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Ole Miss vs. Duke kickoff time moved back for Gator Bowl after New Orleans tragedy

On3 imageby:Billy Embody•01/01/25•

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Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The 80th annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl’s kickoff moved back from 6:30 p.m. to 7:05 pm CT on Thursday due to the Allstate Sugar Bowl being rescheduled to 3 p.m. CT on the same day. ESPN will still televise the game between Ole Miss and Duke in Jacksonville.

Ole Miss is making its fifth straight bowl appearance under head coach Lane Kiffin. The Rebels are 38-13 under Kiffin since 2021 and rank third among all SEC schools in wins in that span. It’s a huge opportunity for another 10-win season against the depleted Duke Blue Devils.

During Wednesday’s fireside chat ahead of the game, Kiffin spoke about his approach to Twitter as well. As Ole Miss prepares for the game, he’s been his usual self on Twitter.

“I’ve always just kind of thought of myself as a normal person,” he said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have, and I just kind of tweet like normal people do, not like a head coach. I know that’s not ideal sometimes. Usually our fan base loves it. Our university loves it and everyone else hates it. Kind of is what it is. But I think it’s actually fun to watch the interaction of fans and going back and forth.”

Duke head coach Manny Diaz raved about Ole Miss under Kiffin and the job he’s done along with his entire staff to turn it into a defensive program as well.

“He mentioned our defense, and one of our hallmarks is creating negative plays,” Diaz said New Year’s Day. “So that’s something we tracked year to year. And I think Lane is turning into a defensive genius himself. His defense — Pete does a great job, but his defense and what they’ve done 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, stay for the warm weather. That’s kind of what we have here.

“Offensively, of course, I’ve always had a lot of respect for Lane, very creative. I think what we want to be defensively is 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 the game, is when you have two teams that are trying to attack, who’s really dictating the terms.”

The game day schedule for the 80th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (January 2, 2025) will be:

1:30 p.m.                                Parking Lots Open
3:30 pm – 6:30 pm           TaxSlayer Tailgate, Daily’s Place Flex Field at EverBank Stadium
4:30 pm                                Stadium Gates Open
6:00 pm                                Duke Pep Rally, Daily’s Place Amphitheater (Game Ticket Required)
6:15 pm                                Ole Miss Pep Rally, Daily’s Place Amphitheater (Game Ticket Required)
7:05 pm                                TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Kickoff

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