Ole Miss football receives bowl projection bump after third-straight win

Ole Miss football could be headed to a more premier bowl destination after its Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State this past weekend.

The Rebels (4-4) still potentially have LSU and Texas A&M to play before a bowl selection would occur, and there is a lot up in the air about how the end of the season will play out.

Bowl games are probably going to look different this year, but it seems promising they will happen in some form or fashion. The players may not get the full bowl game experience of a week long trip, parties, etc. from what we have heard from bowl committee sources. There was uncertainty in the preseason about college football happening at all, but the powers that be in the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference pushed to give us rabid fans football.

First year head coach Lane Kiffin has most likely exceeded expectations of most fans even with no more wins this season. He matched the 2019 win total of former coach Matt Luke, and he did so in a conference only schedule with pretty much the same players. A win against LSU or Texas A&M or dare we say it, BOTH, would be among one of the biggest turn-arounds in program history.

So the Rebels have played their way into bowl consideration - eligibility has been granted for every team per the NCAA for this season for obvious reasons. When we last checked into bowl projections, Ole Miss was slated to head to Las Vegas against a Pac-12 opponent, which seemed a little unlikely the game would even be played.

Now? Well, let’s just say things have gotten more interesting.

ESPN

NC State - Gator Bowl

West Virginia - Liberty Bowl

There’s a couple guesses here from the analysts at the mothership in Connecticut. I don’t think anyone would be excited about a trip to Orange Mound to play in the Liberty Bowl other than the Ole Miss alums in the Memphis area potentially due to proximity. West Virginia fans and Rebel fans in the same stadium would definitely mean record beer sales, however. Those Mountaineers know how to party.

CBS

Iowa - Music City Bowl

Jerry Palm has the Rebs doing battle with the Hawkeyes in his latest projection. Nashville is a great city to spend a couple days, and the last time the Rebels played in this bowl, it ended with a W.

247Sports

West Virginia - Liberty Bowl

OK, the latest projection, again, has the Mountaineers and Rebels in Memphis, which we touched on earlier, and maybe the sources are just exactly the same for the two analysts.

Athlon Sports

Virginia Tech - Gator Bowl

Now, I’ve got to admit I love this projection. I have admired what Frank Beamer did from afar for years, and now with Justin Fuente leading the program, they aren’t a powerhouse but at least competitive. I can’t remember Ole Miss ever playing the Hokies in any recent years, but this game would have some nice national attention on it.

College Football News

NC State - Gator Bowl

And finally we have another projection for a Florida destination. The Wolfpack (7-3) are led by coach Dave Doeren who was flirted with by the Rebel program for the head coaching position at one time. NC State has had a fairly solid year, notching a top-25 win over Liberty in the last couple weeks. This would be another compelling game for both fanbases in Jacksonville.

I think the projections are assuming at least one more Rebel win to be at 5-5 for a Gator Bowl slot, or they are assuming a game or two may not be played leaving Ole Miss at 4-4. The projections putting Ole Miss elsewhere have to be thinking the Rebels finish at 4-6 with other programs notching wins down the stretch to put them in Memphis this postseason.

Needless to say, there is still a lot of football to be played, and it is just a breath of fresh air to be excited about Ole Miss playing in the postseason again.