The Baylor Bears and the Ole Miss Rebels are scheduled to face each other in an encounter in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. Which program is going to start 2022 with a huge W? Check out our preview below of this Big 12-SEC showdown in New Orleans.
At one point this season, the chances of the Bears to reach the Big 12 Championship, let alone win it, was seemingly dim. But Baylor got hot at the right time and picked up huge wins on its way to the conference title game, where the Bears took down the Oklahoma State Cowboys out of College Football Playoff contention with a 21-16 win. The Bears also had wins against the Iowa Cyclones, BYU Cougars, and Oklahoma Sooners – all ranked teams. Baylor is now 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 games and will be looking to add to its current 11-win record when it takes on the Rebels at the Sugar Bowl. Baylor is an experienced squad that is loaded with nearly 30 seniors. This team has a powerful run game that is averaging almost 200 rushing yards per game to go with a stout defense that is surrendering fewer than 21 points per contest.
Baylor is 4-1 against the spread in its last 5 bowl games as an underdog.
Ole Miss sort of overachieved this season. For one, Lane Kiffin has guided the Rebels to a 10-win campaign at least. The Rebels are on a four-game win streak going into the Sugar Bowl, and it’s a span that includes a massive 29-19 home win over the then-no. 11 Texas A&M Aggies back in November. The last time they were on the field, the Rebels eked out a 31-20 road win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Ole Miss also had a win against the then-no. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks in October, a week after they lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, 42-21. It’s not a secret who the main driving force of the Rebels on the field, and it’s no other than Matt Corral, who’s one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. He has 3,339 passing yards and 20 touchdowns against only four interceptions.
Ole Miss is 4-0-1 against the spread in its last 5 Bowl games as a favorite.
