JACKSON — Ole Miss should finalize plans today for a repeat trip to the Cotton Bowl, albeit in a different location.

Instead of the aging Cotton Bowl in downtown Dallas, the Rebels (8-4) are expected to collide with Oklahoma State (9-3) of the Big 12 at Jerry Jones’ new billion-dollar playpen, Cowboys Stadium in Irving.

Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said Monday night that his team was looking forward to a second straight New Year’s bowl game.

“We should know something by Friday,” Nutt said at Conerly Awards ceremony as the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. “I think our fans impressed the Cotton Bowl folks last year with their attendance. We brought over 40,000 fans to our game with Texas Tech. I believe that they (the Cotton Bowl committee) still have that in mind.”

Not only would this be a return trip and a chance for the Rebels to repeat as Cotton Bowl champs, it would also mark a rematch of the 2003 Cotton Bowl where the Rebels defeated the Cowboys 31-28 behind bowl MVP Eli Manning.

In another bit of irony, Nutt is a former Oklahoma State quarterback and was an assistant at the school in a number of roles for six years. He even coached current Cowboys coach Mike Gundy.

For Nutt, a second straight Cotton Bowl trip represents another chance for his Rebels to get better.

“Having those extra practices is huge,” Nutt said. “We improved so much over our time we had last year. This time around, it will give us a chance to address two areas where our numbers are thin and that’s our offensive line and defensive ends. These are two areas we have to got recruit hard in, but it also a great chance to work those kids who are coming back.”

Ole Miss would have been in line to play in the more prestigious Capital One Bowl against either Iowa or Penn State of the Big 10. But a 41-27 loss to archrival Mississippi State foiled those plans. LSU (9-3) will likely grab the Capital One spot even though the Rebels did pull out a 25-23 win in Oxford.

“We need to get that sour taste out of our mouths,” Nutt said in reference to the State loss. The Rebels gave up 317 yards on the ground and were outscored 31-14 in the second half.

“We get to go one more time for 60 more minutes. Right now, though, it is more important for our guys to get away from football. We had 11 straight weeks of tough football. We don’t need to dwell on what happened at Mississippi State because we’ve had a very good year,” Nutt said.

Conerly Trophy finalist Dexter McCluster said he is looking forward to playing in a second straight Cotton Bowl.

“I look at it has having one time to play for Ole Miss,” McCluster said. “The Cotton Bowl will be great. It’ll be a newer and bigger location at Cowboys Stadium.”

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com