Football
Gator Bowl Prediction: Will Ole Miss make history?
Ole Miss Rebels come into Thursday’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Duke Blue Devils in much better shape and highly-favored to win.

No. 14 Ole Miss would rather be playing a College Football Playoff right now, but can still make the 2024 season a historic one for the Rebels.
A win in Thursday’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl would give Ole Miss (9-3) a third 10-win season in the last four years. The last time the Rebels accomplished that was with legendary coach Johnny Vaught leading the team (1959, 1960 and 1962).
And if the sportsbooks are right, Lane Kiffin will match Vaught’s accomplishment without much trouble.
Making predictions about games, even ones that seem to have obvious conclusions, are hard because there’s always an element of “anything can happen” in games. But the Rebels’ TaxSlayer Gator Bowl feels different.
Duke (9-3) is playing Thursday without its starting quarterback Maalik Murphy, who left in the transfer portal to go to Oregon State and are 17-point underdogs against Ole Miss. The Blue Devils are also dealing with several other departures while the Rebels have nearly their entire 2024 roster available for the Blue Devils.
Also, Ole Miss players and coaches have repeatedly talked about their excitement about playing. Not necessarily winning, but playing one last game with teammates who have had a lot of success and will be remembered as one of the school’s most-talented teams.
I fully expect the Rebels to come out Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla. and make that statement.
Jaxson Dart will want to make a statement, not just for the NFL scouts, but also to erase the memories of how his regular season ended against Florida. Fully expect him to have a big day and maybe set a single game or bowl game record for Ole Miss.
The Ole Miss defense will be pumped and motivated to shut down the Blue Devils (and probably won’t have trouble in doing so).
2025 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Prediction
Ole Miss 52, Duke 17
