OXFORD (AP) — Ole Miss and Oklahoma State get to renew their recent postseason rivalry in the Sugar Bowl.

The matchup was announced Sunday and it will be the third time since 2004 that the Rebels (9-3, No. 12 CFP) and Cowboys (10-2, No. 16 CFP) meet in the postseason. The first two meetings were at the Cotton Bowl and Ole Miss won both — 31-28 on Jan. 2, 2004 and 21-7 on Jan. 2, 2010.

Now they will play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Jan. 1.

Ole Miss, ranked No. 16, returns to a New Year’s Six bowl for the second straight season and would like to play better than last year. The Rebels were embarrassed in a 42-3 loss to TCU in the Peach Bowl.

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said on Sunday that he wouldn’t remind players much about the TCU loss. Instead, he hopes the lessons learned from that game will help the program moving forward.

“I’m proud of our program for being one of the few to make it back to a ‘New Year’s Six’ bowl,” Freeze said. “My childhood was spent hearing Rebel fans talk about Archie (Manning) leading us to a Sugar Bowl win, and I’m thrilled for our players, coaches and fans to return to New Orleans and represent the Southeastern Conference.”

It’ll be the first time in a while that both these programs get to experience some fun times in the French Quarter.

Ole Miss hasn’t been to the Sugar Bowl since 1970 when Archie Manning was the quarterback, while Oklahoma State will be making its first appearance in the Big Easy since 1946.

“It’s kind of a bucket list thing if you’re the coach of Ole Miss to participate in this bowl,” Freeze said.

Oklahoma State will try to bounce back after more recent setbacks. The 13th-ranked Cowboys won their first 10 games of the season before back-to-back losses to Baylor and Oklahoma.

The Cowboys likely jumped Baylor for a spot in the Sugar Bowl when the Bears lost to Texas, 23-17, on Saturday.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said he was at an 11-year-olds’ basketball tournament in rural Oklahoma when the Baylor-Texas game was happening and didn’t have cellphone service. He didn’t realize that Texas had pulled off the upset until he left, drove down the road a few miles and his phone lit up with messages.

“What a great opportunity for our young men who have worked so hard over the last 11 months,” Gundy said. “Congrats to Ole Miss and their team. We’re looking forward to a great game in a historic bowl.”

Sugar Bowl

Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State

Jan. 1, 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN