Sports
St. Petersburg Bowl Lineup Announced
Mississippi State and Ohio's Miami University will face off in the Dec. 26 St. Petersburg Bowl.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — College football fans who want to watch some bowl action in person will get their chance Dec. 26. That’s the day Mississippi State’s Bulldogs will go up against Miami University’s RedHawks at Tropicana Field.
Mississippi State’s appearance in the 11 a.m. game is a first for a Southeastern Conference school. Ohio’s Miami University is the third Mid-American Conference team to make an appearance. The two teams playing in the game, which will air on ESPN, were announced Sunday.
“We are happy to be in position to reward both schools with a trip to a bowl game in our beautiful resort city of St. Petersburg,” said Brett Dulaney, executive director of the St. Petersburg Bowl. "I’m sure that the players and fans from both programs will enjoy spending the holidays in our vibrant downtown and also our beautiful top-rated beaches.”
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Mississippi State (5-7, 3-5) finished its regular season with a big win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. That game saw a final score of 55-20.
“We are thrilled to reach a bowl game for a school-record seventh straight year and finish the season in St. Petersburg,” MSU head coach Dan Mullen said. “This is a great opportunity for one of the winningest senior classes in school history and for our program to build momentum for 2017. It also speaks volumes of our student-athletes for their commitment in the classroom to qualify for a bowl based on our successful APR.”
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Miami (6-6, 6-2) ended its regular season with a six-game winning streak, including a win over Ball State. It is the first team in college football to finish a regular season 6-6 after losing the first six games in a row, according to St. Petersburg Bowl officials.
The RedHawks haven’t played a bowl game since 2011.
We are thrilled and honored to be selected to play in the St. Petersburg Bowl,” said Miami head football coach Chuck Martin. “This is a great reward for our players and staff who have put in so much work and effort to build our program back to bowl eligibility. It will be exciting to be able to spend the holiday season with the RedHawk family in St. Petersburg.”
Tickets for the St. Petersburg Bowl are still available. For more information, visit the St. Petersburg Bowl’s website.
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