| Ole Miss Earns Second Straight AT&T Cotton Bowl Berth | |
|
 OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss will be returning to Texas for the holidays, as the Rebels accepted a second consecutive invitation to the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Sunday. Ole Miss is matched up with Oklahoma State, Jan. 2, 2010 at 1 p.m. CT in a FOX televised game. It will mark the 74th Cotton Bowl and first to be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. "Once again, Ole Miss fans will enjoy the immeasurable hospitality of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic," said Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone. "On behalf of Ole Miss athletics and our loyal fans, I would like to thank the Chairman of the Selection Committee, Finn Ewing; the President of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, Rick Baker; and the entire Selection Committee for inviting Ole Miss to its inaugural game at Cowboys Stadium. "This 2009 football team has worked very hard and earned its way to compete against a great Oklahoma State team, while enjoying the renown hospitality of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. It will be exciting." Houston Nutt becomes just the second Ole Miss head coach to guide the Rebels to a bowl in each of his first two seasons at the helm. Nutt is leading the Rebels to consecutive January bowls for the first time since 1970-71. Rising as high as No. 4 in the national rankings this year, Ole Miss (8-4, 4-4 SEC) knocked off No. 8 LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas en route to a second straight eight-win season for the first time since 1989-90. "I want to thank Rick Baker, Finn Ewing and the committee for making it possible to bring the Ole Miss Rebels back to Texas to participate in another AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic," said Nutt. "I am proud of our team and our fans. They have a great history of following Ole Miss teams to bowl games. We were excited to play the last Classic in Cotton Bowl Stadium and now we are equally excited about playing the first Cotton Bowl Classic in the new Cowboys Stadium." Ole Miss is continuing a rich bowl tradition with its 33rd all-time appearance, which is tied for 17th on the NCAA Division I-A’s list of all-time bowl berths. The Rebels are 20-12 in bowl games, with the 20 wins tied for the 12th most in college football. Ole Miss is 7-1 in its last eight bowl games dating back to a 13-0 win over Air Force in the 1992 Liberty Bowl. The Rebels’ only loss during that span came during the 2000 Music City Bowl, falling 49-38 to West Virginia. The only other all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Oklahoma State occurred in the 2004 Cotton Bowl, in which the Rebels prevailed 31-28. A 1981 OSU graduate and former Cowboys assistant coach, Nutt will be facing his alma mater for the first time as a head coach. Nutt served as OSU's wide receivers coach while current head coach Mike Gundy was the Cowboys' starting quarterback. Ranked 20th in the BCS, Oklahoma State (9-3, 6-2 Big 12) finished second in the Big 12 South standings this season, marking its best conference finish in the 14-year history of the league with a school-record six conference wins. The Rebels are 7-2 in bowl games against the Big 12 Conference and have won six straight. This matchup will be Ole Miss’ sixth bowl game against a Big 12 team in its last seven bowl appearances and fourth straight. |