Mississippi Rebels 2022 College Football Preview
August 11, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 10-3
ATS – 8-5
That was a lot of fun.
The Rebels booked their first double-digit winning season since 2015 and were one of the most entertaining teams on the planet. Their only losses came to ROLL TIDE, the Big 12 champs from Baylor, and Auburn. The LANE TRAIN seems to have things cooking in Oxford.
Mississippi Rebels 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
It’s sad to see ALL-MEGALOCKS TEAM member QB Matt Corral leave for the NFL as he was one talented and tough dood (68%, 3,349, 20-5 TD to INT; 614 rush, 11 TD LY) during his time with the Rebels. It’ll be interesting to see which of the two contenders for the starting QB gig will rise to the occasion. Luke Altmyer looked MEH in limited action LY and it’s unclear whether or not USC transfer Jaxson Dart can run the system as efficiently at Lane Kiffin demands. The WR group needs reloading given the departure of the top-three targets but the LANE TRAIN did a great job of retooling the unit and they might be BETTER than last year. Former UCF WR Jaylon Robinson just became one of the most dangerous deep threats in the SEC and we like the sneaky-good addition of Jalen Knox from Missouri. Ole Miss also lost their top-three (!) RBs who combined for almost 2,000 yards and an impossible 29 TDs on the ground LY, but once again, Kiffin delivered in the portal. The Rebels added ultra-talented Zach Evans from TCU (7.0 YPC LY) and Ulysses Bentley from SMU (6.4 YPC LY). The OL boasts well over 100 career starts and they added a stud tackle from WKU via the portal. Everything looks in place for a big year BUT we need to keep an eye on August camp and see how the QB situation is playing out.
DEFENSE
The Rebels made impressive strides last season dropping their PPG allowed from 38.3 to 24.7 (!) and their YPG allowed from 519 to 420. Ole Miss has some headwinds to deal with heading into 2022 as they lose six of their top-eight tacklers including a pair of stars in Chance Campbell and Sam Williams who combined for 18.5 sacks, 28.5 TFL, and 19 QBH in 2021. They’ve got some decent size up front but we’ll be skeptical until we see how they recover from losing Williams. It remains to be seen how all the new pieces collected at LB will come together, but the secondary that played so well LY (#3 SEC pass efficiency D) returns three starters, although they lost CB Deane Leonard to the NFL. This looks like an “average” SEC stop unit unless they find a way to replace the lost PENETRATION production.
SPECIAL TEAMS
This could be a problem area as they have to replace all their specialists. Bagging veteran PK Jonathan Cruz from Charlotte is a plus.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – WHOA, NELLIE. We’re not sure we’ve ever seen an easier first half schedule for and SEC West team than what Ole Miss had dealt to them. The bad news? The second half is brutal and it includes a stretch of at LSU, at Texas A&M, bye, ROLL TIDE. They get a SWEETHEART draw from the East (Wildcats, Commodores).
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing overly-spooky is noted.
Season Win Total
per BetOnline Aug 11
Over 7.5 -145
Under 7.5 +115
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
Could they start 6-0? 7-0? Even a 5-2 start gives them a shot at hitting the ‘over’.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Lane Kiffin has been a solid bet in the point spread role of home favorite over his career (29-22, 57%) as well as road underdog (14-7, 67% ), but not so much as a home underdog (2-8, 20%).
Lane Kiffin is awesome. **
** fact check true
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
Our DEEP SEC INSIDERS are cautiously optimistic. They’ve brought in a ton of talented players but there are still significant questions at QB and on the defensive side of the football. Thankfully, they should be able to bag a bunch of wins early on and get some confidence. This should be anywhere from a seven to nine win team. Not exactly a hot take, but there’s lots of potential variance with this bunch.
HOTTY TODDY!
Want more Mississippi football ?
WEBSITE
https://olemisssports.com/sports/football
FORUM
http://www.secrant.com/rant/ole-miss-sports/
https://olemiss.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-grove.16/
NEWS
http://www.clarionledger.com/sports/ole-miss/
http://www.redcuprebellion.com/
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/145/ole-miss-rebels