National title could be on the line at Mississippi Bowl VII

The Mississippi Bowl has had national title implications frequently throughout its history.

Mississippi Bowl VIII could be in the spotlight again after Saturday's MACJC championship game. No. 6 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (8-2) faces No. 1 Northwest (9-1) in Senatobia set for 2 p.m.

"The buildup to our bowl game is goes on all season long," said Bert Pickard, Mississippi Bowl committee chair. "We're excited to see what happens this weekend and finish putting together a great matchup.

The Mississippi Bowl will be played on Dec. 6 with kickoff at Biloxi Indians Stadium slated for 2 p.m. Gulf Coast has played in the game three times, winning all three. Northwest has not played in the Mississippi Bowl.

The game has seen the national champion crowned the last two years, with East Mississippi beating Georgia Military in 2013 and Iowa Western last year.

Invitations to NJCAA-sanctioned bowl berths can be awarded Nov. 17.

Past Mississippi Bowl -- in chronological order -- include Gulf Coast defeating Georgia Military College 41-7 in 2008, East Mississippi beating Arizona Western 27-24, Gulf Coast over Grand Rapids 62-53 and Gulf Coast over Blinn 46-17, Garden City falling to Copiah-Lincoln 29-21, and back-to-back East Mississippi wins. The Lions defeated GMC 52-32 in '13 and Iowa Western 34-17 last year.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 5:14 PM with the headline "National title could be on the line at Mississippi Bowl VII ."