Southern Miss football is back in a bowl game and they’re playing an old rival
A year after being left out of the postseason despite crossing the six-win threshold, the Southern Miss football team is bowling once again and they’ll be playing an old rival.
The Golden Eagles (7-5) will play Tulane (6-6) at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 4 in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, in an ESPN-televised game. The game is played at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of TCU.
Southern Miss and Tulane have played 30 times in a rivalry that goes by the name Battle for the Bell. The Golden Eagles lead the series 23-7.
USM athletic director Jeremy McClain likes the matchup that landed in his lap.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of history there with the Battle for the Bell and a rivalry that goes back a long way,” he said. “Our plans are to play Tulane more in football and other sports. I feel like it’s a natural fit so we’re excited about that.
“(The bowl) checked a lot of boxes for us where we wanted to play an opponent we’re familiar with and players can get excited about. It’s a good spot for our fan base. We’re playing a bowl game on a day where it will be the only bowl. We’ll be on ESPN as the only show in town. All those things lined up in a really positive way.”
McClain pointed out that the late game will allow the coaching staff to spend more time recruiting and allow players to have more time off around the holidays.
USM will soon begin its effort to sell bowl tickets and McClain encouraged fans to buy tickets through the USM ticket office.
“I think there’s a great push to be made with the matchup,” he said. “The beauty of it is there’s a direct flight into the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex out of Hattiesburg. We’ve got a lot of alums in the Dallas/Houston/East Texas area. That will be great for them. You can also hop in the car and make the drive. It’s not a difficult drive to make.
“One thing I mentioned in conversations as we got into bowl season is that our folks will travel. This puts us in a place where our folks can show up. We want to show the country that the Southern Miss fan base is special.”
USM and Tulane last played as Conference USA rivals in 2010 in New Orleans with the Golden Eagles winning 46-30.
This invite marks USM’s first bowl game since the 2017 Independence Bowl when the Golden Eagles fell 42-13 to Florida State.
USM struggled down the stretch, losing their last two games to Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic.
Mississippi State
The Bulldogs will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on Louisville in the Music City Bowl.
The game, which will be shown on ESPN, will be played at 4 p.m. Dec. 30 at Nissan Stadium.
Mississippi State (6-6) clinched a spot in the postseason thanks to a 21-20 victory of Ole Miss in the regular season finale.
Louisville (7-5) finished second behind conference champion Clemson in the ACC Atlantic division.
Note: This story originally had the wrong destination for Mississippi State. Multiple reports indicate the Belk Bowl and Music City Bowl swapped bids.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 3:02 PM.
