Ole Miss football sets sights on Sugar Bowl appearance

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WXXV) — The Ole Miss Rebels are officially Sugar Bowl bound.

The sixth-seeded Rebels downed 11th-seeded Tulane with ease in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday, winning that game 41-10.

Ole Miss scored its first touchdown in the first minute of action and never looked back from there. It was also the first victory for newly named head coach Pete Golding, and it couldn’t have been any bigger.

The Rebels will be taking on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on New Years Day. The two programs are familiar with each other, with the Bulldogs toppling Ole Miss 43-35 back in October and serving as the Rebels’ only loss of the year.

Golding spoke on what the game will mean to the team as plenty of family members, friends and fans descend upon the Big Easy.

“Obviously, you know, recruiting wise, we like to take a five-hour geographical region and go recruit from,” Golding said. “So we got a lot of guys from Louisiana, South Mississippi, Mobile area and all that. So I think that’s really good for our players and then obviously our fans. We got a big Jackson group, South group, you know, on the Coast and all that. So I think New Orleans is a place everybody enjoys going to visit. And it’s a great venue. The Sugar Bowl does an unbelievable job. We’ve been there several times at several different places, so we’re going to be challenged in a really good Georgia team, but it’s a great venue, great place to play and great food.”

WXXV will have coverage from the Sugar Bowl as the big game approaches.