Ole Miss to face Oklahoma State in Sugar Bowl

But perhaps the player that will be most excited to play at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans is starting defensive tackle Vincent Taylor – who spent part of his childhood in New Orleans before his family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Mississippi: First appearance in the Sugar Bowl since 1970, 37th bowl appearance overall.

The official announcement came Sunday afternoon during the College Football Playoff show.

Excitement spiked higher last Tuesday when Ole Miss was the second of five SEC teams ranked by the College Football Playoff committee – five spots higher than Florida in the third spot.

The Rebels have now qualified for consecutive New Year’s Six bowl games. The 13th-ranked Cowboys won their first 10 games of the season before back-to-back losses to Baylor and Oklahoma. The former BCS bowl game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. January 1.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said he was at an 11-year-old basketball tournament in rural Oklahoma when the Baylor-Texas game was happening and didn’t have cellphone service. The Cowboys are 10-2 and now 16th.

“One of the Sugar Bowl’s primary objectives has been to preserve its great history while also ensuring a bright and healthy future”, said CEO Paul Hoolahan.

Oklahoma State and Ole Miss played in the 2004 Cotton Bowl at the actual Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas, where the Cowboys fell 31-28. The Oklahoma State offense is efficient in the red zone, converting on 51 of 55 opportunities (92.7 percent), including 38 touchdowns.

The matchup will feature two bigtime quarterback/wide receiver combos.

All that was left for an Ole Miss spot in the Sugar was to sit back and cheer for heavily favored Alabama against Florida in the SEC championship game.

“We’ve got two schools with strong fan bases and a pent-up demand because neither one has been here in such a long time”, he said. Gundy is 6-3 in bowl games.

RETURN OF RUDOLPH? Oklahoma State’s chances of winning the Sugar Bowl will likely be better if starting quarterback Mason Rudolph can return from a foot injury.

The push began even earlier for Ole Miss athletics director Ross Bjork.

Indeed, since it was widely assumed for the previous week that Ole Miss would wind up in the Sugar Bowl, Rebels fans didn’t wait to make their plans.