Music City Encore for the Rebels

Ole Miss Accepts Invitation To Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl

Photo by Seph Anderson / HottyToddy.com

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss will end its season in the same city as it dramatically began it, as the Rebels continue their rich bowl tradition by accepting an invitation to Nashville’s Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl on Sunday. They will face Georgia Tech (7-5) from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The game will be played at LP Field on Dec. 30, 2013 at 2:15 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally on ESPN. Tickets, travel and other bowl information is available by visiting www.olemissfb.com.

“We are excited to accept an invitation to the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl and continue our outstanding bowl tradition,” said Ole Miss Athletics Director Ross Bjork. “I want to congratulate our coaches and student-athletes for their hard work, focus and commitment to return our program to postseason play for the second straight year.”

Ole Miss is making its second consecutive bowl appearance in two seasons under head coach Hugh Freeze. Last year, the Rebels defeated Pitt 38-17 in the BBVA Compass Bowl. Freeze is just the third Ole Miss head coach to guide the Rebels to a bowl in each of his first two seasons at the helm.

After a dramatic five-win improvement last year, Ole Miss followed up this season with road wins over Vanderbilt and Texas and notable home triumphs over Arkansas and No. 6 LSU. With a 7-5 record, Freeze’s squad is guaranteed a second straight winning season.

“I am proud of our team’s hard work and commitment as we continue our journey, and the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl is a great reward for our accomplishments this season,” Freeze said. “We have one of the great bowl traditions in all of college football, and I’m excited that we have earned a bowl berth in each of our first two seasons. I appreciate the unbelievable support Rebel Nation has provided our team, and I look forward to seeing a sea of Red and Blue in Nashville.”

Ole Miss is renewing a celebrated bowl legacy with its 35th all-time appearance, which is tied for 19th on the NCAA Division I list of all-time bowl berths. The Rebels are 22-12 in bowl games, with the 22 wins 10th-most in college football.

Ole Miss is 9-1 in its last 10 bowl games dating back to a 13-0 win over Air Force in the 1992 Liberty Bowl. The Rebels’ lone loss during that span came in their only previous appearance in the Music City Bowl, falling 49-38 to West Virginia in 2000.

“With 126,000 alumni within a one day drive, winning an SEC title last spring and our win over Vanderbilt to start the season, Nashville has become a hot bed for Rebel Nation,” Bjork said. “We know our fans will continue our stellar reputation of supporting our team and filling up LP Field. Last year was Lock the Legion and now we have the Music City Encore.”

Charter members of the Southeastern Conference, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech have met three times in their history and two were in postseason. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Rebels 24-7 in the 1953 Sugar Bowl, while Ole Miss prevailed 41-18 in the 1971 Peach Bowl. The only other encounter was a 24-7 Tech victory in Atlanta in 1946, giving the Yellow Jackets the 2-1 all-time series edge.

The Rebels are 3-1 in bowl games against current ACC schools, with the other wins coming against Virginia Tech in the 1968 Liberty Bowl and Pitt a year ago.

The Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl was established in 1998. The SEC has a 6-8 record against the ACC in the postseason affair but has won the last two. Mississippi State defeated Wake Forest in 2011, and Vanderbilt knocked off N.C. State last year.

“The Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl is thrilled to host the student-athletes, administrators and fans from Ole Miss and Georgia Tech,” said Toby Wilt, Bowl Selection Committee Chairman. “Music City is a great destination and we’re confident that the teams and the fans will enjoy the wonderful hospitality for which Nashville is famous. We’re looking forward to an exciting schedule of BOWL Week special events and activities, capped by a great game on the field.”

This will mark the Rebels’ second of three football games in Nashville in the span of just more than a year. Ole Miss kicked off the 2013 campaign with a 39-35 win over Vanderbilt in Tennessee’s state capital in August, and the Rebels will open SEC play there again next season on Sept. 6, 2014 in order to balance the 14-team league schedule.

— Ole Miss Sports Information