• Ole Miss brings back most of the offensive firepower from 2023: After a program-record 11 wins, the Rebels bring back many of the offensive stars next season.
• Bringing in the best transfer portal class: Ole Miss completely retooled its defense through the transfer portal.
• Favorable SEC schedule: The Rebels avoid Alabama, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas A&M next season.
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In one sense, Ole Miss’ Peach Bowl victory over Penn State could be seen as the exclamation point on an incredible year. The Rebels finished with 11 wins this season, the most in program history. It was also Ole Miss’ first New Year’s Six bowl win in eight years.
In another way, that Peach Bowl win should be seen as just the beginning for head coach Lane Kiffin and company. The Rebels should be seen as one of the top contenders for the national championship next season.
Returning offensive firepower
For starters, Ole Miss returns many key contributors to an offense that was the Power Five’s 15th-best in both overall grade and expected points added per play.
Jaxson Dart is back to lead it after earning a 91.4 PFF grade this year, second among returning FBS quarterbacks (Dillon Gabriel). He’ll likely be joined in the backfield by Quinshon Judkins, who leads all Power Five running backs since 2022 in rushing yards (2,726), yards after contact (1,799) and forced missed tackles (151). Tre Harris will once again be the top receiver and was seventh among Power Five ones in yards per route run (3.17 yards) this season. Caden Prieskorn announced his return as well. After missing the first three games due to injury, the Memphis transfer put up 449 receiving yards, tied for fourth among Power Five tight ends since Week 4. No. 3 receiver Jordan Watkins is returning next season as well.
The best transfer class in the country
Another reason there should be unbridled optimism in Oxford is the fact that the Rebels welcome the best transfer portal class in college football, particularly on defense.
Ole Miss adds two of the best edge defenders in the portal in Florida’s Princely Umanmielen and Tennessee’s Tyler Baron. Umanmielen ranked fifth among FBS edges in pass-rush win rate this season (21.9%) while Baron was fifth among SEC ones with 41 pressures.
They’ll be joined on the defensive line by Texas A&M’s Walter Nolen. The No. 1 overall recruit in the 2022 class tied for third among SEC interior defensive linemen with eight tackles for loss/no gain and seven sacks this season.
The Rebels also retooled their secondary by adding Mississippi State cornerback Decamerion Richardson, Tennessee safety Tamarion McDonald, Illinois corner Tahveon Nicholson, Oklahoma safety Key Lawrence and Indiana safety Louis Moore. Richardson ranked seventh among FBS corners in PFF grade (86.5) this season while the other four were significant contributors to each of their respective secondaries.
Ole Miss also picked up Arkansas linebacker Chris Paul Jr., who tied for sixth among SEC linebackers with 11 tackles for loss/no gain this year.
While the Rebels mostly focused on rebuilding their defense in the portal, they also added some more offensive firepower as well in South Carolina wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. While he missed all but three games due to a foot injury this year, his 555 yards after the catch in 2022 stood seventh in the nation.
Favorable schedule
Ole Miss also benefits from one of the easier schedules among SEC teams next season. The Rebels’ four non-conference opponents are Furman, Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest and Georgia Southern. They also avoid Alabama, Texas and Missouri, all of whom will likely enter next season in the top 10. Ole Miss also doesn’t have Tennessee or Texas A&M on the schedule. The only game where the Rebels wouldn’t be favored right now is Georgia, but that game will be played in Oxford, Mississippi.
Bottom line
The 2024 Ole Miss team shares a lot of similarities with 2023 Florida State. After finishing No. 11 in 2022 (which the Rebels are currently), the Seminoles returned nearly all of their best players and added a bevy of talent through the transfer portal. As a result, FSU entered the season as my No. 4 team in the country and finished with a 13-1 record while being controversially snubbed from the College Football Playoff.
As we enter the 12-team playoff era, the Rebels shouldn’t just be seen as a contender to simply make the College Football Playoff. They should be seen as one of the top contenders to win the whole thing.
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