Once the disappointment of not being selected for the 2024 College Football Playoff faded, Ole Miss would wait a few hours to accept a bid to play the Duke Blue Devils in the 2025 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on January 2nd in Jacksonville, Florida. Although not the College Football Playoff, Ole Miss has a whole month of extra practice to get valuable reps before taking on a good Duke team to go out and try to win their 10th win of the season against another ACC foe. The 2025 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl will mark the first time Duke and Ole Miss met on the gridiron.

From winning nine games to being on the crusade to play for the College Football Playoff, the Rebels come into the Duke game looking to finish the season on a strong note without succumbing to the mental loss of missed opportunities.

On paper, Ole Miss is better than Duke, with a better roster and coach, and is more prepared for the moment after playing in the Southeastern Conference all season. With that said, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl matchup will likely come down to the number of Ole Miss playing and opting out to pursue the NFL draft stock or the players who decide to play just how much they want to end their career as winners once more.

The Duke Blue Devils come into the 2025 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl winners of nine games and are looking for a 10th win. Duke shares a familiar opponent with Ole Miss in Wake Forest, a team the Blue Devils struggled to beat to close out the regular season. Ole Miss, on the other hand, dominated Wake Forest 40-6 in mid-September.

Ole Miss and Duke will kick off on January 2nd, with a kickoff slated for 6:30 central time on ESPN, which will be broadcast to a national television audience.