A week has gone by, and Ole Miss fans have turned their attention away from last week’s Egg Bowl loss and turned it toward the postseason. The Rebels’ bowl game destination is still up in the air, but three bowl games remain as likely options.
The Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl are the obvious options, but the Gator Bowl is still in play, according to Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork.
“You look at where we sit right now, and it’s not too hard to figure out what could be in play, but we don’t necessarily reach out and start negotiating,” Bjork said. “It’s more of an ongoing dialogue throughout the year. Music City and Gator, those are the primary focus bowls for us right now, and we’ll see what happens with other games that have picks above those games.”
The Southeastern Conference has 10 bowl games, but with two teams likely to end up in BCS bowls, that bumps everyone up another spot. After the BCS games are picked, the selections go in order of the Capital One Bowl, Cotton and Outback Bowls, Chick-fil-a Bowl, Gator Bowl, Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, AutoZone Liberty and BBVA Compass Bowls and Independence Bowl.
Many experts have predicted Ole Miss to end up in the Music City or Liberty Bowls, but Bjork said the process is very fluid. However, there’s no doubt both bowls would love to host the Rebels.
“We are very interested in possibly hosting Ole Miss in our bowl this year,” Scott Ramsey, the president and CEO of the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, said. “We feel like their team and fan base would enjoy the trip to Nashville, especially with the game date of Monday, Dec. 30 and the chance to come in for a long weekend and all of the activities in the city during that weekend.”
So while Ole Miss may be the first choice for Ramsey, where the Rebels land may be a result of what teams other bowl games decide to select.
For instance, the Gator Bowl is predicted by many to take Georgia (8-4, 5-3 SEC), but the Bulldogs and their fans travel to Jacksonville, Fla., each year for their annual rivalry game against Florida.
The bowl games typically follow the SEC standings as they pick teams in order. However, Ramsey said that’s not always the case.
“The rule of thumb is that a bowl can select any team within one win of the best record available at the time of your selection,” Ramsey said. “We look for energized fan bases that will bring great energy and excitement in our city in addition to teams that have performed well over the course of the season on the field.”
And the fan base may be what puts Ole Miss in a more desirable destination. Last season, Vanderbilt (8-4, 4-4 SEC) went to the Music City Bowl, but because they do not take as many fans to bowl games and the added factor of them being in Nashville, they could be a team Ole Miss could pass despite the Commodores’ better record.
Bowl games also like how the Rebel fan base travels. Last season, Ole Miss took over 50,000 fans to the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., and Bjork said the reputation Ole Miss’ fan base has built helps them during talks with various bowls.
“There’s no question about it,” Bjork said. “It was actually even before Birmingham. The Cotton Bowl games were highly attended Ole Miss fans. Our fans have a great track record of traveling to support our team. Birmingham is obviously a recent highlight of our bowl history. People are paying attention to that, especially games that are within driving distance of our major footprint of our alumni base and our fans.
“There’s no question Birmingham helped and the history of our fan support. People see all that. They pay attention to those things, and we promote that. They know how our fans will respond.”
So while it remains to be seen exactly where Ole Miss ends up come Sunday when bowl selections are made, the Music City Bowl seems likely, but the Gator and Liberty Bowls aren’t out of the equation either.
“You figure out the math and the formulas, and we’re right there in that slot where Gator and Music City fall,” Bjork said. “The likelihood, you can’t really put a percentage on it because you never know and it is a fluid process, but we are confident in where our program sits and the pecking order of selection.”
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @DavidLCollier and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
— David Collier
thedmsports@gmail.com
