'History Books Forever!' Rebels Realize Impact of Potential 11-Win Season
The No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels have a chance to achieve program history on Saturday in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
The Rebels have won 10 regular season games twice in program history (2021, 2023), and they have finished with 10 total wins after a bowl game on multiple occasions. One thing that has never happened? Winning 11 games in a single season, a mark that Ole Miss would reach if it manages to defeat the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday.
That's a driving force for the Rebels' success this week, according to key playmakers on the roster. Wide receiver Jordan Watkins and running back Quinshon Judkins both discussed what it would mean to them as individual players as well as the program moving forward should they grab a win on Dec. 30.
"I think it's been just on the back of our minds the whole time just because it's something that will go in the history books forever," Watkins said. "It will never be forgotten, getting that 11th win, something that will never be done and has never been done in program history. It's been a great motivating factor for us, and I think it will take a lot of momentum going into next season."
Ole Miss wide receiver Jordan Watkins
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
"I definitely think it's been a morale booster in our locker room just to know we've done something that's never been done before," Judkins added. "It definitely inspires everyone around the facility and just the fans, the whole community to know that Ole Miss can be the top program."
Finishing at 11-2 would be huge for Ole Miss in multiple aspects. Not only would it be a new historic high for the program, but it would carry a large amount of momentum into next year's expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, a field that the Rebels would have already made this season had that format been implemented.
Ole Miss and Penn State are scheduled to face off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, and kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN.
