This weekend might as well be the start of a whole new season for the Ole Miss Rebels. Gone are the days of playing Middle Tennessee State, Georgia Southern, or any other Group of Five teams. With their SEC slate starting this week, that’s all they’ll see the rest of the way. And it starts with Ole Miss vs Kentucky on Saturday.
In terms of the history between these two teams on the gridiron, it’s a matchup that’s generally been controlled by the Rebels. Ole Miss holds the overall edge 29-14, with one tie. They’ve also won the last three in the series, dating back to 2017. The last time the Wildcats got a win in this matchup was 2011, a 30-13 Kentucky win.
This weekend, we find out whether Ole Miss can continue their strong start, or whether Kentucky can end the losing streak in the series, and pick up a top-10 upset as well.
Ole Miss Kicks Off SEC Play vs Kentucky
What to Expect From Kentucky
For Kentucky, the key is simple. It starts on defense. They have to be able to stop Ole Miss. Similar to what we’ve seen with plenty of Mark Stoops’ teams in the past, the offense may be questionable, but the defense is solid. This year is no different. If you need a point of reference, look back to two weeks ago when they held Georgia to 13 points. Sure it came in a loss, but the defense did its job. Saturday has to look similar. We know Ole Miss has a good offense, but if the Wildcats can slow them down, they may have a chance to sneak away with a low-scoring upset.
On the offensive side of the ball, things get a bit trickier. Through two conference games this season (Georgia and South Carolina) the Kentucky offense has combined to score 18 points. It seems safe to say that that won’t be enough against the Rebels.
The problem with that is that Kentucky’s passing attack is nearly non-existent. On the year, they’ve thrown for just 609 yards. Against the two SEC opponents, that number is 158. If there’s one weakness to the Rebel defense, it’s the secondary. Can Brock Vandagriff take advantage of that? If not, it’s going to be a long day for the Wildcats.
Where they do play well on offense is running the ball. However, the defensive line is one of the best units on the field for Ole Miss. The biggest question in this matchup is going to be whether Kentucky continues to run the ball well, or they get stifled by a solid front seven from Ole Miss.
What to Expect From Ole Miss
For Ole Miss, the first key is to get off to a quick start. It’s an early kickoff at home, so they want to get the crowd energized early. That’s going to have to start with Jaxson Dart completing passes early. Kentucky is going to be the best defense the Rebels have seen so far this season, so it’ll be interesting to see whether Dart and company can keep putting up video game numbers, or do they come back down to earth a bit.
On the ground is where the Wildcats have seemed to be more susceptible this year. This could mean a big day from Henry Parrish Jr. is on the horizon. It could also mean we finally see a breakout game from Ulysses Bentley IV, who surprisingly hasn’t seen much playing time so far this season. If the Rebels can gain traction on the ground, that would also certainly open up passing lanes for Dart.
As for the defense, as mentioned earlier, it starts with stopping the run. Ole Miss has to be able to stop the run. They have to force Vandagriff to beat them through the air. So far this season, he hasn’t really shown the ability to do that. If Walter Nolen, Jared Ivey, and J.J. Pegues all play, and can manage to do a good stop of slowing down the ground game, it’ll make the secondary’s job easier.
Ole Miss vs Kentucky: Bottom Line and Prediction
For Kentucky fans, the good news is that they have a good enough defense to slow down an electric Ole Miss offense. The bad news is that the offense is probably going to struggle. Expect a close game early. But eventually, that gives way, as the Wildcats can’t find ways to put points on the board. Ole Miss scores twice in the fourth quarter, making this one look worse than it actually was.
Ole Miss 34, Kentucky 13
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