MEMORY LANE: A Look Back at the Ole Miss Rebels' New Year's Six Bowl Appearances

The Ole Miss Rebels earned their fourth New Year's Six bowl berth in the 2023 season.

The 2023 season will mark the Ole Miss Rebels' fourth New Year's Six bowl berth since the term was coined in 2014, illustrating their ascent in the college football landscape.

Ole Miss' Peach Bowl bid this season is its third appearance in that bowl game all-time and the second since it became part of the New Year's Six field. The Rebels have also appeared in the Allstate Sugar Bowl twice since 2014, keeping their NY6 ventures close to home in New Orleans and Atlanta.

With another big-time bowl game approaching, let's take a look back at Ole Miss' previous New Year's Six showdowns over the last nine years.

2014 Season: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs. TCU Horned Frogs (L 42-3)

Dec 31, 2014; Atlanta , GA, USA; TCU Horned Frogs defensive end James McFarland (40) sacks Mississippi Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace (14) in the third quarter in the 2014 Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / © Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The good news for Ole Miss is that it appeared in the first-ever New Year's Six field in the College Football Playoff era. The bad news is that it ran into a buzz saw in the form of a TCU team that felt slighted after it was left out of the first playoff.

This game marked the largest scoring deficit in Peach Bowl history, and it's one that a lot of Rebels fans likely want to forget. Still, it capped off what was a rollercoaster of a season for the Hugh Freeze-led team, a year that saw it included in the top four of the first-ever CFP rankings but also included painful losses to LSU, Auburn and Arkansas.

2015 Season: Allstate Sugar Bowl vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys (W 48-20)

Jan 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly (10) carries the ball against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the third quarter in the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports / © Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

This game technically took place in 2016 as it fell on New Year's Day, but it capped off a strong 2015 campaign for the Rebels with what was arguably Hugh Freeze's best team during his Ole Miss tenure.

This squad, led by quarterback Chad Kelly, narrowly missed an appearance in the SEC Championship game thanks to the "4th and 25" miracle from the Arkansas Razorbacks that handed the Rebels a loss in overtime. Ole Miss picked up marquee wins over the likes of Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU during this season, but it also suffered a head-scratching road loss to Memphis and dropped a game against Florida.

2021 Season: Allstate Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor Bears (L 21-7)

Jan 1, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Luke Altmyer (7) runs with the ball against Baylor Bears linebacker Garmon Randolph (55) during the first half in the 2022 Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / © John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Another difficult memory for Ole Miss fans came in the 2021 season's Sugar Bowl, a game that the Rebels had a legitimate shot to win had quarterback Matt Corral not suffered an injury in the first half.

The Rebels offense was turned over to backup quarterback Luke Altmyer, and while the young gunslinger eventually found some offensive momentum in the second half, it was not enough to overcome the Bears in New Orleans.

Rebels Lane Kiffin Working Double Duty In Preparation For Early Signing Period And Peach Bowl

2023 Season: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (Result TBD)

Oct 28, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) runs the ball during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / © Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Ole Miss has capped off its second 10-win regular season in three years (and its second in program history), and it will face Penn State in the Peach Bowl to conclude the 2023 campaign.

Kickoff from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Dec. 30, and the game will be televised on ESPN.