It’s not often you get a good rivalry matchup in a college bowl game. And while Southern Mississippi and Tulane may not fly on most people’s radars, the two schools certainly have their history. When they square off in this year’s Armed Forces Bowl, they will bring their rivalry trophy to the table.
Southern Miss Senior Associate Athletics Director Jeremy Smith shared an image on Twitter with a look at the trophy bell sporting a fresh coat of paint and both team’s logos. The tweet also confirmed the rivalry trophy will officially be on the line for the game, adding a little extra fuel to the bowl season.
Southern Miss and Tulane have faced each other 30 times in series history, with the Golden Eagles leading 23-7. As has been the case with a number of college football rivalries, realignment and conference expansions have interrupted this particular rivalry. The two teams used to play annually, but that was broken up when each team was placed in a different division in Conference USA. Tulane is now a member of the American Athletic Conference, leaving the series to be scheduled as a non-conference matchup whenever possible.
Southern Miss and Tulane are scheduled for a four-game series beginning in 2022. The Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 4 will be the first meeting between the two since 2009. Southern Miss has won the last six meetings in the series from 2003 through 2009.