When you’re in a conference with Alabama and Georgia, it’s hard to not be a college football afterthought. But Ole Miss is having a season. The Rebels are 7-0 overall, 3-0 in the SEC, and are ahead of Alabama (6-1, 3-1) and LSU (5-2, 3-1) in the SEC West.
Mississippi is at No. 7 in the Associated Press college football rankings, right behind ‘Bama, and puts its undefeated season on the line Saturday against LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. The game will be nationally televised on CBS at 3:30 p.m. EDT.
This is heady stuff for Ole Miss. The university has been playing football since 1893, but has won only six SEC titles, the last one way back in 1963 – they were NCAA co-national champions in 1960. The four coaches before present head coach Lane Kiffin all finished with losing records, although the team was ranked as high as No. 3 in both 2014 and 2015. In Kiffin’s first two years, he took the Rebels to a win over Indiana in the Outback Bowl and a loss to Baylor in the Sugar Bowl.
The only other year in the history of Ole Miss football that started at 7-0 start was in 2014, under coach Hugh Freeze.
Here is a look at the Rebels’ seasons since then:
Ole Miss Recent Football Seasons
You will be able to place a bet on the Rebels because there is Mississippi sports betting at more than 20 casino sportsbooks in the state. But you have to be present at the sportsbook.
There is limited mobile betting in the state through BetMGM, but again, even to bet on the BetMGM app, you have to be present at the retail sportsbook. Talk about geo-targeting. For folks in the western part of the state, it’s probably easier to cross into Louisiana and place a mobile bet there.
Well-Traveled Kiffin Has Turned Around Program
Lane Kiffin has been paying off, but he was an interesting hire – he’s put a lot of miles on moving vans over his coaching career.
After six seasons as a position coach at USC, he spent two years as head coach of the NFL Oakland Raiders when he was just 32. That didn’t go so well. He and the Raiders did not part on good terms.
In 2009, he was named head coach of Tennessee, left the Vols high-and-dry after one season to become head coach of USC, where he was fired during his fourth season. He and the Trojans also did not part on the best of terms.
Kiffin went to Alabama as an offensive coordinator, then in 2016 was named head coach of Florida Atlantic. Kiffin turned that program around and was hired by Ole Miss in 2019 to again work his rebuilding magic.
So far, so good.
Ole Miss is led on the offensive side of the ball by QB Jaxson Dart, RB Quinshon Judkins and WR Jonathan Mingo. The Rebels are sixth in the nation in rushing yards per game at 271 and 19th in total yards at 502. Their defense is adequate. They gave up 27 points to Tulsa, 28 to Vanderbilt and 34 to Auburn, but scored 35, 52 and 48 in those games. Their best win this season was a 22-19 home victory over No. 19 Kentucky. LSU on the road will be the toughest test so far.
Odds on Ole Miss-LSU
Ole Miss is getting 2 points against LSU at DraftKings Mississippi and is +110 on the moneyline. LSU is -130, so the game is essentially a toss-up.
The over/under is 67.5 points, so bookmakers are expecting another SEC barnburner.
Ole Miss is the fourth choice at FanDuel to win the SEC Championship at +1800, behind Georgia -115, Alabama +140 and Tennessee +650.
Ole Miss’s odds to win the National Championship range from +7000 to +8000.
