The kickoff for the 80th annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl has been pushed back from 6:30 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. CT on Thursday due to the Allstate Sugar Bowl being rescheduled for 3 p.m. CT the same day. ESPN will still broadcast the game between Ole Miss and Duke in Jacksonville.
Ole Miss is making its fifth consecutive bowl appearance under head coach Lane Kiffin. Since 2021, the Rebels have gone 38-13 under Kiffin, ranking third among all SEC schools in wins. It’s an excellent opportunity for another 10-win season against the depleted Duke Blue Devils.
During Wednesday’s pre-game fireside discussion, Kiffin also discussed his Twitter strategy. As Ole Miss prepares for the game, he has maintained his regular Twitter presence.
“I’ve always just kind of thought of myself as a normal person,” he told me. “Maybe I shouldn’t have, and I just tweet like everyone else, not like a head coach. I understand that this isn’t always optimal. Usually, our fan base enjoys it. Our university adores it, while everyone else despises it. That’s kind of what it is. But I think it’s interesting to watch the fans interact and go back and forth.” Duke head coach Manny Diaz gushed about Ole Miss under Kiffin and the work he and his staff have done to transform it into a defensive powerhouse.
“He mentioned our defence, and one of our hallmarks is creating negative plays,” Diaz remarked on New Year’s Day. “So that’s something we track year after year. And I believe Lane is becoming into a defensive genius himself. His defence – Pete does an excellent job, but his defence and what they’ve accomplished this year are practically unprecedented in terms of tackle disruption for losses and sacks. It is difficult to put on the bowl banner; come for the TFLs, stay for the warm weather. That’s sort of what we have here.
“Offensively, of course, I’ve always admired Lane; he’s incredibly inventive. I believe we want to be defensively as he is offensively, which is always in attack mode, trying to get other teams out of their comfort zones. And I believe that one of the most challenging aspects of the game is determining who is truly controlling the terms when two teams are attempting to attack.”
The game schedule for the 80th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (January 2, 2025) will be as follows: 1:30 p.m. Parking Lots are Open 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm TaxSlayer Tailgate: Daily’s Place Flex Field at EverBank Stadium 4:30 pm Stadium gates open. 6:00 pm Duke Pep Rally at Daily’s Place Amphitheatre (Game Tickets Required) 6:15 pm Ole Miss Pep Rally at Daily’s Place Amphitheatre (Game Tickets Required) 7:05 pm TaxSlayer’s Gator Bowl Kickoff
An Ole Miss victory in Thursday’s Gator Bowl would give head coach Lane Kiffin his third 10-win season and the Rebels’ first consecutive ones since 1959-60. The Duke Blue Devils stand in the way at 7:05 p.m. CT on ESPN. Kiffin had been looking forward to the bowl game since it was announced, thanks in part to his team’s determination to finish strong. Some of Ole Miss’s top names, such as quarterback Jaxson Dart and defensive lineman Walter Nolen, will play.
“Our guys are thrilled. It will be a while until we play, but it appears that all of our players who were considering participating and opting out of the (NFL) draft have said they would participate as of right now,” Kiffin said in a preview of the showdown on December 10. “That’s exciting and I think that says a lot about this team, in an age where that isn’t the case a lot of times.”
Meanwhile, Duke has lost quarterback Maalik Murphy, running back Star Thomas, and other significant players. That has helped the Rebels become 17.5-point favourites on FanDuel. In his first season as Duke’s head coach, Manny Diaz got the program off to a great start. Duke joins the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl after being 9-3 overall and 5-3 in ACC play. The Blue Devils went 5-0 to start the season until falling 24-14 to Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
“Manny’s done an unbelievable job in only one year there,” Kiffin said about Diaz and the Blue Devils. “On defence, they are ranked in the top five in several categories and cause a lot of commotion up front. This is typical for Manny’s travels. They play excellent defence, causing numerous issues. Our guys are thrilled. We’re excited to get down there. Our players’ initial reaction was quite positive.”
The Blue Devils’ backup quarterback, Henry Belin IV, will lead the team in the Gator Bowl. Belin has played in three games this season and will start one in 2023 for Duke. On Thursday, he’ll face one of the nation’s best defences.
“They’re a talented group, both up front and in the secondary,” Belin stated of Ole Miss. “They have some fantastic players, but we are also a good group. We’re here to compete, and we’ll do what we need to do.” The Blue Devils’ outside receivers, Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol, have combined for nearly 1500 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns this season.
“It’s been fantastic. I’ve been throwing with them since I arrived here in the summer of 2022. “To finally get out there and play with them again, our chemistry has been developing for a long time,” Belin said prior of the game. “It is definitely a confidence booster. Sahmir, Eli, JoMo, Harv (Javon Harvey), and the rest of the guys—it’s fantastic to be out there with such skill around me.
“It has been a hard road, but we are finally here. I was speaking with Coach Diaz, and he reminded me that God works in mysterious ways. This is an excellent opportunity, and I feel much better than I did back then. I’m ready to demonstrate what we can do as a team.”