Where: Tropicana Field (28,453, dome), St. Petersburg, Fla.
Series: First meeting. The RedHawks are 11-18-1 against SEC teams, including a 41-7 loss to Kentucky at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sept. 7, 2013, in the second game of the season. Miami's last win over an SEC school was a 33-30 victory at Vanderbilt on Sept. 2, 2000, in the season-opener.
Stat pack: Miami – QB Gus Ragland 93-149, 1,274 passing yards, 15 TDs, 0 int.; RB Alonzo Smith 689 yards rushing, 4.3 average, 3 TD; WR Jared Murphy 42 catches, 532 yards, 5 TDs; S Tony Reid 84 tackles, 46 solo; Mississippi State – QB Nick Fitzgerald 185-335, 2,287 passing yards, 21 TDs, 10 int; Fitzgerald 1,243 rushing yards, 7.0 avg., 14 TDs; WR Fred Ross 68 catches, 873 yards, 12 TDs; LB Richie Brown 93 tackles, 48 solo.
The history: Miami is 7-3 in 10 previous bowl appearances, including a 35-21 win over Middle Tennessee State at the 20-10 GoDaddy.com Bowl, the RedHawks last appearance in a bowl game. Miami's is 3-1 in four Florida bowl games, all in the Tangerine Bowl.
Bulldogs to watch: Fitzgerald led the SEC in total offense with 3,530 yards; Ross owns MSU career receiving records with 195 catches and 2,484 receiving yards; redshirt freshman defensive lineman Johnathan Calvin has piled up 11-1/2 tackles-for-losses and seven sacks, along with forcing two fumbled and intercepting a pass.
Back door: Despite finishing below .500, the Bulldogs qualified for s bowl berth 971 NCAA Academic Progress Rate, 12 points above the national average.
Quote: MSU coach Dan Mullen on the Bulldogs reaching a bowl: "We are getting to go to a bowl game because of academics and because of the work our guys have done. I think it is one of the great lessons that guys in our program will learn during their whole career here that is was academics and things off the field that got them rewarded with this trip this year."
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