MSU Selected To Play In Gator Bowl Jan. 1; To Face Michigan
The Bulldogs will face the University of Michigan, and the game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (ET) on January 1 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Mississippi State has exhausted its original allotment of tickets through pre-ordered sales, but further information about additional tickets may be available on Monday.
"We are excited to receive an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl, and we look forward to our trip to Jacksonville," Mississippi State Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin said Sunday. "I want to congratulate our players and coaches, they have been great all season long. And I want to thank our fans, whose support was very evident to Gator Bowl officials throughout this process."
The Bulldogs will be making their first appearance in a New Year’s Day bowl since the 1999 Cotton, and it will be Mississippi State’s first trip to a bowl game in Florida since the 1941 Southeastern Conference Championship team traveled to the Orange Bowl.
“This is a great reward for our players and coaches that worked so hard all year,” head coach Dan Mullen said. “We earned this trip with the way we fought throughout the season and we’re grateful to the Gator Bowl Association and the City of Jacksonville for this opportunity to play in a historic New Year’s Day Bowl.”
Mississippi State’s Gator Bowl berth is the first for a Southeastern Conference member since 1994, and will mark the first time in MSU history the Bulldogs will play a BigTen foe in a postseason game. State has only played three BigTen opponents in school history, with the last contest coming against Illinois in 1980.
Mississippi State's Gameday page - www.mstateathletics.com/gameday - will be updated this week with complete information on the Bulldogs' trip to the 2011 Gator Bowl. The Gameday page will feature information and links for both Mississippi State and Michigan, and will include coverage of the Bulldogs as they prepare for the January 1 matchup.
