College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Ole Miss Rebels season with what you need to know.
CFN in 60 Podcast: 2020 Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss preview in 60 seconds
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Ole Miss Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 4-8 overall, 2-6 in SEC
Head Coach: Lane Kiffin, 1st year, 61-34 overall
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 74
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 99
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 63
NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Ole Miss Rebels Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense under new head coach Lane Kiffin and new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby – who comes in from running the UCF offense last year – will be a whole lot different. There will still be a running element from the quarterbacks, but the Rich Rodriguez style of spread attack will be quickly tweaked.
It worked last year, though, finishing second in the SEC and ninth in the nation in rushing. The passing game doesn’t have to just be more productive, but more efficient, too.
Matt Corrall is back after throwing for a team-high 1,363 yards and six touchdowns, John Rhys Plumlee is back after running for a team-high 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns – and throwing for 910 yards and four scores – and Grant Tisdale is still around after wanting to transfer and then deciding to stick around.
Just wait, though. There’s never been a quarterback transfer that Kiffin didn’t want to sign. A good, productive quarterback will emerge, and …
CFN in 60 Video: Ole Miss Rebels Preview
– The receivers are there waiting to do a whole lot more. Elijah Moore caught a team-high 67 passes, but the No. 2 wide receiver caught just 13 passes. The passing game will spread the ball around more with a whole slew of tight end options – including Temple transfer Kenny Yeboah – and a bunch of talented wideouts waiting to break out.
There were a few transfers, but Braylon Sanders, Dontario Drummond, and Jonathan Mingo should help turn the Rebel receiving corps into something terrific.
– Scottie Phillips is done, and John Rhys Plumlee might not run quite as much, but the running game will still be effective. Jerrion Ealy is a quick back who averaged close to seven yards per crack, and Snoop Conner can bring a little bit of thump. Kiffin isn’t afraid to overuse his backs – he’ll find a hot hand and stick with it.
The line was effective overall, but the stats are a bit misleading. The pass protection seems a bit better than it was thanks to the offensive style, and the reverse is true for giving up an SEC high in tackles for loss. Even so, the interior of the line should be intact with the battles going on among several really big, really young options at tackle.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Ole Miss Rebels Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Ole Miss Rebels Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense doesn’t exactly need a ton of work, but it needs a tweak or two. Co-coordinators Chris Partridge – the former Michigan special teams coach – and DJ Durkin – yes, that DJ Durkin – should form a whale of a tandem with the secondary the first task.
Two starters are gone from a group that got a ton of help from a great pass rush, but still allowed an SEC-worst 278 yards per game. Jon Haynes is the best returning part of the bunch after coming up with 55 tackles from his safety spot, and the corners are big, starting with 6-2, 200-pound Keidron Smith.
– The pass rush was fantastic, with 33 sacks on the season and getting plenty of help from all sides. DT Benito Jones is off to the NFL – and stunningly went undrafted before getting picked up by Miami – but the top linebackers return. Sam Williams and Charles Wiley combined for nine sacks, and Lakia Henry led the team with 88 stops on the inside.
– Up front, Jones was a great all-around playmaker on the nose. The ends are done, too, with Josiah Coatney the biggest hit. There’s SEC size across a front three, but a whole lot of new parts have to be ready right away around 6-5, 290-pound former JUCO transfer Tariqious Tisdale on one end.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Ole Miss Rebels Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Ole Miss Rebels Players
Best Ole Miss Rebels Offensive Player
QB John Rhys Plumlee, Soph.
He was the star of the show over the second half of last year, but can he win the full-time gig under the new coaching staff? The 6-0, 192-pounder took over after the first few games and then went on a tear, running for 1,023 yards and 12 scores in nine games.
He ripped through LSU for 212 yards and four scores, and he ran for over 100 yards against Alabama, but can he get the passing game going? He only threw for 910 yards with four touchdowns – two of them came against the Crimson Tide – and he’ll have to adjust his game.
It’s possible Matt Corral or Grant Tisdale could rise up and take the gig if Plumlee can’t do everything the new coaching Taff needs, or there could be some sort of a rotation.
2. WR Elijah Moore, Jr.
3. RB Jerrion Ealy, Soph.
4. OG Ben Brown, Jr.
5. C Eli Johnson, Sr.
Best Ole Miss Rebels Defensive Player
LB Sam Williams, Sr.
Take your pick of a few of the linebackers, and a couple of other defenders, for the honor of being in the top spot. Linebacker Lakia Henry led the team in tackles, former defensive tackle Benito Jones led the team in tackles for loss, and there were plenty of good parts who did a little of everything else.
The 6-3, 251-pound Williams, though, managed to become one of the team’s best all-around disruptive forces. He only made 37 tackles, but he came up with six sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. The one-time superstar recruit had a good first year coming in from the JUCO ranks, and this year he should be ready to blow up into a top hybrid edge rusher.
2. LB Jacquez Jones, Jr.
3. LB Lakia Henry, Sr.
4. S Jon Haynes, Sr.
5. DE Tariqious Tisdale, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Ole Miss Rebels Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Ole Miss Rebels Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Ole Miss Rebels Offense
Quickly pivot to more of a balanced attack. Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic offense led Conference USA with a passing game that averaged 283 yards per game and a ground attack that averaged 166.
At Ole Miss, the running game was too good at running the ball last year under then-offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez, tearing off 400 yards or more in three of the last seven games including 402 against LSU. It was an explosive attack, but it also didn’t lead to wins.
The Rebels only won five of their last six games, and the one win was against New Mexico State when the O hit over 60% of its passes for the only time in a run of eight games. No matter what, the passing game has to be sharper.
On the other side …
Biggest Key To The Ole Miss Rebels Defense
The pass defense has to be far, far stronger. The secondary was able to keep most teams out of the end zone. Joe Burrow threw five touchdown passes in LSU’s win, but Ole Miss only gave up just two touchdowns in six of the other final seven games.
In all, the Rebels allowed 17 of 20 touchdown passes in just four games, but that wasn’t necessarily the issue – it was hardly shocking to be lit up by Alabama and LSU. The problem was the completion percentage allowed.
The last four teams on the slate – Auburn, NMSU, LSU and Mississippi State – combined to complete well over 70% of their passes. On the year, nine teams connected on 64% of their passes or more against the SEC’s worst pass defense.
Key Ole Miss Rebels Player To A Successful Season
QB John Rhys Plumlee, Soph.
No matter how he plays and works, he’s got to be brilliant. This is a good Ole Miss team across the board, but other than Arkansas, the rest of the SEC West is still fantastic. It’s going to take a superstar under center to help the rest of the team rise up, and Plumlee almost did that last season – and the team kept losing.
There’s going to be a transitional period, and there might not be a whole lot of consistency, but a promising receiving corps is in place, there’s enough on both sides of the ball to push for a better season, and the team’s top player of last year is going to have to be even better.
Key Game To The Ole Miss Rebels Season
Baylor (in Houston), Sept 5
Last year, Ole Miss started out the season at Ole Miss, and nothing got going in a 15-10 loss. There wasn’t much luck the rest of the way, with the only four wins coming against the weak and the sad teams on the slate. This year, after starting out against Baylor, there’s a break with SEC Missouri State. And then …
Auburn, at LSU, Alabama.
Lose to Baylor, and a 1-4 start is likely with Florida and at Texas A&M still to deal with.
– Ole Miss Rebels Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Ole Miss Fun Stats
– Rushing Yards: Ole Miss 3,015 – Opponents 1,662
– 4th Quarter Scoring: Ole Miss 108 – Opponents 47
– Time of Possession: Opponents 31:45 – Ole Miss 28.15
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Ole Miss Rebels Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Ole Miss Rebels Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Just how much can Lane Kiffin do in his first season at the helm?
This is still an Ole Miss program that’s finding its way out of the NCAA issues and all of its previous problems. Kiffin might be arriving on the Lane Train, and he’s just the shot in the arm needed, but it’s still going to take some work.
The 2019 Rebels were a whole lot of fun, they managed to put up a whole lot of good fights – five of the losses were by eight points or fewer – and they did what they could with what they had in place.
And now it’s time to start fresh.
Let the peeing dog display by star receiver Elijah Moore – and the subsequent missed extra point – in the 21-20 loss to Mississippi State close out the last four years of no bowls and a 20-28 run on that embarrassing – and, come on, overblown – note.
This year’s team should have a terrific starting 22. But the depth still needs to be build up, the talent has to be in place to compete with the stars of the SEC West, and the new coaching staff needs time it’s not going to get this offseason.
Set The Ole Miss Rebels Regular Season Win Total At … 6
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 5.5
Kiffin and company should be able to work a few miracles, but … Auburn, at LSU, Alabama, Florida, at Texas A&M.
Can the Rebels win just one of those?
There’s going to be a loss somewhere else – like against Baylor in the opener, or against Mississippi State in the regular season finale – but just about everything else is winnable.
Last year’s team gave away the Mississippi State game, and it couldn’t come through in key moments in a few others. Going from four to six wins isn’t asking for the world.
Seven wins, and then the Lane Kiffin era would be off and running.
