Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss 'have a goal to do better' in their second trip to a New Year's Six bowl

Ole Miss did all it could do to earn itself a chance at a return trip to a New Year’s Six bowl game, but for the last 10 days its postseason fate was left in someone else’s hands.

Those hands were the 13 members that make up the College Football Playoff selection committee who were holed up in a hotel in Grapevine, Texas.

The Rebels defeated Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night to close out the regular season and earn their 10th win of the year and sixth Southeastern Conference victory. The same record Ole Miss had in 2021 when it secured a trip to the Sugar Bowl.

The national conversation said the Rebels were on the outside looking in as Missouri stole the NY6 bid after beating Tennessee handily on the same day Georgia routed Ole Miss last month.

Turns out that was an incorrect conversation as No. 11 Ole Miss earned a bid to the Peach Bowl to take on No. 10 Penn State (10-2) and a second NY6 bowl game in the last three years.

Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin found out just like everyone else did watching ESPN on Sunday afternoon, by watching a television somewhere inside the Olivia and Archie Manning Performance Center.

Ole Miss did not have a watch party as Kiffin was jet-setting all weekend to high school games as the final push towards early National Signing Day is underway. Instead, Kiffin took a moment to pause an official visit to step out and see his team’s bowl fate.

“Obviously a lot of stuff going on with playoff announcements and then the bowl games and recruiting visits at the same time. Kind of in a whirlwind of things,” Kiffin said during Sunday’s Peach Bowl press conference.

“All day today and even after this announcement in recruiting meetings with kids and families and that’s pretty neat to say two of the last three years to be in a New Year’s Six bowls. Obviously we have a goal to do better this time around and finish off and have the first 11-win season in the history of the school.”

This is the second trip to a NY6 bowl for Kiffin at the helm of Ole Miss after reaching the Sugar Bowl in his second year.

After the Rebels secured that first 10-win season it earned them a trip to New Orleans and a date with Baylor. The game did not go according to plan as Matt Corral’s final game in a Ole Miss uniform was cut short due to an ankle injury and the Rebels lost 21-7.

A return trip to Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Kiffin and Ole Miss started the 2022 season with a win over Louisville, offers the chance for both the head coach and the program to avenge another tough NY6 loss.

Ole Miss went to the Peach Bowl in the 2014, the inaugural year for the New Year’s Six group of bowl games, and suffered an embarrassing loss to TCU. Nine year’s later the Rebels return for a chance to hoist up the Peach Bowl trophy in its third time playing in the game in school history.

Kiffin gets the chance to earn himself another historical feather in his cap as the first Ole Miss head coach to secure an 11-win season. A re-do of sorts after falling short in New Orleans two years ago.

The Rebels will be heading to Atlanta as close to full strength as possible.

This time of year there are always bowl game opt-outs from players who are faced with the decision of either sticking it out another month or less of practices and a 13th game or leaving to preserve their health and begin the NFL Draft process.

Ole Miss does not seem to be facing this issue as hard as it has the last couple of years. There are players who have decisions to make about their future but none that are as serious as leaving ahead of the Peach Bowl.

Kiffin confirmed as much on Sunday.

“I have not heard of any (opt-outs),” Kiffin said. “I would expect that we don’t have any. We’re kind of not in one of those years where we have some first-rounders coming out that are concerned with injuries and so forth. I would not anticipate that happening with us.”