Ole Miss Football vs LSU on September 30th, 2023 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, MS. Photos by Joshua Mccoy/Ole Miss Athletics Instagram and Twitter: @OleMissPix
Ole Miss Rebels
2024 Results: 10-3, 5-3(SEC)
2025 Projection: 8-4, 4-4(SEC)
Overview:
Jaxson Dart is now a Giant, and the Austin Simmons era begins under center. Kiffin has been a great puppet master with his quarterbacks over the years, and Simmons has the raw tools that will have to be honed if they want to get back to the playoffs. They lose 14 starters from last year’s squad but have plenty of talent on the roster that will need to gel if they are going to break through and make the playoffs. The schedule allows some time to hit their stride, but it isn’t a cakewalk for anybody in the SEC so we will find out what the Rebels are really made of in October and November.
Offense:
Not only is Dart gone, but the receiver room will be full of new faces. The portal king managed to snag a few pieces that will fill in nicely in Penn State transfer Harrison Wallace and Oklahoma Statetransfer De’Zhaun Stribling. One returning piece, in Cayden Lee brings back a lot of productivity after racking up 874 receiving yards last season. Four starters must also be replaced on the offensive line, so the theme of needing new guys to step up to succeed rings true when the Rebs have the ball.
Defense:
While Dart got a lot of the headlines, it was the defense that won a lot of games for Ole Miss last season. The d-line was full of killers and set a school record with 52 sacks last season. Those starters expect Suntarine Perkins are all gone, but once again, Lane has brought in the hired hands from the portal along with some elite talent through traditional recruiting. Perkins is a game-changer, but behind him there are questions as well, with both starting cornerbacks and safeties being fresh faces this season. Again, this unit will need to gel by late September if 10-wins is the goal in 2025.
Special Teams:
Both kicking specialists are new faces with placekicker Lucas Carneiro arriving in Oxford from Western Kentucky after being a Lou Groza award finalist in 2024. He connected on 18-19 field goals last season.
Final Thoughts:
Kiffin has done a great job raising the bar in Oxford and he is in a place where the fan base will be content with 8-10 wins each season. This squad should hit that mark and could overachieve if all the new faces gel quickly and most importantly Simmons finds his footing in the system. The schedule allows time to come together without any brutal stretches by SEC standards, but back-to-back road trips to Georgia and Oklahoma in mid-October will be crucial to split if the playoffs are the goal. It’s safe to say the Rebels are a true wild card in the SEC this season.
