Mississippi Rebels 2017 NCAA Football Preview

College Football Predictions – Mississippi Rebels 2017 NCAA Football Preview

2016 Recap

2016 Record – 5-7

2016 ATS – 4-8

It was a painful season to be sure. Getting blown to bits by hated rival Mississippi St in the final week to prevent bowl eligibility was a downer. It was their first losing season under HC Hugh Freeze. We will note that they had to deal with a lot of injuries AND were in great shape against Florida St and Alabama before losing both games.

2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating

SEC – TBD

West Division – TBD

OFFENSE

The Rebels got to take a look at their QB of the future Shea Patterson last season when Chad Kelly was lost due to injury. Patterson did well for a true freshman and should benefit from the experience gained in 2016. New OC Phil Longo is implementing an “Air Raid” attack and it will be interesting to see how quickly the young QB can adapt to the system while facing SEC defenses.

The Rebels will be without their top-2 in receiving yards from last season including star TE Evan Engram. There are some highly recruited specimens in the WR unit but nobody can say how good they will be until games get under way. The offensive line is in good shape returning 4/5 starters to a group that only allowed 26 sacks last season on close to 500 attempts. It’s hard to say what the Rebels have at RB. Overall we see some growing pains and some flashes of brilliance from QB Patterson.

DEFENSE

That was ugly.

The Rebels allowed 461 yards per game (2nd worst SEC) and 34 points (worst in SEC) last year and hope that new DC Wesley McGriff can move the needle in the right direction. They return their most dangerous man on the DL Marquis Haynes who tallied 7 sacks and 11 TFL in 2016. The LB group brings back leading tackler DeMarquis Gates and the secondary returns almost completely intact. The defense can make strides forward but need to get more pressure on the QB as they were 2nd last in the SEC in sacks (20) in 2016.

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK Gary Wunderlich was phenomenal last year hitting 22/23 FGs while being perfect inside of 50 yards. Will Gleeson is a fine punter. They need to find some capable bodies to return kicks and punts.

Potential ATS Trouble Spot

October 14 – VANDERBILT. This game follows a brutal two-game stretch (ROLL TIDE, Auburn) and precedes a date with LSU. They will probably be medium-large favorites. Danger.

MEGAmazing Tidbits

The last three times Ole Miss has hooked up with ROLL TIDE…..combined score…..Ole Miss 109 Alabama 102. Amaze your annoying co-workers with that knowledge BOMB.

MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 4.0

MEGALOCKS says:

Overall, we give the REBELS a 4.0 ATS Value Rating (Below Average) this season.

MEGALOCKS Premium Plutonium members were impressed last season when we predicted an ATS falloff for Ole Miss….“we feel this may be a year to expect a point spread regression from the Rebels”. What should we expect in 2017 ?

The headwinds are strong, grasshopper. Ole Miss has a new OC and DC and a young (talented) QB who will be asked to face some really tough opponents. There is also a self-imposed bowl ban which makes you wonder about motivation should the season go sideways. There is hope for the defense to be a lot better and that leaves a sliver of optimism. Still recommend watching these guys for the first month to get a feel for what they are all about.

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