Penn State will make its first appearance in the Peach Bowl to close out this season. The Nittany Lions will face Ole Miss in the first all-time meeting between the two schools. Penn State is ranked no. 10 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, and Ole Miss is ranked no. 11.
This year’s Peach Bowl in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled for Dec. 30 at 12 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN.
Penn State and Ole Miss are each heading to the bowl season with 10-2 records. Penn State’s only losses this season came against Michigan and Ohio State. The only losses suffered by Ole Miss this year came against the two best teams they faced, Georgia and Alabama. Each team lost to a College Football Playoff participant (Michigan and Alabama).
Ole Miss finished in second place in the SEC West this season behind SEC champion Alabama.
the Peach Bowl has been played annually since 1968, but this is the first time Penn State has been invited to play in the game. Ole Miss has been in the game twice before. Ole Miss played in the Peach Bowl in 1971 and defeated Georgia Tech in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Rebels returned in the Georgia Dome in 2014 and lost to TCU, 42-3.
Penn State will be playing in a New Years Six bowl game for a second straight season. The Nittany Lions defeated Utah in last year’s Rose Bowl. This is the fifth New Years Six bowl game for Penn State under James Franklin. Penn State is 3-1 in New Years Six bowl games under Franklin with wins in the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Rose Bowl (and one loss in another Rose Bowl).
Ole Miss lost to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl last season. This is the second New Years Six bowl for Ole Miss under head coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin took the Rebels to the Sugar Bowl in 2021 and lost to Baylor.
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