Ole Miss unquestionably has one of the toughest schedules in the nation this season. Not only do they have to go through the typical grind of an SEC West team, but they also have to match up against possibly the nation’s best team in the SEC East, the Florida State Seminoles.
In two parts, The Daily Mississippian will break down each matchup of the season in order of difficulty from 12-1, starting with the easiest games for the Rebels.
- Wofford runs a ringbone offense, a variation of a triple option offense but with more shotgun formations. While Wofford won’t be able to match up with the SEC talent love of the Rebels, the unorthodox offense could cause some defensive troubles for the Rebels. Basically, this is harder than a normal matchup with a small school, simply because the Rebels will have to prepare for an offense they don’t normally defend against in the SEC. Overall, this will likely not be a close game for the Rebels and should provide a relatively easy victory for Ole Miss in week two.
- Georgia Southern also presents an intriguing small school matchup. Coming in week nine, Ole Miss can not afford to sleep on a team that took Georgia to overtime last season. However, the Eagles will have a vastly different team this year, as they are installing a new head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. With that amount of turnover, the Eagles shouldn’t be quite the upset risk that they were last year, and the Rebels shouldn’t have too much trouble dispatching Georgia Southern.
- Memphis is not the same team that thoroughly beat the Rebels last season and dampened their playoff hopes. Coach Justin Fuente has taken a bigger job at Virginia Tech and star quarterback Paxton Lynch has moved on to the NFL. This is essentially a rebuilding year for the Tigers, and after losing 37-24 last season, the Rebels will certainly not take this matchup for granted. This should be one of the easier games on the Rebels schedule and a lopsided victory for Ole Miss.
- Vanderbilt has had a tough couple of seasons since Head Coach James Franklin left for Penn State. The Commodores went 4-8 last season, with running back Ralph Webb being the main bright spot of the season. Derek Mason’s defense did show considerable improvement, but the passing offense left a lot to be desired. Vanderbilt still has plenty of work to do to compete in the SEC, and while they’re known for playing Ole Miss very well, they’re probably the easiest SEC game on the Rebels’ schedule this season.
- A few years ago, Auburn would be among the toughest games on the Rebels’ schedule. The biggest question for Gus Malzahn’s team is who will start at quarterback, as Sean White, juco transfer John Franklin III and Jeremy Johnson are all vying for playing time. If the Tigers have a breakout quarterback, this could be a close game that could go either way. If they struggle like last year, the Rebels should be able to stop the Auburn offense and get another victory.
- If last year was any indication, you can never count out the Arkansas Razorbacks when they’re matched up against Ole Miss. This year, the Razorbacks have to replace quarterback Brandon Allen, tight end Hunter Henry and running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams. Based on this, the Rebels should be favored in this matchup. However, Arkansas’ system will always be a great fit against the Ole Miss defense, as their power running, tight end-heavy offense works well against the smaller, speedier Rebels front. Ole Miss has more talent, but this could be another close call when the two teams meet in Fayetteville.
