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Ole Miss QB Spencer Sanders. (Bruce Newman / Special to The Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK)

NCAAF Top 25 futures: Ole Miss wants to be more than Transfer U

By Matt Wiesenfeld | Last updated 7/10/23

It is hard to know what Ole Miss football really is, but with head coach Lane Kiffin at the helm, it is anything but boring. Since joining the program, Kiffin has revved up the offense and the rhetoric. Last year they fell from 2021 when they won 10 games. They are definitely not expected to get back to that level this season.

With Oklahoma and Texas coming to the SEC after this season, the Rebels really need a strong year to show they are a viable contender in the league. They have always been able to get talent but you need more than that to take down the likes of Alabama and Georgia. They need a little luck too. Maybe this season.

No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels 2023 Win Total

Over 7.5 -105 / Under 7.5 -115

The market seems to be pretty evenly split on Ole Miss' prospects this season. In the past, the Rebels have succeeded with an offense-first philosophy and that seems to be the way things will be again in 2023. The annual challenge is how that plays in a league where some of the top defenses in the nation reside (including three that might be top 10 in the nation). Since Lane Kiffin arrived in Oxford the Rebels have had winning years in two of three seasons, and that is expected to continue this year. That makes a lot of sense. There is too much talent for this team to go off the rails.

The SEC plays only eight league games and that helps teams like Ole Miss build winning seasons. This season it looks like they have three gimmes in the nonconference schedule — Mercer, ULM, and even the ACC's Georgia Tech. However, their trip down to Tulane in Week 2, could easily trip them up (I think they might be underdogs). In the SEC their schedule is difficult as always. In addition to their SEC West divisions foes (Alabama and LSU are back to back to start league play), they also have to go to Georgia this season. Getting Vanderbilt makes for an easy win, but I am not sure that balances it out (the Bulldogs often leave a mark). Lastly, they are on the road to close the year in the Egg Bowl against rival Mississippi State. This is not a slate to clean up against.

Quinshon Judkins was awesome as a freshman running back last season, but the talk of the offseason was quarterback, where Kiffin recruited transfer Spencer Sanders (starter at Oklahoma State), to compete with last year's transfer Jaxson Dart. That duo gives them great depth, but also an awkward situation. The offense is super balanced and should be again. They do need to be better at converting points though. On defense, there is a lot of returning talent from a group that was just mediocre last year. They have experience so maybe it clicks in a meaningful way. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding spent time at Alabama and there are lots of examples of that being a very good thing.

I am very confident that Ole Miss will once again have a strong offense, and that the defense can be better. The challenge is that monster of a schedule. It is difficult to see eight wins against that slate unless they get teams at just the right time. I think they would need a couple of upsets, even though this team has a nice ceiling. Take the under.

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