New Year’s Eve to serve as coming out party for Mississippi schools
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The state of Mississippi underwent a football renaissance in 2014, so it’s only fitting that on the final day of the calendar year both of the state’s premier programs will share in one of the greatest days in Mississippi football history.
The College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its final top 25 rankings on Sunday afternoon, and both Ole Miss and Mississippi State earned their highest rankings to end a regular season in more than 40 years. Those rankings also earned them bids to a pair of New Year’s Six bowls, giving both teams one final chance to captivate the nation on a grand stage with plenty at stake.
The No. 9 Rebels were rewarded with a berth in the Peach Bowl (Dec. 31 at 12:30 p.m. ET) where they’ll meet No. 6 TCU in one of the most intriguing bowl matchups of the season.
The No. 7 Bulldogs will take part in the Orange Bowl (Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET) where they’ll take on No. 12 Georgia Tech of the ACC.
Both schools will be at the forefront of the college football universe one final time, and they’ll do so on one of the most significant days of college football every year. It will undoubtedly be the Magnolia State’s greatest day of football in a generation, maybe of all-time.
I know we’ve thrown that “greatest day ever” title around before, as recently as October of this very year. The day in question — Oct. 4, when Ole Miss handed Alabama its only loss of the year just hours after Mississippi State throttled a top 10 Texas A&M squad — was worthy of the superlative at the time.
But this New Year’s Eve will be better. Much better.
Both teams spent most of the season with their sights set on playoff berths, and a string of late losses cost both schools a chance to compete for a title. When framed in that context, the pair of New Year’s Six invites could be considered a disappointment of sorts, marking a shortcoming in pursuit of an even greater goal.
But rest assured, these bowl bids are far from a consolation prize.
The Rebels and Bulldogs will both be playing in major bowl games against top 15 opponents on a holiday most sports fans associate almost exclusively with college football. They’ll have the opportunity to earn millions of dollars for themselves and the SEC, and they’ll have a chance to end their magical runs in 2014 with a pair of statement wins that ensure the nation knows the Magnolia State is here to stay.
The money will undoubtedly help the programs grow into the SEC powers they aspire to become, and the exposure they’ll receive on a national stage will only further enhance both teams’ recruiting initiatives in the coming years.
Having said all of that, Ole Miss and Mississippi State must win to cash in on this golden opportunity. Oct. 4 was only the “greatest day ever” for Mississippians because both teams won in style. If the Rebels and Bulldogs fall flat on their faces on Dec. 31, simply appearing in New Year’s Six bowls won’t be good enough.
If they make a statement by winning both bowl games, they’ll win the entire day.
The state of Mississippi may not be a part of this year’s playoff, but it’s absolutely a part of the biggest two-day stretch of college football this year (Dec. 31-Jan. 1). It’s a worthy reward for a pair of stellar seasons in 2014, and a jumping off point for both teams to duplicate this success in 2015.
The Rebels and Bulldogs have arrived at the top tier of the college football universe, and Dec. 31 will be their coming out party. The bowls don’t mark the end of a fluke season with national title potential; they mark the beginning of a golden age for football in Mississippi.
It’s safe to say 2014 is a year football fans in Mississippi will never forget. The fact the calendar year will end with one of the state’s biggest days of football in history is only fitting.
But Dec. 31 is not the finish line capping a magical run through 2014. Instead, it’s just another step on both programs’ ascension to legitimacy. And that’s why it will supersede Oct. 4 (and another 60 years of history) as the greatest day of football in Magnolia State history.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
