Ole Miss Prepares for Oklahoma

Dec. 10, 1999

OXFORD, Miss. ? Although the Rebels have not begun practicing for their game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sanford Independence Bowl, Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe said his team is eager for the chance to play in its third straight bowl game.

Ole Miss (7-4, 4-4) will take on the Sooners (7-4, 5-3) in the final collegiate football game of the century on Dec. 31, 1999, in Shreveport, La. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN and will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. CST.

The game marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

"We're excited about the opportunity. I think we have two great programs with great traditions," Cutcliffe said at his Friday press conference. "I think it's going to be an exciting ending to a century of college football."

With a berth in the 1999 Sanford Independence Bowl, Ole Miss joins Florida, Georgia and Tennessee as the only Southeastern Conference schools to have earned a trip to a bowl game the past three seasons. Ole Miss is the only team from the SEC Western Division to do so.

"I think it is a great honor for this program and this group of seniors to have gone to three straight bowl games," Cutcliffe said.

The Sooners are making their first appearance in a bowl game since the 1994 Copper Bowl. Oklahoma lost that game to Brigham Young 31-6.

This season, first-year head coach Bob Stoops guided the Sooners to a tie for second place in the Big XII Southern Division.

The game marks the 28th bowl appearance for the Rebels and their fourth appearance in the Sanford Independence Bowl. Ole Miss is 2-1 in the Independence Bowl, losing to Air Force 9-3 in 1983, and defeating Texas Tech 20-17 in 1986 and 35-18 in 1998.

The Sooners are making their 33rd bowl appearance in school history and their first to the Independence Bowl.

In addition to the ESPN broadcast, the game can be heard on the Ole Miss Radio Network.

-OM- Ole Miss Sports Information Dec. 10, 1999

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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