SOUTHERN MISS AND RICE TO MEET IN LENDINGTREE BOWL
MOBILE, Ala. – Southern Miss and Rice are set to meet in the 24th annual LendingTree Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 4:45 p.m., CT on ESPN. The game will be played for the second straight year at the new state-of-the-art Hancock-Whitney Stadium on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile.
Southern Miss (6-6, 4-4 Sun Belt Conference) wrapped up the regular season with a 20-10 win at UL Monroe to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2019. The Golden Eagles finished third in the West division behind league champion Troy and South Alabama, who had a combined 21-4 overall record. Southern Miss opened the season with two straight losses, but rebounded to win five of the next six games, including a three-game winning streak against Arkansas State, Texas State and Louisiana. Southern Miss also posted a 27-24 win over eventual American Athletic Conference champion Tulane on Sept. 24.
Rice (5-7, 3-5 Conference USA) will be playing a bowl game for the first time under head coach Mike Bloomgren. The Owls last bowl appearance came at the 2014 Hawaii Bowl when they defeated Fresno State, 30-6. Rice is making its first-ever appearance at the LendingTree Bowl. The Owls are the 28th different team to play in the bowl.
“We are thrilled to welcome two outstanding programs, Southern Miss and Rice University to the Port City for the 24th Annual LendingTree Bowl game,” Jerry Silverstein, president of the LendingTree Bowl said. “It’s always exciting to welcome a team making their first appearance in our game, Rice, and to welcome back Southern Miss, who has a long history with Bowl going back to the game’s second year in 2000.”
Southern Miss is making its third bowl appearance in the city of Mobile. The Golden Eagles are 2-0 in their previous bowl games in the port city. USM defeated TCU 28-21 on Dec. 20, 2000 and defeated Ohio 28-7 on Jan. 7, 2007. The LendingTree Bowl will mark the school’s 22nd all-time bowl appearance. The Golden Eagles are 11-10 all-time in bowl games. Southern Miss made its bowl debut Dec. 13, 1980 at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. The Golden Eagles defeated the McNeese State Cowboys 16-14.
Rice is making its first bowl appearance since a 30-6 win over Fresno State in the 2014 Hawaii Bowl. The Owls are playing in their 13th bowl game in school history and have compiled a 7-5 record in bowl games. Rice’s bowl history includes four Cotton Bowl games, one Sugar Bowl and one Orange Bowl. Perhaps the most famous game took place in the 1954 Cotton Bowl when Rice beat Alabama 28-6. Rice running back Dickey Maegle ran 11 times for 265 yards (24.1 yards per carry) and four touchdowns in the win. On his 95-yard TD run, Maegle was tackled by Alabama’s Tommy Lewis, who came off the sidelines to prevent the TD. Maegle was awarded the touchdown. Rice played in three straight bowl games from 2012-14, winning two of the three games.
For more information about the LendingTree Bowl, ticket information and more, visit lendingtreebowl.com, or call the LendingTree Bowl office (251-635-0011).
About the LendingTree Bowl
The Mobile Alabama based bowl game was founded in 1999 and has built a reputation of fielding some of the most competitive and exciting games of the bowl season, including record-breaking performances by future NFL standouts. The LendingTree Bowl is committed to showcasing the city of Mobile, providing educational and athletic opportunities to the community, and providing a cultural and exceptional bowl experience to collegiate student-athletes, administrators and fans.
About LendingTree, Inc.
LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) is the nation’s leading online marketplace that connects consumers with the choices they need to be confident in their financial decisions. LendingTree empowers consumers to shop for financial services the same way they would shop for airline tickets or hotel stays, by comparing multiple offers from a nationwide network of over 500 partners in one simple search and choosing the option that best fits their financial needs. Services include mortgage loans, mortgage refinances, auto loans, personal loans, business loans, student refinances, credit cards, insurance and more. Through the My LendingTree platform, consumers receive free credit scores, credit monitoring and recommendations to improve credit health. My LendingTree proactively compares consumers’ credit accounts against offers on our network and notifies consumers when there is an opportunity to save money. In short, LendingTree’s purpose is to help simplify financial decisions for life’s meaningful moments through choice, education and support. LendingTree, Inc. is headquartered in Charlotte, NC. For more information, please visit www.lendingtree.com.
Lending Tree Bowl All-Time Results
Date Result of Game Attendance
Dec. 22, 1999 TCU 28, East Carolina 14 34,200
Dec. 20, 2000 Southern Miss 28, TCU 21 40,300
Dec. 19, 2001 Marshall 64, East Carolina 61 (2 OT) 40,139
Dec. 18, 2002 Marshall 38, Louisville 15 40,646
Dec. 18, 2003 Miami (Ohio) 49, Louisville 28 40,620
Dec. 22, 2004 Bowling Green 52, Memphis 35 40,160
Dec. 21, 2005 Toledo 45, UTEP 13 35,422
Jan. 7, 2007 Southern Miss 28, Ohio 7 38,751
Jan. 6, 2008 Tulsa 63, Bowling Green 7 36,932
Jan. 6, 2009 Tulsa 45, Ball State 13 32,816
Jan. 6, 2010 Central Michigan 44, Troy 41 (2 OT) 34,486
Jan. 6, 2011 Miami (Ohio) 35, Middle Tennessee 21 38,168
Jan. 8, 2012 Northern Illinois 38, Arkansas State 20 38,734
Jan. 6, 2013 Arkansas State 17, Kent State 13 37,913
Jan. 5, 2014 Arkansas State 23, Ball State 20 36,119
Jan. 4, 2015 Toledo 63, Arkansas State 44 36,811
Dec. 23, 2015 Georgia Southern 58, Bowling Green 27 28,656
Dec. 23, 2016 Troy 28, Ohio 23 32,377
Dec. 23, 2017 Appalachian State 34, Toledo 0 28,706
Dec. 22, 2018 Troy 42, Buffalo 32 31,818
Jan. 6, 2020 Louisiana 27, Miami (Ohio) 17 29,212
Dec. 26, 2020 Georgia State 39, Western Kentucky 21 5,128 (Covid-19)
Dec. 18, 2021 Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20 15,186
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