JACKSON - It's not a done deal, but Mississippi looks to be in good shape to receive a bid to the Independence Bowl.
Ole Miss athletics director Pete Boone, who spoke recently with the director of the Independence Bowl, said Friday the Rebels are a prime candidate to play in the Dec. 27 game in Shreveport, La.
"There's always a concern until a call is made and an offer is delivered, but I feel very comfortable," Boone said.
That could come as early as Saturday night after the Southeastern Conference championship game.
The SEC has ties to seven bowls. The Rebels became the seventh bowl eligible SEC team last week when they beat Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. The Independence Bowl has the last selection of those seven teams.
"We think we have a three-team scenario," said Tom Starr, associate executive director of the Independence Bowl. He said Ole Miss, Arkansas and Auburn are the teams in the running.
The other team will come from the Big 12, and will most likely be Nebraska. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are also possibilities.
"We don't pick high enough to steer the boat," Starr said "Right now we've just got to see how it falls out."
The Razorbacks play in Saturday's SEC title game. A win gives them a spot in the BCS. A loss would throw them into the mix with LSU, Auburn and Ole Miss for the Cotton, Music City, Capital One and Independence bowls.
Notre Dame could have thrown a glitch into the SEC's situation.
The Cotton Bowl has a stipulation in its contract that allows it to extend a bid to Notre Dame, if the Fighting Irish are available, once every four years.
Notre Dame might have played itself out of a spot in the BCS last week with a lopsided loss to Southern California. But the first fallback for the Fighting Irish is the Gator Bowl, which will scoop them up if the BCS shuts them out.
"But even without that, in talking with our commissioner and associate commissioner, they did not feel like the Cotton Bowl was going to take Notre Dame over one of our schools anyway," Boone said. "I've never felt to threatened by that."
The Cotton Bowl has another stipulation that allows it to take a high-ranking Big East team, but it is unlikely Pittsburgh, West Virginia or Virginia Tech would be more attractive to the Dallas game than an SEC team.
Ole Miss last played in the Independence Bowl in 1999, beating Oklahoma. The Rebels also played in Shreveport the year before, defeating Texas Tech.
Last season was the first since 1996 that Ole Miss did not play in the postseason.
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