Mississippi State is headed to Tampa to face Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The game is set for noon EST at Raymond James Stadium on January 2nd and will be aired on ESPN2.
The ReliaQuest Bowl was formerly known as the Outback Bowl, where Mississippi State lost 27-22 to Iowa in 2018.
The #22 Bulldogs reached eight wins for the first time under Mike Leach with the Egg Bowl win on Thanksgiving. Junior quarterback Will Rogers passed for 3,713 yards and 34 touchdowns but will be without one of his top receivers Rara Thomas who plans to enter the transfer portal.
The defense will have most of its playmakers as linebackers Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson and defensive linemen Jaden Crumedy and Nathan Pickering have announced their intentions to return in 2023. Star cornerback Emmanuel Forbes declared for the NFL Draft and his intentions to play in the bowl game are currently unknown.
The Fighting Illini are in the midst of their best season since 2007 with an 8-4 record and are headed to their first bowl game since 2019.
In year two under Bret Bielema, the Illini have been the top-scoring defense in the nation allowing only 12.25 points per game. It'll be an interesting matchup for Mike Leach's Air Raid offense going up against a defense allowing only 164.5 passing yards per game.
Jim Thorpe finalist Devon Witherspoon has led the no-fly zone that has been the Illinois defense with three interceptions and has a 24.6 passing rating allowed when targeted. Safety Sydney Brown has also been elite and is tied for the nation's lead with six interceptions.
Junior running back Chase Brown has been the key to Illinois' offensive success. The Western Michigan transfer led the Big Ten with 1,643 rushing yards, putting him 2nd in the FBS. Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito has been able to manage the passing game with 2,397 yards and a 15:4 touchdown to interception ratio.
The two teams have only met twice in their history, with both games being played at Illinois. In 1927 Illinois shut out Mississippi A&M 27-0, and in 1980 Mississippi State left Champaign with a 28-21 victory.
Mississippi State extends its bowl streak to 13 consecutive years, with three years in a row during Mike Leach's tenure. A win would give the Bulldogs its first nine-win season since 2017.
