Sugar Bowl Preview

"Ole So Sweet"

Junior QB Chad Kelly hoisting the Egg Bowl trophy after the 38-27 win.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that #12 Ole Miss will play #16 Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl on the night of January 1st, 2016. Rebel fans were expecting a Sugar Bowl bid after having beaten Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, 38-27, because it is quite obvious that Florida is an inferior team to the ever-so-powerful Alabama Crimson Tide. The tide would roll in the SEC Championship, 29-15, but there was an unexpected defeat earlier that Saturday. Ole Miss was expecting to play Baylor because surely they would beat a 4-7 Texas team, right? They did NOT. Texas defeated Baylor, 23-17, and the Rebels knew OK State was the team.

Ole Miss is one of five FBS teams to play in the last two "New Years Six" bowl games, but the Rebels want to forget its bowl game last year against the Big 12, a 42-3 embarrassment for the Southeastern Conference. While the Rebels' losses have been spread out throughout the season, the Oklahoma State Cowboys started off their season 10-0 and surged all the way to the #5 spot in the CFB playoff rankings for Week 11. They ended their season with two consecutive losses to Baylor and Oklahoma, not to mention their rivalry game was a 58-23 rout. 

The greatest common factor with these two squads is their elite offenses. Here are a few stats for you. Ole Miss averages 505 yards of total offense, good for 12th nationally, while OSU averages 475, or 19th nationally. The majority of both of these team's yards comes from their passing attacks. Ole Miss averages 334 passing yards per game, a stat which ranks 10th in the country while OSU averages 357 passing yards a game, a stat which ranks 7th in the nation. Ole Miss averages 40 points per game to OSU's 41, but the Rebels allow only 23 points a game to OSU's 29. 

Both defenses statistically are not great, but Ole Miss has the clear-cut edge on the defensive side of the ball. The Landshark defense has many of its players from the #1 ranked defense in the country last year, and this defense definitely has potential. Having said that, the rebels will likely be without Junior DT Robert Nkemdiche after his incident from Saturday night in Atlanta, Georgia, an occurrence which led to him being charged for marijuana possession. Ole Miss has a 56th ranked total defense to OSU's 96th ranked total defense. The Rebels and Cowboys' offenses are very similar and are about the same, but the Rebels' defense has the edge. 

Will it matter in the Sugar Bowl? 

Good question. We'll find out at 7:30 PM CT on ESPN on New Years Day.

Let's hope the Rebels leave New Orleans victorious.

Hotty Toddy!