Local fans pulling for Mississippi teams
Mississippi State and Ole Miss college bowl games have finally arrived as several local fans are anticipating two great games to watch on television.
Today’s games feature the Ole Miss Rebels battling the TCU Horn Frogs in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia. Starting at 11:30 a.m.
Mississippi State will conclude the Bowl Day festivities in a nightcap contest against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida at 7 p.m. Both games will be on ESPN.
In a recap of the season, prior to the Peach Bowl, the Ole Miss Rebels (9-3) started the season with seven straight wins, including an opening win over Boise State at the Georgia Dome and a 23-17 upset of Alabama in early October. The Rebels climbed to No. 3 in The Associated Press rankings, but hopes for a truly special season were snuffed out by excruciating losses to LSU (10-7) and Auburn (35-31).
After their third straight SEC loss, a 30-0 rout by Arkansas, the regular season ended on a promising note when the Rebels knocked off then-No. 4 Mississippi State 31-17 in the Egg Bowl, eliminating their biggest rival from a shot at the SEC West title. The win propelled Ole Miss to No. 9 in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
TCU (11-1) will enter into the matchup with a chip on their shoulders after dropping from third to sixth in the final rankings that was issued by the selection committee despite a 55-3 win over Iowa State to earn a share of the Big 12 championship.
In a recap of the season, just prior to the Orange Bowl, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-2) started off strong as they climbed up in the ranks to No. 1 with wins over SEC teams like LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas and Vanderbilt, before falling to Alabama and to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.
Georgia Tech (10-3) is preparing for the Bulldogs and the 2014 Orange Bowl in what will be their fourth straight game against a ranked foe and third consecutive game against a Top 10 opponent. Georgia Tech knocked off Clemson and Georgia but lost a heartbreaker in the ACC Championship Game to Florida State.
In a brief survey from some of our local football coaches and fans, everyone in the area is pulling for the hometown colleges.
David Flowers: predicts Ole Miss prevailing 24-21 and State winning 17-14.
Parker Flowers: forecast Ole Miss thumping TCU 35-21 and State victorious over Georgia Tech 24-14.
Adam Cook, Loyd Star coach: picks Ole Miss defeating TCU 31-24 and State over Georgia Tech 38-21.
Ronald Greer, Wesson coach: Ole Miss defeats TCU 35-27 and State edging Georgia Tech 24-21.
Anthony Hart, Franklin County coach: Ole Miss beats TCU 21-14 and State knocks off Georgia Tech 28-21.
Jaymie Palmer, Lawrence County coach: predicts Ole Miss winning over TCU 28-21 and State winning against Georgia Tech 24-17.
Willie Brumfield, West Lincoln coach: says Ole Miss defeats TCU 42-31 and State prevailing 24-17 over the Yellow Jackets.
Stan Winborne, Positive Pest: forecasts State clobbering Georgia Tech 49-28 and Ole Miss pulling a squeaker against TCU 18-17.