Playing in the toughest conference and division in college football limits what the Mississippi Rebels program can and has achieved over the years. There is hope that the team can do something remarkable in 2023 with Lane Kiffin running the show. In three seasons since taking the gig in Oxford, Kiffin and his Rebels have the third-most wins in the SEC behind Alabama and Georgia. Bama just happens to be a SEC West opponent while the Bulldogs are going for a national championship three-peat. So you can understand why the Rebels don’t get much attention outside their home state. Bitcoin Sportsbooks have the Rebels’ win total at 7.5, which is the same number the club encountered last year while going OVER with eight regular season wins.
College Football Season Wins Odds
Regular Season Wins for the Mississippi Rebels
Over 7.5 ( -116 )
Under 7.5 ( +100 )
Last season had all the makings of a special year for the Rebels. They won their first seven games getting as high as No. 7 in the national rankings. The perfect season ended with a 45-20 setback at LSU starting a stretch of five losses in the final six games, including a 45-28 loss to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl. An influx of talent from the portal and more consistency on both sides of the football could get Ole Miss back to the 8-win mark and possibly beyond.
Roster
Kiffin is known for being a points-oriented coach with prolific offenses at every stop of his collegiate career. So it’s no surprise the Rebels were more polished on that side last season. Ole Miss had the third-best total offense in the SEC averaging almost 500 yards while placing fifth in scoring with 33.5 points per outing. In all five losses the Rebels scored well below their average with no more than 27 points in any contest. Pick up the O and tighten the D are two major points of emphasis heading into the season.
Eighth nationally in total offense, the Rebels return a bulk of the players that helped them get there. It takes a quality quarterback to run the offense and the Rebels have several in the system. Incumbent Jaxon Dart is the likely starter. The USC transfer threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2022 while bolstering an efficient ground game with 614 rushing yards. Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders joins the fray along with Walker Howard from LSU. Expanding the passing game is something the rebels are looking to do.
The Rebels are hopeful Quinshon Judkins can repeat what he accomplished in his first season. The all-conference back set program records while leading the SEC with 1,567 rushing yards and 16 TDs. Judkins helped the Rebels average the third-most rushing yards in the country with nearly 257 per game. The line returns five players who were involved in plenty of snaps, but as a whole the group needs to be better keeping opponents out of the backfield.
There really isn’t an issue with the offense. The group should continue to produce at a high level. However, when the point totals dipped last year the defense was nowhere to be seen. Like the team, the unit faltered at the back end allowing an average of 35 points over the final seven games. The Rebels brought in Alabama’s Pete Golding to correct the issue. Striking it rich with several DL recruits for the 2024 class, the Rebs have to get through this season first. The group wasn’t the worst in the SEC last season, but it can do more and Golding is hoping to the most out of them.
Schedule
They get their annual tussle with Bama and LSU and have a cross-over tilt with Georgia, that’s life in the SEC. Overall the schedule isn’t bad all things considered. The opening stretch against Mercer, Tulane and Georgia Tech is comfortable. I doubt Tulane will be as good as last season. Following a week off the Bama-LSU games come back to back. Outside their trip to Athens on Nov. 11, the remaining seven games are all winnable.
Prediction
With as poorly as they played on defense last season the Rebels still won eight regular season games. A competition at QB will inspire Dart, or whoever eventually takes the reins, and Judkins is a force. More production against the better teams will help keep them close where maybe the Rebels could steal one against Bama, LSU or Georgia. Even so, eight wins is a comfortable number for theRebels to go OVER.
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