JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Ole Miss and Duke square off Saturday afternoon in EverBank Stadium in the 80th playing of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
The Rebels (9-3) and the Blue Devils (9-3) kickoff at 7:05 p.m. CDT/8:05 EST. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
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Teams: Ole Miss (9-3) vs. Duke (9-3)
Where: EverBank Stadium
Series: First meeting
Time: 7:05 p.m. CST/8:05 p.m. EST
Where to Watch: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Taylor McGregor)
Live Stream: ESPN App/SEC Network+
How To Listen: SiriusXM: 374/84, Ole Miss Radio Network,
Odds: Ole Miss -17.5, Over/Under 51, Money Lines: Ole Miss -850, Duke +575 (per DraftKings)
Season Leaders:
Rushing: Ole Miss --- Henry Parrish Jr. 686 yards; Duke -- Star Thomas 941 yards
Passing: Ole Miss -- Jaxson Dart 3,875 yards; Duke -- Maalik Murphy 2,933 yards
Receiving: Ole Miss -- Tre Harris 1,030 yards; Duke -- Jordan Moore 798 yards
Gameday Schedule:
2:30 pm Parking Lots Open
4:30 pm – 7:30 pm TaxSlayer Tailgate, Daily’s Place Flex Field at EverBank Stadium
5:30 pm Stadium Gates Open
7:00 pm Duke Pep Rally, Daily’s Place Amphitheater (Game Ticket Required)
7:15 pm Ole Miss Pep Rally, Daily’s Place Amphitheater (Game Ticket Required)
8:05 pm TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Kickoff
Notes:
-- Ole Miss is making its fifth straight bowl appearance under head coach Lane Kiffin. The Rebels are 25-15 in bowl games and 12-4 in its last 16 on the field dating back to the 1997 Motor City Bowl.
-- This will be Ole Miss’ fourth appearance in the Gator Bowl, its first since 1991. This will be the first all-time meeting between the Rebels and Blue Devils.
-- Ole Miss is 17-10-1 all-time against current members of the ACC, including 4-1 in bowl games on the field. A win would give Kiffin his third 10-win season and the first consecutive ones at Ole Miss since 1959-60.
-- Jaxson Dart will also take one final assault on the Ole Miss record book on Thursday, one he’s already re-written over the last three seasons. Here’s a look at the records within sight entering Thursday’s game:
— Passing Yards (3,875, 3rd): Dart needs 167 passing yards to tie, 168 to pass Chad Kelly’s 2015 record of 4,042.
— Passing Efficiency (177.7, 1st): Dart has a narrow margin to hold onto record of 177.6 from Matt Corral in 2020.
— Passing Yards/Attempt (10.7, 1st): Dart is in decent shape to hold onto this record over the 10.2 yards per attempt set by Corral in 2020.
— Passing Yards/Completion (15.6, 1st): Dart is in decent shape to hold onto this record over the 15 yards per completion set by Jevan Snead in 2008.
— Total Offense (4,327, 3rd): Dart needs 215 total yards (pass plus rush) to tie, 216 to pass Chad Kelly’s 2015 record of 4,542.
— Total Offense/Play (9.11, 1st): Dart is in decent shape to hold onto this record over 8.77 from Matt Corral in 2020.
What they said:
-- "Even though we've never worked together, always have looked at his defense as very aggressive. He's been able to go in wherever hehas and immediately change their defense statistically andhow hard they play, and now he's got a whole team doing itas a head coach.'' -- Lane Kiffin on Duke coach Manny Diaz
-- "Yeah, he mentioned our defense, and one of our hallmarks is creating negative plays. So that'ssomething we tracked year to year. And I think Lane isturning into a defensive genius himself. His defense -- Pete (Golding) does a great job, but his defense and what they'vedone this year are almost historical numbers in terms of disruption of tackle for losses and sacks.
"It's hard to put on the bowl banner come for the TFLs, stayfor the warm weather. That's kind of what we have here.Offensively, of course, I've always had a lot of respect forLane, very creative. I think what we want to be defensivelyis what he is offensively, which is always in attack mode,always trying to get other teams out of their comfort zone.And I think that's one of the more difficult things about thegame, is when you have two teams that are trying toattack, who's really dictating the terms." -- Diaz
-- "Jaxson has been an amazing leader. To come in over the three years, set a bunch of schoolrecords, I think most wins and most yards and those things.But his impact and his legacy that he leaves in the younger players is amazing, and the younger quarterbacks. He's been great. I think a lot of these games, non-playoffgames, we see so many players opt out of playing that aregoing to be draft picks, and I think for him to come out right away and saying he's playing impacted a lot of our other players. I think a lot of times nowadays would have optedout to prepare for the draft. He's amazing." -- Kiffin on Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart
-- "It's a big deal for Duke, our first time at the Gator Bowl, playing in a New Year's Day or a January 2nd game in Florida. We became bowl eligible midway through the season. I told the guys, the more you win, the warmer the destination, and the better team you're going to play. I didn't think they were listening to me, but fortunately they were. We got to a much better destination and an outstanding opponent.
"I think it's what we need for our program, though, is to -- I'm sure, like everybody, our goal is to be in the College Football Playoff. We saw how close we were against one of our opponents that made the playoff (SMU), so we're telling our guys, if that's where we're headed for next year, if you show up, guess who you're going to find. You're going to find a team just like the one we're going to play (Thursday)." -- Diaz, on the significance of Thursday's game for Duke.
Post-Game Coverage:
MPW Digital Watch Party and PostGame Show, presented by Realtree (Chase Parham hosts, joined by Jeffrey Wright, Brian Rippee and Neal McCready (from Jacksonville)
https://www.youtube.com/@mpwdigital6243
