Ole Miss didn’t just lose last season’s Peach Bowl.

The Rebels were embarrassed. A breakout season that included the high of an ESPN GameDay telecast from The Grove followed by a nationally televised victory over Alabama, ended with a thud, a 42-3 rout by Texas Christian.

The debacle in Atlanta showed that the Rebels weren’t ready to join the nation’s elite — not yet, anyway.

This year, Ole Miss’ showing in the Sugar Bowl takes on greater significance as a chance at redemption. Three of the five-star recruits that helped Hugh Freeze build the Rebels (9-3) into a team capable of sweeping tradition SEC West powers Alabama, LSU and Auburn this season likely will be gone next season.

Tackle Laremy Tunsil and WR Laquon Treadwell seem headed to the NFL Draft along with suspended defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche. Tight end Evan Engram and DE Fadol Brown have requested grade reports from NFL scouts. Quarterback Chad Kelly and safety Tony Conner, another five-star recruit, are eligible for the draft but expected to return next season.

So the upcoming Sugar Bowl against 10-2 Oklahoma State might be the Rebels’ best chance for a New Year’s Day Six victory for at least a season or two.

For Tunsil, suspended seven games by the NCAA for receiving improper benefits, the bowl game is one last opportunity to show what he can do — he’ll draw Oklahoma State’s All-American pass rusher, Emmanuel Ogbah.

Engram, whose receiving numbers are down significantly this season, could help his draft position with a strong performance. And it’s likely Kelly’s last chance to throw to the spectacular Treadwell, who may be the nation’s top receiver.

Most important, the Rebels have an opportunity to show that victories over Alabama the past two years are a better indication of their capabilities than their losses to Memphis and Arkansas.

The overtime loss to Arkansas, which had to convert a fourth-and-25 play with Hunter Henry’s blind lateral to Alex Collins, is all that prevented the Rebels from winning their first SEC title since 1963.

Which Ole Miss team will show up in New Orleans, the Rebels who won five of six games against SEC West competition this season, or the Rebels who were humbled by TCU last season in Atlanta and were dominated by Florida and Memphis this season?

Bottom line: Can Ole Miss show it belongs with the big boys on a big, postseason stage? Or will the Rebels fall short in the final shot for some of the outstanding recruits that put Ole Miss there?