The Ole Miss Rebels and Baylor Bears will open their 2020 football schedules playing one another in Houston at the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff.
Citing unnamed sources, ESPN's Brett McMurphy was first to report the two schools agreed on the season opener. For Ole Miss, it will be the third neutral site season opener against a nonconference opponent in a seven-year span.
Ole Miss Athletic Director Ross Bjork confirmed the game to The Daily Journal, stating the two schools would make a more formal announcement soon.
The Rebels are scheduled to play Florida State in Orlando this year, and have nonconference season openers against Cal, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest in the coming seasons. Baylor, on the other hand, has long shared criticism with the Big 12 for scheduling weak nonconference games.
As of now, Baylor's only major nonconference commitments are home-and-home series with Duke in 2017 and 2018 and Utah in 2023 and 2024. However, because nonconference football games are typically scheduled so far in advance there does not appear to be a way to remedy that. Baylor's season opener with Ole Miss appears to be an effort to that end.
Baylor and Ole Miss have only played once before in football, a 20-10 home victory for the Bears in 1975. According to The Daily Journal, They would have played in the Sugar Bowl if Baylor did not lose its regular season finale against Texas.
