Ole Miss Football: Reassessing Expectations After Loss at LSU

After getting out to an early 17-3 lead against LSU, Ole Miss Football was outscored 42-3 from that point forward.

In order to get a win on the road at Death Valley it was imperative that Ole Miss Football get off to a quick start and not allow the hostile crowd to knock them out of the contest early. However, despite opening up an early 17-3 lead, they were unable to stop the LSU offensive attack for the final three quarters and were defeated by a final score of 45-20.

Lane Kiffin and company couldn’t have asked for a better start. The Rebels needed only 1:37 to get on the board as Quinshon Judkins found the end zone from six yards out to put Ole Miss (7-1, 3-1) up 7-0. They would find the end zone again on their second drive with another Judkins score, but the offense would only muster up three points for the remainder of the contest. Despite holding the LSU offense to three points and 80 yards in the first quarter, the Rebels defense was unable to get necessary stops in the final three quarters to keep their team in it. LSU (6-2, 4-1) finished with 500 yards of offense, including 250+ on the ground in the victory.

Ole Miss Football has to Rebound Quickly

Ole Miss will have to flush this loss quickly because the next few weeks do not get any easier. The Rebels are on the road once again this week traveling to College Station to take on a struggling Texas A&M (3-4, 1-3) squad led by Jimbo Fisher. After last week this feels like a “must win” game for Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss if they’d like to avoid a disappointing finish to the season.

The offensive line and defense are going to have to be better. Against LSU the Rebels were unable to produce any of the explosive runs that have created so much success for their offense this season. Despite their struggles this season, the Aggies have a stout defense that can cause a lot of problems for opposing offenses. Ole Miss will need their explosive run game and opportunistic defense to travel to College Station in order to get back on track.

Change in Expectations?

While it was against a lackluster strength of schedule, Ole Miss started the season 7-0 and rose all the way to No. 7 in the A.P. poll before this defeat to LSU. Sitting atop the SEC West, they had found themselves in the early conversation of college football playoff contenders, and despite the blowout loss, those dreams are still on the table. If the Rebels can win out they would cement themselves back in that conversation and possibly secure a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship.

There are many question marks surrounding this team this deep into the season. We should find out a lot more about this team after their trip to College Station. If they can’t go on the road and defeat this struggling A&M squad, all of the early success will be for naught. If they can get the win, they’ll head into a much needed bye week before setting the stage for a massive game against Alabama in Oxford on Nov. 12. Then they will close with a trip to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas before heading home to face Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night.

It’s important to remember that this Ole Miss Football team has an inexperienced quarterback in Jaxson Dart and underwent a ton of roster turnover after last season. The Rebels were picked to finish 4th in the SEC West at SEC media days. This team wasn’t expected to compete for the SEC West, let alone earn a trip to the College Football Playoff.

I would argue anything better than 8-4 should be viewed as a very impressive season, especially given the amount of new faces and loss of impact players from last season’s 10-3 squad led by Matt Corral. If the Rebels can go 2-2 or better down the stretch, they should finish 2022 with tons of momentum as a program that is rising under the leadership of Lane Kiffin, and if they can find a way to get to 3-1, then they will be a popular pick to win the SEC West in 2023.