Sugar Bowl 2016: Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss TV Schedule, Time and Odds
The Sugar Bowl between the No. 16 Oklahoma State Cowboys and No. 12 Ole Miss Rebels promises fireworks to kick in the new year.
Hugh Freeze and the Rebels post 40.3 points per game to rank 14th in the nation. The Chad Kelly-led offense notched four wins against ranked opponents this year, including an upset of then-No. 2 Alabama, but lost three times to settle here.
Mike Gundy's Cowboys lean on an offense ranked ninth at 41.2 points per game this year, though things have been less positive as of late with the team dropping its final two games of the season and spoiling a perfect record.
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Still, neither side will complain about the bowl slot. Neither should fans, who can find everything to know about the explosive matchup below.
Game Details
When: Friday, January 1, at 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Television: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 68
Spread: Ole Miss (-7)
Team Injury Reports
| Jeremy Seaton | FB | Prob Fri |
| Mason Rudolph | QB | Ques Fri |
| Blake Jarwin | TE | Prob Fri |
| Jimmy Bean | DE | Out for season |
| Ryan Simmons | LB | Out for season |
| Tony Conner | DB | Out Fri |
| Robert Nkemdiche | DT | Out Fri |
| Fadol Brown | DE | Out Fri |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Hunting for the Rebound
Question marks surround the Cowboys.
The high-flying attack rallied to a 10-0 mark before the two losses, one a 45-35 defeat at the hands of then-No. 10 Baylor and the other an embarrassing 58-23 throttling at home by then-No. 3 Oklahoma.
If the Cowboys are lucky, they'll have Mason Rudolph under center, who has dealt with an injury as of late. He tossed 21 scores to nine interceptions this year, though in-depth numbers provided by Kyle Fredrickson of the Oklahoman detail his true value:
"In the Cowboys' 20-point victory against TCU, he tossed touchdown passes of 48 and 82 yards on third down. Rudolph converted six of his first seven third-down attempts at West Virginia, including a 40-yard rush.
Through all 12 games, he single-handedly accounted for 45 third-down conversions — including 17 when the Cowboys needed at least 10 yards to gain for a first down.
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If Rudolph can't go or is limited, the offense falls to J.W. Walsh, who tossed 13 scores to one interception this year with 11 rushing touchdowns for good measure.
Either way, the Cowboys offense has elite wideout James Washington to lean on. The sophomore has 52 catches with 1,077 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead an offense with three players sitting on more than 600 receiving yards and at least three touchdowns.
Oklahoma State won't hesitate to air it out Friday, especially with the Rebels missing one of their key contributors.
Charging Ahead
The Rebels won't have defensive powerhouse Robert Nkemdiche to rush either Oklahoma State quarterback Friday, as he's played his last collegiate game due to an off-field incident.
Freeze's team will have to make do with strong offense, which isn't foreign to his group of players.
The Rebels dropped a 38-10 decision to Florida in October and took a second loss in the month a few weeks later with a 37-24 whipping at the hands of Memphis. Then came the heartbreaking overtime loss to Arkansas to start November, 53-52.
Ole Miss kept charging, though, and rattled off a 38-17 victory against then-No. 15 LSU and followed with a 38-27 dismissal of then-No. 21 Mississippi State, getting the team to the Sugar Bowl and prompting this response from Freeze:
Kelly's going to need a big day to counter Oklahoma State. He completed 65.2 percent of his passes this year with 27 touchdowns and rushed for another 10 on the ground.
Ole Miss matches Oklahoma State's Washington with top wideout Laquon Treadwell, who caught 76 balls for 1,082 yards and eight touchdowns, one of four wideouts with more than 500 yards and at least three scores.
Missing Nkemdiche or not, Freeze's offense, on paper, has the firepower to match the Cowboys blow for blow.
Prediction
Las Vegas feels strongly about this one, and it has every right to.
There's a perceived talent gap between these two teams, and it's not hard to figure out why. Ole Miss took down Alabama and other SEC stalwarts, while Oklahoma State struggled against the best of the Big 12, minus the upset of TCU.
While the passing offense looks great, Oklahoma State's going to look a lot like the team that failed to run the ball and control the clock against Baylor and Oklahoma, as Ole Miss also has the firepower to match an offensive assault.
Look for Ole Miss to pull away as the game goes on, with the defense getting a few key stops and otherwise dictating the pace of the encounter.
Prediction: Ole Miss 38, Oklahoma State 28
Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.
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