Ad Disclosure
Ole Miss has a chance to add to the top 25 carnage as it faces No. 4 Florida State
Published:
The spotlight is about to be yours, Ole Miss.
After Texas and Notre Dame tangle on Sunday night, the last game left on the schedule of maybe the most historic weekend ever in college football will belong to the No. 11 Rebels and No. 4 Florida State.
The carnage left around the SEC and the top 25 on Saturday leaves the Rebels with quite an opportunity in Orlando. Win and make it three top five teams losing. No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 5 LSU already reluctantly hopped on that boat, making it the first time since 1972 that two top-5 teams lost on opening weekend, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Depending on what happens with No. 10 Notre Dame at Texas, the Rebels could feasibly climb all the way to No. 7, and depending on how voters feel about Ohio State and Michigan destroying cupcakes Bowling Green and Hawaii, dare it be said Ole Miss would be a top-five team headed into the Wofford game?
What would a loss do? Considering what has happened in the SEC thus far, a close loss will be better than:
- Tennessee barely escaping Appalachian State.
- Brandon Harris’ line against Wisconsin (12-of-21, 131 yards, 2 INTs).
- Kentucky blowing a 25-point lead against Southern Miss. At home.
- Mississippi State clanging, er, clanking away one of the worst losses in SEC history to South Alabama.
A win would give Ole Miss one of the top three stories after a chaotic weekend, joining Alabama’s route of Southern Cal and Texas A&M’s win over UCLA (although the Aggies tried hard to lose).
The previews have been done. It’s all been said. Can Swag Kelly, behind a new offensive line, stave off the pass rush of DeMarcus Walker and find one of his bevy of receivers against a lengthy Florida State secondary?
How will the Ole Miss defense handle Kelly’s Heisman counterpart Dalvin Cook? Cook will likely get his, and in the meantime, test out the Rebels’ new linebackers.
Mississippi State saw its secondary assaulted against South Alabama. Ole Miss has a young group – freshman Myles Hartsfield and sophomore Zedrick Woods at Rover and free safety – that could be tested early if redshirt freshman Deondre Francois has the green passing light.
Whether he throws to any of his top three returning receivers or runs or hands to Cook, Ole Miss’ defense will find out a lot about itself against challenges all over the field.
It will be a first look at players who can dominate the SEC and ACC for three or four years to come, guys like Francois and Ole Miss left tackle Greg Little. Little is second-string behind Rod Taylor in Ole Miss’ first outing without Laremy Tunsil.
The Rebels have been working toward a depth chart that can win the SEC. This is the deepest the program has been under Hugh Freeze, but there are no cupcakes to trounce in a trial run to test their chemistry. Van Jefferson is a redshirt freshman in the slot. Taylor is a junior with zero starts at tackle. Javon Patterson, Jordan Sims and Sean Rawlings started games last season but are all sophomores – sophomores against a Florida State defensive front that has been open about its goal of getting to Kelly.
Win or lose, Ole Miss is about to learn a lot. Win, and it’s a climb toward the top five and maybe the start of a legit Heisman marketing plan. Lose and, well, it won’t be nearly as bad as waking up a Mississippi State fan today.
