The Ole Miss Rebels had a disappointing year last season, losing their last four games which has resulted in a ton of turnover both on the roster and on the sidelines. Coach Lane Kiffin remains at the helm but he has brought in six new assistant coaches in an effort to improve their record.
Sportsbooks remain lukewarm on the team, as Ole Miss is +4500 to win the SEC this year, trailing heavy favorite Georgia as well as Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and Tennessee on the odds board at DraftKings Sportsbook.
With such long odds on their SEC Conference title hopes, BetMississippi decided to take a different approach to prepare Mississippi sportsbooks bettors for the upcoming SEC season by looking at which coaches in the conference have performed the best against the spread.
With so many SEC conference games likely having drastic odds differences, betting against the spread instead of on the moneyline is often a better way to attempt to make money on the game.
SEC Coaches Against the Spread
To find coaches' ATS records, we utilized TeamRankings.com. Here is what we found:
For this list, only games from the coach’s current stint were included. Teams with new coaches entering the 2023 season were not included.
Kiffin Covers Spread Less Than 50% of the Time
Just like his end to last season, Lane Kiffin once again finds himself in an unenviable spot, ranking tenth on the list while covering the spread less than 50% of the time with a16-18-2 record ATS, ahead of only Clark Lea of Vanderbilt and Eliah Drinkwitz of Missouri. Arkansas’ Sam Pittman leads the way with a mark over 60%, followed by Josh Heupel of Tennessee and Kirby Smart of Georgia.
Mississippi bettors will have to hope the additions to Kiffin’s staff this year also help the team against the spread. Kiffin himself looks to be staying at the program for a long time, with a big six-year contract in hand after turning down a push from Auburn in the offseason. Kiffin has used the new transfer portal system to attempt to boost his roster, bringing in key defensive additions to play under new defensive coordinator Pete Golding.
With back-to-back National Championship winner Georgia in the conference as well as Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide the SEC is one of the strongest conferences in college football, if not the toughest. Kiffin will have his hands full in those games, likely entering both matchups as an underdog with a chance to boost his below-average record against the spread as he tries to build the Ole Miss program up to a point where they are competing with those strong programs.
