(Photo from Ole Miss Athletics)
Did you enjoy a rare quiet college football Saturday? Ole Miss and Mississippi State fans had to turn their attention elsewhere as their teams had an off week, ahead of a sprint to the end of the regular season.
Ole Miss (8-2 overall, 4-2 SEC) returns to action Saturday at Florida with an 11 a.m. game on ABC. Mississippi State (2-8, 0-6) is home against Missouri on Saturday for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff on the SEC Network.
The Magnolia State rivals will collide in Oxford on Friday, Nov. 29 with a 2:30 p.m. game on ABC.
These have been very contrasting seasons for the Rebels and Bulldogs, as befits their current records. Let’s take a look at the reasonable expectations for both between now and the end of the season.
Ole Miss:
The introduction of the 12-team College Football Playoff, along with last season’s results and high hopes in the transfer portal and recruiting, had postseason spirits sailing high among Rebels fans.
Lane Kiffin’s squad cruised through four non-conference games before hitting a huge roadblock in the form of a 20-17 homefield loss to Kentucky. The general consensus, though, was that a one-loss SEC team still had a very reasonable playoff path.
Then two weeks later, the Rebels lost 29-26 at LSU. That made the loss to Kentucky – let’s face it, you may struggle to explain that one to your grandkids – even more painful.
With no further margin for error, Ole Miss got up off the mat and started playing the way fans had expected all along against its conference rivals. A 63-31 romp at Arkansas was just a warmup for the season’s best effort, a 28-10 victory at home against third-ranked Georgia on Nov. 9.
Now what? Run the table, that’s what. The Rebels must avoid a Kentucky-style performance against a Florida Gators team that has shown tremendous fight in the second half of the season, culminating with an upset victory against LSU this weekend.
Convincing wins at Florida and against MSU would leave the Rebels with a tidy playoff resume – although we’re far from the shallow now in terms of what other surprises this season may hold.
A historic playoff game in Oxford could even be on the table. But first … win.
The way Ole Miss is playing on both sides of the ball, it’s hard to imagine any playoff rival really relishing the prospect of playing the Rebels.
Averaging 40.7 points per game while giving up 12.9 will do that.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart has delivered on his immense promise, completing 70.8 percent of his passes for 3,409 yards with 22 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He’s also his team’s second-leading rusher.
But offensive depth has really paid off for the Rebels. Five players have at least 150 rushing yards and six have 300 or more receiving yards.
On the defensive side, a retooled roster has had its opponents often moving the wrong direction with 104.5 tackles for loss, including 46 sacks and 20 takeaways.
So here we are. The future appears to be within the grasp of this Ole Miss team. But first … win.
Mississippi State:
The Bulldogs are slogging through a tough season under first-year head coach Jeff Lebby. A couple of wins to close the season would make Bulldogs fans feel a lot better about the future – especially if one of those came against Ole Miss in Oxford.
But let’s get real — that’s highly unlikely even in what has proven to be a chaotic college season.
So what to make of Lebby and this team? The offseason, not the last two weeks of this season, will tell the tale.
First off, there have to be major upgrades on the defensive side. Under most any measure, this has been one of the nation’s worst. With just a decent defense, there may have been a couple more possible wins that would have been in play.
This has been an MSU defense that’s proven almost incapable of stopping the run, and that opens so many doors for an opposing offense.
On offense, the biggest question may be whether freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren is the answer. With a better defense, he might have had a fighting chance in the SEC. And with a year’s experience and the likely upgrade of roster talent, he could be an intriguing prospect. He’s looked pretty good playing from behind at times, and that’s a crash course in quarterbacking.
Small steps. Be competitive the next two weeks, then turn attention to scheme and roster upgrades. The future starts now.
Southern Miss:
With Saturday night’s 58-3 loss at Texas State, a forgettable season drags on for the Golden Eagles (1-9).
The problems for Southern Miss are well established, and letting go of head coach Will Hall during the season didn’t provide any relief. A decent Texas State team rolled up 703 total yards while Southern Miss managed only 194 – just 70 of those passing, almost incomprehensible for a college team in 2024 that’s not running the triple option.
For now, the toughest challenge in Hattiesburg belongs to athlete director Jeremy McClain, who must decide the way forward for the Golden Eagles. A rising young head coach at a lower level of competition? A promising major-college assistant? A veteran hand to steady the ship?
This much is known — the Golden Eagles close the season with a home finale against South Alabama and a Nov. 30 game at Troy.
