I mean, 32 years in the same football conference surely must have created some sort of football rivalry and fueled some bad blood, no?

Actually, no is right. Ole Miss and Georgia Tech have, very surprisingly, only played each other three times. I do not know how the SEC scheduled conference football games in the past, but clearly some schools never had the opportunity (or wherewithal, perhaps) to play certain conference opponents, with Ole Miss and Georgia Tech being two such schools with regards to one another.

All time, Ole Miss is 1-2 against Georgia Tech, with none of the three contests being particularly close. The date, location, and outcomes of those three games are as follows:

October 12, 1946 in Atlanta - Ole Miss 7, Georgia Tech 24: 1946 was one of the worst years in Ole Miss football history ("Ghost, don't be silly, Houston Nutt hadn't yet given up on coaching then! He probably wasn't even born yet, moron."), with the team averaging a paltry 8.4 points a game and finishing with a 2-7 record. In this game, the Wramblin' Wreck held Ole Miss to under 100 yards, surrendering just one touchdown pass from Bobby Wilson to Everette "Hairline" Harper.

January 1, 1953 in New Orleans (Sugar Bowl) - Ole Miss 7, Georgia Tech 24: Ole Miss was ranked #7 heading into this game after finishing a 8-0-2 season that included wins over, LSU, Auburn, and a then-No. 3 Maryland. Georgia Tech a battle of two of the nation's top teams, Georgia Tech was undefeated that season, and ranked #2 heading into the Sugar Bowl. Again, the Yellow Jackets beat Ole Miss 24-7, but not this time due to Rebel offensive stagnation, bur rather due to the Rebels turning the ball over a whopping six times.

December 30, 1971 in Atlanta (Peach Bowl) - Ole Miss 41, Georgia Tech 18: In 1971, the No. 17 Rebels avenged their prior losses to Georgia Tech in a lopsided Peach Bowl victory. Georgia Tech turned the ball over five times, while Ole Miss, led by quarterback and bowl MVP Norris Weese, scored five touchdowns. Weese accounted for 148 yards and two scores on the day.