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OXFORD – It might not be where No. 14 Ole Miss envisioned when its highly anticipated 2024 season began, but the Rebels are going bowling for the fifth straight year.
Coming off the program’s first 11-win season, Ole Miss (9-3, 5-3 SEC) entered 2024 with hopes of making it to the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field. While a lot of things went right for the Rebels this year – a win over then-No.3 and eventual SEC champion Georgia was one of the biggest moments in modern team history – a trio of blemishes on an otherwise strong record had them as the third team out of the playoff behind Alabama and Miami.
Ole Miss will instead spend this holiday in Jacksonville, where the Rebels will play Duke (9-3, 5-3 ACC) in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2 at 6:30 p.m. It is Ole Miss’ fourth appearance in the Gator Bowl and first ever matchup with the Blue Devils.
Here is a quick look at how Ole Miss matches up with the Blue Devils.
Note: We don’t know who will opt out of the game yet, so this preview is based on who the teams had available in the regular season.
Duke offense vs. Ole Miss defense
The Blue Devils average 26.8 points per game, which is 73rd nationally. Quarterback Maalik Murphy has just under 3,000 passing yards and is fourth in the ACC with 26 touchdown passes, though his 12 interceptions are tied for the most in the conference. His efficiency rating of 133.53 is 72nd nationally and 11th in the ACC. Duke’s pass blocking vs. Ole Miss’ pass rush figures to be a premiere matchup – the Blue Devils are tied for 12th nationally with just 12 sacks allowed, while Ole Miss leads the nation with 52 sacks. The Rebels lead the nation with 9.7 tackles-for-loss per game; Duke gives up an average of 5.67 tackles-for-loss per game, which is tied for 74th nationally.
Duke is 125th nationally in rushing yards per game…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ole-miss-duke-match-020100982.html
Author : Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
Publish date : 2024-12-10 02:01:00
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