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Slumping Rebels have eyes on a bowl game

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Posted 6:48AM on Tuesday 19th November 2002 ( 22 years ago )
OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - A four-game losing streak hasn&#39;t knocked Mississippi from bowl contention. <br> <br> ``I think going to a bowl is important every year,&#39;&#39; Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe said Monday during his weekly new conference. <br> <br> The Rebels need to win one of their last two against LSU and Mississippi State to become bowl eligible. <br> <br> Ole Miss was 7-4 last year, but didn&#39;t get invited to a bowl game. <br> <br> ``I felt we were a bowl team last year, but didn&#39;t get there. It&#39;s certainly a prize that&#39;s still out there for us and one that is worth fighting for. Getting to a bowl is all part of the motivation because it&#39;s an issue to the players and the coaches,&#39;&#39; Cutcliffe said. <br> <br> The Rebels (5-5, 2-4), who are in the midst of their longest losing streak in eight years, play at No. 21 LSU (7-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) on Saturday. <br> <br> Ole Miss has won three straight games at Tiger Stadium, including last year&#39;s 35-24 come-from-behind victory. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s going to be a real challenge to go in there and win again. It&#39;s a heated rivalry and we have some players that know what it takes to go down there and win,&#39;&#39; Cutcliffe said. ``You have to play your best football, you have to play your most focused football to win.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> LSU is coming off a 31-0 loss to Alabama, but the Tigers can still win the SEC West by winning their final two games. <br> <br> ``We know LSU will be well prepared because there is a lot at stake for both teams. But we have been successful down there before and I&#39;m sure we&#39;ll be confident that we can win as long as we play well,&#39;&#39; Cutcliffe said. <br> <br> The Rebels are 0-4 on the road this season. They had last week off after losing at Georgia. <br> <br> ``We always make adjustments each week from a game plan standpoint. We chose things based on matchups and there are normal adjustments that are going to occur from that,&#39;&#39; Cutcliffe said. ``Our passing game basically left us in the second half against Georgia so we study a lot of what we felt went wrong there.&#39;&#39;

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