NCAAF Countdown: No. 21 Ole Miss Rebels
Star RB Judkins Back to Lead SEC Team
Ole Miss certainly did not stand pat once the 2022 season ended as the Rebels had the sixth-best class of incoming transfers according to the 247sports.com database. That followed up bringing in the No. 2 class of transfers heading into last season. It is no surprise that the college football predictions view Ole Miss as a team to watch in the SEC once again.
Ole Miss becomes the second SEC team to be revealed so far in our countdown of the top 25 teams in the country heading into the 2023 season.
It could be argued that the best player on the roster is not a transfer, but running back Quinshon Judkins ran for 1,565 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman.
Even with Judkins running wild, Ole Miss lost five of its last six games after a 7-0 start. The Rebels gave up more than 40 points in three of those losses so keep that in mind when it comes time to make college football picks.
The additions of quarterbacks Spencer Sanders from Oklahoma State and Walker Howard from LSU made plenty of college football news, but there were plenty of other players both coming into and leaving from Oxford.
Memphis tight end Caden Prieskorn, UTSA receiver Zakhari Franklin, Texas A&M receiver Jaron Willis, Louisiana Tech receiver Tre Harris, Louisville linebacker Monty Montgomery, Miami (Ohio) cornerback John Saunders, Georgia Tech cornerback Zamari Walton, North Texas cornerback DeShawn Gaddie (61 tackles, 13 pass breakups), Florida Atlantic safety Teja Young (two interceptions returned for touchdowns), James Madison edge rusher Isaac Ukwu (7½ sacks in 2022) and UCF linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (152 career tackles) are among the newcomers who could make an immediate impact.
Linebacker Suntarine Perkins leads the group of incoming freshmen for the Rebels.
According to the college football picks, Ole Miss (+10000) is tied for 19th in the odds to win the national title. Conference rivals Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana State and Tennessee are among the teams ahead of the Rebels in the championship odds.
Ole Miss Rebels
- 2022 record: 8-5
- 2022 SEC record: 4-4
- Head coach: Lane Kiffin
- Odds to win conference title: +4000
While the focus will be on Judkins, the key will not only be on the quarterbacks but also the willingness of the coaching staff to let them be more than game managers.
Jaxson Dart came to Ole Miss with plenty of hype after playing in six games as a freshman at USC and throwing for 391 yards to go with four touchdowns in his first college appearance.
Dart was solid in 2022 for the Rebels. However, he had six touchdowns passes and five interceptions in the five games lost by Ole Miss. Former Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard, who came in from SEC rival LSU, are among the other quarterbacks pushing Dart.
Malik Heath and Jonathan Mingo, who averaged 16.5 yards on 111 combined catches, are off to the NFL and so is Zach Evans after flirting with a 1,000-yard rushing season. Ole Miss brought in plenty of pass catchers through the transfer portal.
One week until Fall Camp ⛺️#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/E8B0Ir5jMX
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 26, 2023
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Much of the offensive line is back and that is a big deal with the way Ole Miss likes to run the ball. The Rebels finished either first or second in the SEC in rushing yards in the last four seasons.
There are more questions on the defensive side of the ball with some key losses that need to be addressed. No Ole Miss players were named to either the first, second or third teams in the preseason All-SEC team.
Will Perkins make an immediate impact at linebacker? He was the ninth-rated recruit (six among defensive players) among SEC signees in the 247sports.com Class of 2023 recruiting database.
Louisville linebacker Monty Montgomery is the highest-ranked of the defensive players who transferred into Ole Miss. Montgomery had 70 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six sacks and two interceptions in 2022.
Those who bet online might be interested to know that Ole Miss covered against the spread in just one of its last seven games. The Rebels covered in just three of the six games during the 2022 season when listed as a double-digit favorite.
Outlook
Obviously, Ole Miss will give the ball early and often to the dynamic Judkins as he led the SEC in rushing yards and touchdowns as a freshman. Having Evans around kept Ole Miss from overworking Judkins so it will be interesting to see who emerges as the backs to spell Judkins. Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison and running backs Blake Corum from Michigan and TreVeyon Henderson from Ohio State are the only non-quarterbacks with better odds to win the Heisman Trophy among non-quarterbacks than Judkins.
The quarterback competition is pretty intriguing as well with Ole Miss having an embarrassment of riches at the position.
No. 3 tackler Tysheem Johnson transferred to Oregon while Troy Brown, Otis Reese and AJ Finley are off to the NFL, so the top four tacklers are gone from a defense that ranked in the middle of the SEC in most categories. Sack leader Tavius Robinson is also gone so there is some work to do.
Playing at Tulane in Week 2 could be interesting, but games against Mercer and Georgia Tech probably won’t prepare the Rebels for what lies ahead in the SEC portion of the schedule.
Ole Miss is at Alabama in its SEC opener and plays host to LSU the following week, so good luck with that. The loss against LSU, when Ole Miss allowed 500 yards, was when things started to unravel a season ago.
The next two games against Arkansas and Auburn could be interesting as well. Then there is the Nov. 11 road game against two-time defending national champion Georgia.
The college football spreads had not set a line for the season opener on Sept. 2 against Mercer out of the Football Championship Subdivision level.
The price is set at -110 for Ole Miss to go over the expected regular-season total of 7½ wins with -120 to finish under that total.
2023 Schedule
- Sept. 2 vs Mercer
- Sept. 9 vs Tulane
- Sept. 16 vs Georgia Tech
- Sept. 23 vs Alabama
- Sept. 30 vs LSU
- Oct. 7 vs Arkansas
- Oct. 21 vs Auburn
- Oct. 28 vs Vanderbilt
- Nov. 4 vs Texas A&M
- Nov. 11 vs Georgia
- Nov. 18 vs Louisiana-Monroe
- Nov. 23 vs Mississippi State
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