Mississippi wide receiver Laquon Treadwell (1) runs the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014. No. 3 Mississippi won 35-20. (Photo/Thomas Graning)
After a relatively easy first half of the season, the Ole Miss football schedule takes a big step up at Memphis.
Ole Miss won last year’s matchup 24-3, but head coach Justin Fuente has done great things at Memphis so far and they should be improved compared to last year’s team.
Last year’s defense did a solid job against the Ole Miss offense; the Tigers offense couldn’t get anything going against the Rebels’ top ranked scoring defense. The defense loses eight starters and their defensive coordinator, including star defensive end Martin Ifedi.
While this means the defense will not be as good as last year’s, which allowed just 19.5 points per game, the offense should be better. The starting quarterback is the 6-foot-7-inch Paxton Lynch, who will be going into his junior year. Lynch has improved tremendously since his freshman year, connecting on 62.7 percent of his passes last season for 3,031 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Four of his top six wide receivers return, including slot receiver Mose Frazier, so the passing game should progress for the Tigers. At running back, Memphis loses top rusher Brandon Hayes but returns a trio of capable backs in Jarvis Cooper, Sam Craft and Doroland Dorceus, who was off to a great start last year before getting injured and missing the majority of the season.
Prediction: This could be a trap game for the Rebels, as the Tigers will be improved and looking for vengeance for last year’s loss. Ole Miss’s defense should still be able to handle Lynch and the trio of running backs and should still ultimately get the victory, but it might be closer than last year.
Ole Miss 27- Memphis 10
Last year, Ole Miss beat Texas A&M in College Station 35-20, with one of the Aggie touchdowns coming too late in the game against the Ole Miss reserves. Texas A&M projects to be improved over last year’s team, with a stable quarterback that Ole Miss didn’t face last year in Kyle Allen. Allen looked sharp as a freshman last year, throwing for 1,332 yards, 16 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with a 61.5 percent completion percentage. Allen should take advantage of being the full-time starter, provided that highly touted freshman quarterback Kyler Murray doesn’t steal the job, and have a great season. Allen will have possibly the best receiving core in the country, with juniors Josh Reynolds, Ricky Seals-Jones and Edward Pope and sophomore Speedy Noil all returning. Reynolds, Seals-Jones and Pope are all over 6 feet 3 inches, and the 5 feet 11 inches. Noil is a dynamic athlete in open space. At running back, the Aggies have to replace Tra Carson, but senior Brandon Williams should be able to step up and take his spot. Defense looks like it will once again be the weakness of the Texas A&M team, but former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis’ joining Texas A&M should improve their defense immediately. Sophomore edge rusher Myles Garrett returns after setting the SEC single season freshman sack record with 11.5 last season, so the Aggie’s pass rush should be dangerous.
Prediction: The Rebels is that matchup very well against Texas A&M. A loaded Ole Miss secondary should be able to once again slow the high powered Aggies passing attack, and while the Rebels offense doesn’t project to be outstanding, they should still have plenty of success against a weak Aggies defense thats only in it’s first year of being rebuilt by Chavis.
Ole Miss 34- Texas A&M 23.
The Auburn game could be one of the best games of the season, and possibly the most emotional one since Ole Miss lost a heartbreaker in Oxford last year by a score of 35-31, and had to watch star wide receiver Laquon Treadwell be carted off the field with a devastating leg injury. Auburn went 8-5 last season, but looks like they’ll be one of the best teams in the nation next year. Auburn loses their starting QB Nick Marshall, star running back Cameron Artis-Payne and excellent wideout Sammie Coates, but has plenty of players just waiting to step up and fill their roles.
At quarterback, junior Jeremy Johnson will be taking over for Marshall, and while he can’t match Marshall’s running ability, Johnson has the speed to make an impact on the ground and is unquestionably the better passer.
The offense should be much better with Johnson under center, who will provide more balance and can get the ball out more to some of the team’s top playmakers in D’haquille Williams and Ricardo Louis.
At running back, the team returns stellar freshman Roc Thomas and adds the top junior college back Jovon Robinson, so the Tigers’s ground attack should still be excellent.
On defense, Auburn hired former Florida head coach as their defensive coordinator, added five star defensive end Byron Cowart, will have potential star defensive end Carl Lawson return from an ACL injury, return second team All-SEC corner Jonathan Jones, and will have Georgia transfer Tray Matthews eligible to play safety. The defense should be miles ahead of last year’s 63rd ranked defense.
Prediction: Auburn could quite possibly be the better overall team, but after last year’s loss the prediction is that Ole Miss will have a big showing defensively and come up with a big upset.
Ole Miss 30- Auburn 27.
