Texas Tech to play Ole Miss in Texas Bowl
Joey McGuire's first season as Texas Tech football coach will end with the Red Raiders playing Mississippi at the Texas Bowl in Houston.
The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Dec. 28 at NRG Stadium. ESPN will televise it. Both schools and Texas Bowl officials announced the matchup Sunday afternoon.
"Texas Tech is honored to accept an invitation to play in the TaxAct Texas Bowl," athletics director Kirby Hocutt said in Tech's announcement. "We cannot wait to showcase our football program in one of the largest alumni bases of Red Raiders in the state of Texas. We look forward to painting the city of Houston and NRG Stadium scarlet and black for an exciting matchup with Ole Miss."
Mississippi is 8-4 and finished 4-4 and tied for third in the Southeastern Conference West Division. Texas Tech is 7-5 and finished 5-4 and alone in fourth in the Big 12.
The Cheez-It Bowl had the fourth choice of Big 12 teams and bypassed Tech to match Oklahoma against Florida State in its Dec. 29 game in Orlando, Florida. Tech had better overall and conference records than OU (6-6, 3-6) and a victory against the Sooners in the regular-season finale.
Ole Miss was ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 from the preseason poll through the 13th week, reaching a high of No. 7 after a 7-0 start. However, the Rebels have fallen out of the Top 25 after losing their last three games and four of their past five.
Tech has gone in the opposite direction. The Red Raiders were 4-5 after a Nov. 5 loss at TCU, but finished the regular season on a three-game win streak for the first time since 1995.
"On behalf of our entire program, we are excited for the opportunity to play in one of the premier bowl games this state has to offer in the TaxAct Texas Bowl," McGuire said. "Wherever the Red Raiders go, so does the most passionate fan base in all of college football. We can’t wait to see a sea of Red Raiders take over NRG Stadium as we face a talented Ole Miss team."
Ole Miss' calling card is a rushing offense that ranks third in the FBS, averaging 261 yards per game. Quinshon Judkins, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound true freshman, has run for Ole Miss single-season records of 1,476 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading the SEC in both categories. Zach Evans, a 6-foot, 215-pound junior from Galena Park North Shore who transferred from TCU, has run for 899 yards and eight touchdowns.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart has run for 548 yards and thrown for 2,613 yards and 18 TDs.
Judkins has eight 100-yard rushing performances this season, including two of more than 200 yards. Evans has four 100-yard games this season and 10 for his career, including 143 yards in TCU's win over Tech last year in Lubbock.
Dart, a sophomore transfer from Southern California, has topped 100 yards rushing twice this season.
Ole Miss beat Tech in the Independence Bowl to end the 1986 and 1998 seasons and beat the Red Raiders again in the Cotton Bowl to end the 2008 season. The last meeting between the two teams also was at NRG Stadium in Houston when Ole Miss beat Tech in a 2018 season opener. The two programs also played a non-conference home-and-home series in 2002 and 2003 with Tech winning both games.
Tech's last appearance in the Texas Bowl came at the end of the 2015 season when the Red Raiders lost to LSU. Tech also has played four other bowl games in Houston, losing to Nebraska in the 1976 Bluebonnet Bowl, losing to East Carolina in the 2000 Gallery Furniture Bowl, beating Navy in the 2003 Houston Bowl and beating Minnesota in the 2012 Texas Bowl.
Tech has been allocated 6,000 tickets for the game to sell through its athletics ticket office.
Tech donors and season-ticket holders must request bowl tickets by 5 p.m. Monday to receive priority consideration. If tickets remain after the exclusive window for donors and season-ticket holders, the remaining tickets will go on sale to the public at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Ole Miss at a glance
Coach: Lane Kiffin, 84-46 in 11 seasons, including 23-12 in three seasons at Ole Miss.
Record: 8-4, 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference
Ranking: Receiving votes in The Associated Press Top 25 and coaches polls.
Last game: Lost to Mississippi State 24-22 on Thanksgiving night.
Top passer: QB Jaxson Dart, So., 201 attempts, 321 completions, 8 interceptions, 2,613 yards, 18 touchdowns.
Top receivers: WR Malik Heath, Sr., 52 receptions, 834 yards, 4 touchdowns; WR Jonathan Mingo, Sr., 48-808-5; WR Jordan Watkins, Jr., 36-404-1; WR Dayton Wade, Jr., 24-236-3; TE Michael Trigg, So., 17-156-3.
Top rushers: RB Quinshon Judkins, Fr., 251 attempts, 1,476 yards, 16 touchdowns; RB Zach Evans, Jr., 136-899-8; QB Jaxson Dart, So., 117-548-0.
Top defensive players: DE Tavius Robinson, Sr., 39 tackles, 6 sacks; LB Troy Brown, Sr., 91 tackles, 2 1/2 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups; LB Khari Coleman, Jr., 35 tackles, 9 1/2 TFL, 4 1/2 sacks; LB Ashanti Cistrunk, Sr., 60 tackles, 3 1/2 TFL; CB Deantre Prince, Sr., 36 tackles, interception, 10 pass breakups; SS Isheem Young, Jr., 60 tackles, interception; FS A.J. Finley, Sr., 71 tackles, 2 interceptions; DB Otis Reese, Sr., 81 tackles, 7 TFL, 3 sacks; DB Tysheem Johnson, So., 73 tackles, 4 TFL; DB Ladarius Tennison, So., 47 tackles, 9 TFL.
Special teams: PK Jonathan Cruz, Sr., 15 of 17 field goals, long of 53 yards; P Fraser Masin, Jr., 40 punts for 42.10-yard average, long of 65; PR Jordan Watkins, Jr., 13 returns for 5.23-yard average, long of 22; KR Dayton Wade, Jr., 12 returns for 23.17-yard average, long of 38.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech to play Ole Miss in Texas Bowl
