Ole Miss Bowl Projections: The Rebels Likely to Nashville, Memphis, or Birmingham

With a 7-5 (3-5) record, the Ole Miss Rebels are projected to earn a bid from one of three bowls this offseasion. The bowls from which we're projected to earn an invite, in order of what we guess is most to least likely, are as follows:

Music City Bowl, Nashville, Tennessee - Not only is this the one that Rebel fans seem to want the most, it's also the one we feel the Rebs are most likely to end up in. Interestingly enough, had the Rebels won the Egg Bowl (as they should have /stillbeatingdeadhorse'd) I imagine they'd have wound up in Nashville anyway, with trips to Jacksonville and Atlanta for the Gator and Chik-Fil-A Bowls, respectively, remaining as longer shots. It is certainly a tremendous step up from the BBVA Compass Bowl, in that it's a more long-standing bowl held in a more dynamic city and staged in a currently functioning NFL stadium. It should also be pretty damn cold, as Nashville around New Year's Eve is typically a high-20's/low-30's type of affair.

But, that said, at least we'll have decent bars and restaurants, as well as one of the country's best live music scenes, to look forward to.

Likely opponents: Georgia Tech, Maryland, Boston College
Other SEC teams projected here: Vanderbilt, Georgia

Team Speed Kills Projects SEC Bowls

Where SB Nation's SEC sports blog projects all bowl-eligible members of the conference to finish their seasons.

Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee - The Liberty Bowl does have its plusses. It's an hour-ish drive from Oxford, meaning that there's no need to book hotel rooms for a lot of y'all. It's in a city where plenty of Rebels live already. It's familiar. And it's.... uh, okay. That's all I got. It's convenient, which is nice, but it isn't a destination for Rebel revelers because revelry in Memphis - including poorly thought out nights wandering around Beale Street - is as much an Ole Miss tradition as any. That said, the convenience factor and the possibility of repeat trips to Germantown Commissary would be too much to keep me away.

Likely opponents: Marshall, Rice
Other SEC teams projected here: Vanderbilt, Mississippi State

BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, Alabama - Yeah, uh, this isn't happening. It can't, right? I really hope not. A return trip to Birmingham isn't all that bad of a prospect (Birmingham to me is like Jackson but bigger, and I actually mean that in a good way. It's a perpetually underrated city with good bars and restaurants, as well as a decent cultural scene.) but spending any more time in the Old Gray Lady would have severe adverse health effects on the Rebel faithful. Structural failure, asbestos (probably), and a production value that induces crippling depression would be too much for even the heartiest of us to overcome.

"Fun" anecdote: In the second quarter of last year's Compass Bowl, my brother and I, for some reason, wanted food. Even though we had just eaten our weight in breakfast burritos at our tailgate, we spotted a good Rebel noshing on chicken tenders and thought "hey, chicken tenders, let's get those." We walked over to the concessions area and, unfortunately, were unable to procure anything aside from Mountain Dew and peanuts. Mountain Dew and peanuts? They had literally run out of every other concessions item by the second quarter of the game. Then I walked into a bathroom which was flooded. And then the video board cut out and there were some shitty fireworks that went off and I dunno Ole Miss won it was a really weird day.

I don't wanna go back.

Likely opponent: Houston
Other SEC team projected here: Mississippi State