Peach Buzz: Forward Focus

OXFORD, Miss. – After its second 10-win regular season in the past three years, there is plenty to talk about surrounding the Ole Miss football team. Despite coming off a record year, almost none of that talk is about what the Rebels have done—all about what's to come as they prepare to face No. 10 Penn State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and look ahead at a promising 2024 campaign.

Jared Ivey and Jordan Watkins each spoke on Friday about their decisions to return for next season, and neither could mask their excitement for 2024. As Ivey, Watkins, Caden Preiskorn, Tre Harris, Micah Pettus and others announce their returns in partnership with The Grove Collective on social media, it reflects the health of the NIL program, as well as the health of the program on the field.

"That's the elephant in the room, but more importantly, I wanted to come run it back with the guys," Ivey said when asked of Ole Miss' NIL status. "JJ, Preiskorn, Tre, Jordan—all those great players coming back. Something big and historic is brewing here, and it's something I wanted to be a part of."

In college athletics in 2023, NIL opportunities have proven to be vital for attracting and retaining elite players. As the dynamics change within the sport, it brings new distractions in the already hectic lives of student-athletes. While everyone on the outside talks of collectives, the collective goal of winning remains the same on the inside.

"Like everybody says, this is a new era in college football. So, our Grove Collective has done a really good job of taking care of our guys," Watkins said. "I'm glad to be able to have them in our corner, so that way they can help us win football games."

The next football game Watkins and Co. will look to win: the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 against one of the best defenses in the nation. The Nittany Lion defense ranked in the top five nationally in total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, first downs and points allowed. They also led FBS in sacks and turnover margin. No matter what the stat rankings show, the Rebels are just excited for the challenge.

"We're one of the best offenses in the country, they're one of the best defenses in the country. Any time you have one of the best go up against each other, obviously it's going to be cool to watch," Watkins said. "I have great confidence in our team and what we're able to do on offense. Having this break is getting a lot of guys back who weren't healthy for the last little stretch we were on. That's going to be really fun, and I think it's just going to be a really cool game in Atlanta."

For Ivey, the Peach Bowl will be a homecoming. Amid making his decision to come back for 2024, the Suwanee, Georgia, native and North Gwinnett product has been juggling more ticket requests than he can count. Despite dealing with some pre-bowl chaos, he is looking forward to playing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium once again.

"My initial reaction was, my phone is about to blow up from 30,000 people asking for tickets. Trying to get as many as possible," Ivey said. "It's going to be great playing back at home. I haven't played there since I was at Tech, and I played there in high school a couple times too. It'll be sweet playing in the Benz again."

Playing in the Benz again means a fourth New Year's Six bowl appearance for the Rebels, third-most in the SEC behind only Alabama and Georgia. So while the homecoming will be nice for Ivey, even nicer: proof that the Rebels aren't far off from the two most dominant programs in the modern era of college football.

"Coach Joyner has been talking about that recently, how it's kind of a catapult to end the season off right like that and win a big bowl game like that to push you into the offseason. But it's also humbling to know how close you were to the real big stage," Ivey said. "I think we'll definitely use this game as fuel to come back and go even harder this offseason to close the gap."

Party in the ATL
Limited bowl tickets are still available through the Ole Miss ticket office. All lower level seating is sold out for the Ole Miss allotment. 300 Level tickets may be purchased in the Ole Miss sections at OleMissTix.com.

Grab the latest bowl gear and your Red gameday outfit through Ole Miss Authentics!

2024 Party in the Sip Sweepstakes
Don't miss any of the action in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in 2024. Fans interested in 2024 football tickets can join our ticket interest list to be the first to know when tickets are available, and to enter the Party in the Sip Sweepstakes. One lucky winner will receive a VIP package for the home opener on August 31. The VIP package includes a premium tailgate experience, participation in the Walk of Champions, two sideline passes, and two field suite tickets.

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Players Mentioned

Tre Harris

Jared Ivey

Micah Pettus

Jordan Watkins

The University of Mississippi Athletics