WATCH: Ole Miss gets in first practice in Jacksonville for Gator Bowl
The 2024-25 Ole Miss football season will draw to a close in the Gator Bowl on Thursday.
The No. 14 Rebels (9-3, 5-3 SEC) held their first bowl practice in Jacksonville (Fla.) on Monday. They’ll face off against Duke (9-3, 5-3 ACC) on January 2, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
“We have a chance to get 10 wins,” Ole Miss tight end Caden Prieskorn said. “If we win this game we’ll be over 20 wins in two years here. That’s hard to do in college football these days with the transfer portal (and) new guys in every year.
“A lot of us just know it’s our last time really getting to throw an Ole Miss jersey on. Just enjoy being around my brothers and everybody in this building because it’s the last time we get to go out and show everybody who we are as a team. I just can’t wait. I’m excited for that opportunity.”
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Ole Miss had its last on-campus practice December 23.
The Rebels then took a few days off for Christmas before returning December 28 to leave out for the bowl. Ole Miss is in search of its third 10-win season in four years.
Duke is down its top-two quarterbacks, including starter Maalik Murphy. Murphy transferred to Oregon State. He threw for a school-record 26 touchdowns this season and completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 2,933 yards. Duke’s nine-win regular season was its first since 2014.
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“Manny’s done an unbelievable job in only one year there,” sixth-year Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said of the Blue Devils and head coach Manny Diaz. “On defense Top 5 in a number of categories and create a lot of chaos by the way they play up front. Typical for wherever Manny’s been.
“They do a great job on defense to create a lot of problems. Our players are excited. We’re excited to get down there. Initial reaction from our players was great about it.”
Ole Miss, meanwhile, is pretty much whole.
Linebacker Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul is already preparing for the NFL Draft. Right tackle Micah Pettus was dismissed after the regular season. He’s now at Florida State. Defensive back Jadon Canady is in the portal.
“We have unfinished business,” third-year star quarterback Jaxson Dart said. “I can’t wait to put on that No. 2 Ole Miss jersey for one last ride with my guys before beginning preparation for the 2025 NFL Draft.”
