Different Team, Similar Expectations
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| The construction on Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is very close to a conclusion. |
This Ole Miss football team is the hardest one to predict in my opinion. While being loaded with talent, the Rebels lost their big 3(Nkemdiche, Treadwell, and Tunsil) to the NFl, and Ole Miss has the second-hardest schedule in all of College Football according to ESPN FPI, Bleacher Report, and many other sites. This team has the firepower to beat every team on its schedule, but on the flip side, the teams the Rebels will face have almost as much if not more firepower to do the same. So, what I am saying is...it should be one interesting year to say the least.
Week 1: No. 4 Florida State (Neutral Cite - Orlando, FL)
Ole Miss gets perhaps its tallest task of the entire season on September 5th. The fact that this is a "neutral cite" is quite laughable since the game is in Florida, but I expect Rebel Nation to travel fairly well. This is supposed to be Florida State's big year because they return all 11 starters on their offense, one of those players being Heisman-hopeful RB Dalvin Cook. I have mixed feelings about this game, but honestly, I really have no clue how we stack up against these guys. I say Florida State gets a late touchdown to win a very good football game.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 31, N0. 4 FSU 35. (0-1)
Week 2: vs Wofford (Oxford, MS)
The cause for excitement in this game is that it is the Rebel's home-opener in the MUCH improved Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The stadium expanded to 64,038 capacity, a number which was necessary to bowl in the north endzone. Additionally, the Vaught added a new scoreboard which is noticeably bigger, the turf was changed to grass, and the sound system is new and improved with speakers planted throughout the stadium and not just coming out of the JumboTron. This game should be a good game to get young players in there and to see what they can do.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 59, Wofford 10. (1-1)
Week 3: No. 1 Alabama (Oxford, MS)
This game is going to be fun no matter what happens the first two weeks of the season. College Gameday will probably be back in the Grove, it's already scheduled as a 2:30 CBS game, and Ole Miss is looking to make it THREE straight on the Crimson Tide. Now, I never pick the Rebels to beat the Tide, but that is going to change this year. Obviously, I think the most talented team in the country will hang in there. It will be a close game. The atmosphere will be amazing. I think the Rebels will feed off of the gameday atmosphere and Rebel Nation, and I think Ole Miss scores a late touchdown to win the game, similar to 2014.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 26, No. 1 Alabama 23. (2-1)
Week 4: No. 16 Georgia (Oxford, MS)
Thankfully, Ole Miss' next test comes into Oxford, but nevertheless, it will be a tough out for the Rebels. At this point, Georgia should have their starting QB, and I think that guy will be True-Freshman Jacob Eason. He was the #2 QB in the country behind Ole Miss' Shea Patterson, and this guy is big and has a great arm. I think Ole Miss will play a great game versus a quality team, and that should be a Freshman QB's first hard road test.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 34, No. 16 Georgia 24. (3-1)
Week 5: Memphis (Oxford, MS)
Forget last year. It sucked. It's hard to forget. I live in Memphis. My school was playing the Memphis Fight Song on the intercom throughout the halls. It was horrible. I think we are going to win BIG. Ole Miss will not look over Memphis this year. We will be highly motivated for this one.
FINAL: N0. 12 Ole Miss 42, Memphis 24. (4-1)
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: at Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)
Arkansas is a team that Ole Miss cannot seem to figure out. Similar to what I said with the Alabama game...I never pick Ole Miss over the Tide until this year, and I am now picking the Razorbacks over Ole Miss for the first time. Last year, I said Ole Miss would beat Arkansas by a large margin after having lost 30-0. We lost in the most heartbreaking way possible. We all remember. It was lucky...yeah. But they took our first bid to Atlanta away. I think they will win a fairly close one at home.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 23, Arkansas 31. (4-2)
Week 8: at LSU (Baton Rouge, LA)
After kicking their butt last year, those tigers are hungry for Ole Miss to come to Death Valley. I think it will be a very good game. Probably one of the best games of the year. College Gameday could likely be there. Night games in Death Valley are scary. I think LSU gets their revenge, and the Rebels suffer their second straight loss.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 21, N0. 6 LSU 24. (4-3)
Week 9: Auburn (Oxford, MS)
Nobody ever knows how good Auburn is going to be. I will tell you one thing. They have a buttload of talent. Their D-Line is scary. That JUCO QB that just came in, John Franklin III, sounds like he is going to be something special. Reminder: the last two times Auburn had a first-year former JUCO starting QB...they made the National Championship BOTH times(Cam Newton, Nick Marshall). Having said all of that, I think Ole Miss will come off two straight losses highly motivated and ready to win one in front of our home crowd.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 35, Auburn 21. (5-3)
Week 10: Georgia Southern (Oxford, MS)
This Georgia Southern team is NOT bad. They took Georgia to OT last year in Athens. They made a bowl game. They are not bad. Nevertheless, we are not bad either. We will win, but not by as much as a Wofford, per se.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 45, Georgia Southern 21. (6-3)
Week 11: at Texas A&M (College Station, TX)
From top to bottom, you could argue that Texas A&M has one of the most talented rosters in not only the SEC, but the country. Also, you could argue that Kyle Field is one of the most difficult places to play in not only the SEC, but the country. During the first portion of the past two seasons, the Aggies have climbed up in the rankings and gained so much hype. For this season, I am not buying it until I see it with my own two eyes. I think A&M hangs in there for a little while, but the Rebels pull away in the second half.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 38, Texas A&M 27. (7-3)
Week 12: at Vanderbilt (Nashville, TN)
This has the feel of a trap game to me, so it scares me a little. It would be easy for Ole Miss to look ahead to the Egg Bowl the next week and look over an inferior opponent in Vanderbilt, but the Commodores have gotten better and are looking for a big win to capture people's attention. Vanderbilt will have their home crowd behind them and want this one. In the end, I think Ole Miss overcomes all of it and wins a tough, battled-out game.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 24, Vanderbilt 14. (8-3)
Week 13: The Egg Bowl (Location: Flagship University)
I can assure you Ole Miss will not be looking over this Mississippi State team, no matter if they suck or are 11-0 coming into this game. Ole Miss will be highly motivated to keep the Egg where it belongs, right here in Oxford. On the flip side, State will come into this game wanting to get revenge for the past two years, and in my opinion, they will not do it. Ole Miss will come out firing, and it will be a similar game to last year.
FINAL: No. 12 Ole Miss 41, Mississippi State 27. (9-3)
A 9-3 season for the Rebels would be a good season. We lose the "Big Three", and we get 9 wins out of the second hardest schedule College Football has to offer. With the talent on this team, we can beat any squad that we see this year, but winning every game in the SEC just is not realistic. On a different note, I think Ole Miss fans should see this: there is no reason to worry about this NCAA investigation. Why? Because us fans have NO control over it. So why worry about it? What is the point? There is no point to it. Let's be happy that football season is upon us and that we will have a very awesome group to watch every Saturday!
SEC Predictions:
West:
Alabama(11-1, 7-1 SEC)
LSU(10-2, 6-2 SEC)
Ole Miss(9-3, 6-2 SEC)
Texas A&M(8-4, 4-4 SEC)
Auburn(7-5, 4-4 SEC)
Mississippi State(7-5, 3-5 SEC)
Arkansas: 6-6(3-5 SEC)
East:
Tennessee(11-1, 7-1 SEC)
Florida(8-4, 5-3 SEC)
Georgia(9-3, 5-3 SEC)
Kentucky(6-6, 3-5 SEC)
Vanderbilt(5-7, 2-6 SEC)
South Carolina(4-8, 1-7 SEC)
Missouri(3-9, 0-8 SEC)
SEC Champion: Alabama
FINAL: No. 1 Alabama 27, No. 10 Tennessee 20.
Playoff Predictions:
(1) Florida State - 13-0
(2) Alabama - 12-1
(3) Oklahoma - 12-1
(4) Ohio State - 12-1
National Champion: Alabama
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