For the first time in program history, the Duke Blue Devils will play a bowl game in Jacksonville.
After the team’s 9-3 season under new head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], Duke drew the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl for a postseason battle against the Mississippi Rebels from the SEC.
The Blue Devils overcame three two-score fourth-quarter deficits in 2024, including a 20-point comeback against the North Carolina Tar Heels and a 14-point comeback against Wake Forest in the final game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] threw a program-record 26 touchdown passes, including a walk-off score to Jordan Moore on the final play against the Demon Deacons, and Duke swept UNC, Wake Forest, and NC State for the first time since 2013.
Ole Miss started the year with playoff aspirations under head coach Lane Kiffin, and a 5-1 start to the season kept the Rebels in the thick of the hunt. An overtime loss to the LSU Tigers and a stunning road loss to the Florida Gators knocked them down to 9-3, however, and even a late win over the Georgia Bulldogs couldn’t move them back into the field.
The bowl game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, January 2, and fans can watch on ESPN.