Mississippi State football bowl game: Projections, live updates from selection day
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is a week removed from an exciting regular season. The Bulldogs won eight games for the first time since 2018. They won the Egg Bowl for the first time since 2019. They clinched bowl eligibility for the 13th consecutive season.
Where the latter will be spent sits in the hands of the SEC. That announcement will come Sunday afternoon for Mike Leach and his squad.
The College Football Playoff selection show and final rankings release will air on ESPN at 11 a.m. The announcement of New Year's Six bowl assignments and general bowl assignments will follow throughout the afternoon.
Here's a look at the latest projections and news regarding where No. 24 (No. 25 AFCA coaches/AP) Mississippi State is headed.
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Mississippi State football bowl game: Projections, live updates from selection day
Latest projections (10:25 a.m.)
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl — Brett McMurphy (Action Network), Jerry Palm (CBS Sports) and Erick Smith (USA Today): The majority of projections suggest MSU is headed to Jacksonville on Dec. 30.
Mississippi State would face an ACC foe or Notre Dame. McMurphy and Smith project the opponent to be North Carolina. Palm says it'll be NC State.
ReliaQuest Bowl — Brad Crawford (247Sports): Crawford has Mississippi State heading to Tampa on Jan. 2 to face Iowa.
The ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly known as the Outback Bowl) features an SEC school vs. a Big Ten foe. MSU's last trip to Tampa for a bowl came in the 2018 season where Mississippi State lost to Iowa.
Citrus Bowl (1:45 p.m.)
It comes as little surprise, but LSU will represent the SEC in the Citrus Bowl against Purdue, according to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.
Vegas Bowl (1:46 p.m.)
It appears Mississippi State is out of the mix on the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. McMurphy is reporting Florida will face Oregon State.
Gator Bowl confusion (2:01 p.m.)
There appears to be a delay in some bowl decisions with SEC ties. The Gator Bowl is currently battling with other bowls for Notre Dame, per McMurphy. Where the Irish end up could shuffle things around in the SEC.
Texas Bowl update (2:18 p.m.)
The TaxAct Texas Bowl has announced Texas Tech will represent the Big 12 in the contest. Having faced the Red Raiders in last season's Liberty Bowl, it's the Bulldogs are out of the mix for their Texas Bowl debut.
McMurphy reported Ole Miss will represent the SEC.
ReliaQuest update (2:42 p.m.)
Illinois is heading to Tampa, McMurphy reports. The opponent will be either South Carolina or Mississippi State.
ReliaQuest confirmation (3:00 p.m.)
Mississippi State has officially announced its headed to the ReliaQuest Bowl to take on Illinois. The game is Jan. 2 (11 a.m., ESPN2) at Raymond James Stadium.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State football bowl predictions, selection day updates
