Latest news with #Kiffin
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Lane Kiffin's College Football Playoff plan sounds tempting
Kiffin's playoff plan looks like this: Sixteen teams. Four rounds. No automatic bids. Every team must earn at-large selection. The selection process would involve analytics, combined with a human element. This wasn't my first time hearing Kiffin's idea. He ran this plan past me when we spoke in March. At the time, I didn't love Kiffin's idea. I detect no irreparable flaw with the current 12-team playoff. I didn't hate his idea, though. And I'm starting to like it more. In the months since Kiffin first floated his idea, the possibility a 16-team playoff beginning as soon as 2026 has gained steam across conferences. While the future format continues to be debated, it's clear that expansion is likely coming, in some shape and form. I'm beginning to relinquish my grip on the 12-team playoff and accept the reality of a 16-team future. As I listened to SEC muckety-mucks debate the merits of the leading 16-team ideas at the conference's spring meetings here this week, it struck me that maybe Kiffin's proposal remains the best 16-team proposal. CFP DEBATE: How SECs Greg Sankey has chance to be hero instead of villain FRIENDLY FOES?: LSU's Brian Kelly issues schedule challenge to Big Ten Kiffin's idea certainly trumps the 4+4+2+2+1 model the Big Ten favors. That rigged math equation would preassign four auto-bids to the Big Ten, plus four more to the SEC, two to the Big 12, two to the ACC, one to the top remaining conference champion, and then leave three at-large bids. This crock of a plan would reward preseason conference prestige as much as in-season results. No thanks. Someone, please shove this Big Ten brainchild into the woodchipper, and scatter the ashes on the surface of the sun. Kiffin's plan more closely resembles the 5+11 model that the Big 12 publicly supports. The ACC also reportedly favors a 5+11 system, and some SEC coaches took a shine to the idea this week, even while SEC athletic directors collectively seem more interested in the auto-bid plan favored by the Big Ten. In the 5+11 model, the top five conference champions would secure bids, leaving 11 at-large bids. That model would produce brackets that likely would resemble Kiffin's plan, but the Ole Miss coach prefers no auto-bids. So, let's play out his idea with a look in the rearview mirror. Here's how the bracket would have looked in Kiffin's model last season, using the final CFP rankings as the guide for determining the 16 qualifiers. No. 16 Clemson at No. 1 Oregon Critics of a 16-team playoff say there aren't 16 teams deserving of playoff and that too many first-round games would be duds. But, here we have the Big Ten champion against the ACC champion. Dan Lanning vs. Dabo Swinney. This would have been appointment viewing, not a dud. No. 15 South Carolina at No. 2 Georgia SEC expansion and the elimination of divisions took the Georgia-South Carolina rivalry off the schedule in 2024. Could a red-hot Gamecocks team have upset a Georgia squad starting Gunnar Stockton? It's plausible. No. 14 Ole Miss at No. 3 Texas Conferences are so big now that teams don't play half the other teams in their own league. Here we have another matchup of two SEC teams that didn't play in the regular season. The Jekyll-and-Hyde Rebels whipped Georgia but lost to Kentucky. If the good version of Ole Miss showed its face, this game could have been a doozy. No. 13 Miami at No. 4 Penn State Are you liking these matchups yet? How about this one, pitting Cam Ward against Penn State's stout defense. In the playoff that actually happened, Penn State waltzed to the semifinals by beating SMU and Boise State. This billing with Miami would have been a better matchup. No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Notre Dame In the playoff, the Sun Devils gave Texas all it could handle in an overtime loss in the playoff quarterfinals. In this revised bracket, Cam Skattebo would have tested the strength of Notre Dame's defense. Chalk this up as another game I would've enjoyed seeing. No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Ohio State Holy, moly. What a dream matchup of two college football monsters. Ohio State proved throughout the postseason it was the nation's best team. If Alabama couldn't score a touchdown against Oklahoma, I don't see how it could have solved Ohio State's defense. The game probably wouldn't have lived up to the hype. No. 10 SMU at No. 7 Tennessee The Vols looked pitiful in a playoff loss at Ohio State, but this draw at Neyland Stadium probably would have produced a much different fate. The committee flubbed by awarding SMU a playoff spot. Ten-win Brigham Young, which beat SMU during the regular season, possessed better credentials, but I digress. Alas, we'll live with the committee's choice and figure SMU-Tennessee at least wouldn't have been any worse than what we saw in the playoff with SMU-Penn State or Tennessee-Ohio State. No. 9 Boise State at No. 8 Indiana I detect upset potential. Indiana built its playoff case by consistently beating bad or mediocre teams. That's not nothing, but Boise State showed in a 37-34 loss at Oregon in September it's up for a challenge. This matchup featuring Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty would have pitted an O.G. Cinderella, Boise State, against the 2024 slipper-wearing Hoosiers. No perfect College Football Playoff plan The Kiffin plan and the 5+11 model would have produced the same qualifiers last season. In the 5+11 construct, auto bids would have gone to Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Arizona State and Clemson. Once I assigned teams to Kiffin's idea and saw the matchups, I liked his plan more. I daresay these first-round matchups, on the whole, would have been better in quality than those served up in last season's 12-team playoff. "There's still flaws in every system," Kiffin said, "but the best system should be 16, and it should be the 16 best" teams. "Get rid of automatics, and figure out a system to get the best 16 teams in." Doesn't sound half bad. The man with the tan cooked up a worthy plan. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Lane Kiffin has 16-team College Football Playoff model. It sounds better by minute
Lane Kiffin has 16-team College Football Playoff model. It sounds better by minute Show Caption Hide Caption Kirby Smart on college football's future Kirby Smart urges leaders to prioritize the game's future over personal or conference agendas in playoff talks. MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – The man with the tan came with a plan. Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin, his skin so bronzed he looked as if he just came off the sunny beach here, entered his session with reporters on Tuesday ready to pitch his idea for a 16-team College Football Playoff. Kiffin's playoff plan looks like this: Sixteen teams. Four rounds. No automatic bids. Every team must earn at-large selection. The selection process would involve analytics, combined with a human element. This wasn't my first time hearing Kiffin's idea. He ran this plan past me when we spoke in March. At the time, I didn't love Kiffin's idea. I detect no irreparable flaw with the current 12-team playoff. I didn't hate his idea, though. And I'm starting to like it more. In the months since Kiffin first floated his idea, the possibility a 16-team playoff beginning as soon as 2026 has gained steam across conferences. While the future format continues to be debated, it's clear that expansion is likely coming, in some shape and form. I'm beginning to relinquish my grip on the 12-team playoff and accept the reality of a 16-team future. As I listened to SEC muckety-mucks debate the merits of the leading 16-team ideas at the conference's spring meetings here this week, it struck me that maybe Kiffin's proposal remains the best 16-team proposal. CFP DEBATE: How SECs Greg Sankey has chance to be hero instead of villain FRIENDLY FOES?: LSU's Brian Kelly issues schedule challenge to Big Ten Kiffin's idea certainly trumps the 4+4+2+2+1 model the Big Ten favors. That rigged math equation would preassign four auto-bids to the Big Ten, plus four more to the SEC, two to the Big 12, two to the ACC, one to the top remaining conference champion, and then leave three at-large bids. This crock of a plan would reward preseason conference prestige as much as in-season results. No thanks. Someone, please shove this Big Ten brainchild into the woodchipper, and scatter the ashes on the surface of the sun. Kiffin's plan more closely resembles the 5+11 model that the Big 12 publicly supports. The ACC also reportedly favors a 5+11 system, and some SEC coaches took a shine to the idea this week, even while SEC athletic directors collectively seem more interested in the auto-bid plan favored by the Big Ten. In the 5+11 model, the top five conference champions would secure bids, leaving 11 at-large bids. That model would produce brackets that likely would resemble Kiffin's plan, but the Ole Miss coach prefers no auto-bids. So, let's play out his idea with a look in the rearview mirror. Here's how the bracket would have looked in Kiffin's model last season, using the final CFP rankings as the guide for determining the 16 qualifiers. No. 16 Clemson at No. 1 Oregon Critics of a 16-team playoff say there aren't 16 teams deserving of playoff and that too many first-round games would be duds. But, here we have the Big Ten champion against the ACC champion. Dan Lanning vs. Dabo Swinney. This would have been appointment viewing, not a dud. No. 15 South Carolina at No. 2 Georgia SEC expansion and the elimination of divisions took the Georgia-South Carolina rivalry off the schedule in 2024. Could a red-hot Gamecocks team have upset a Georgia squad starting Gunnar Stockton? It's plausible. No. 14 Ole Miss at No. 3 Texas Conferences are so big now that teams don't play half the other teams in their own league. Here we have another matchup of two SEC teams that didn't play in the regular season. The Jekyll-and-Hyde Rebels whipped Georgia but lost to Kentucky. If the good version of Ole Miss showed its face, this game could have been a doozy. No. 13 Miami at No. 4 Penn State Are you liking these matchups yet? How about this one, pitting Cam Ward against Penn State's stout defense. In the playoff that actually happened, Penn State waltzed to the semifinals by beating SMU and Boise State. This billing with Miami would have been a better matchup. No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Notre Dame In the playoff, the Sun Devils gave Texas all it could handle in an overtime loss in the playoff quarterfinals. In this revised bracket, Cam Skattebo would have tested the strength of Notre Dame's defense. Chalk this up as another game I would've enjoyed seeing. No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Ohio State Holy, moly. What a dream matchup of two college football monsters. Ohio State proved throughout the postseason it was the nation's best team. If Alabama couldn't score a touchdown against Oklahoma, I don't see how it could have solved Ohio State's defense. The game probably wouldn't have lived up to the hype. No. 10 SMU at No. 7 Tennessee The Vols looked pitiful in a playoff loss at Ohio State, but this draw at Neyland Stadium probably would have produced a much different fate. The committee flubbed by awarding SMU a playoff spot. Ten-win Brigham Young, which beat SMU during the regular season, possessed better credentials, but I digress. Alas, we'll live with the committee's choice and figure SMU-Tennessee at least wouldn't have been any worse than what we saw in the playoff with SMU-Penn State or Tennessee-Ohio State. No. 9 Boise State at No. 8 Indiana I detect upset potential. Indiana built its playoff case by consistently beating bad or mediocre teams. That's not nothing, but Boise State showed in a 37-34 loss at Oregon in September it's up for a challenge. This matchup featuring Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty would have pitted an O.G. Cinderella, Boise State, against the 2024 slipper-wearing Hoosiers. No perfect College Football Playoff plan The Kiffin plan and the 5+11 model would have produced the same qualifiers last season. In the 5+11 construct, auto bids would have gone to Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Arizona State and Clemson. Once I assigned teams to Kiffin's idea and saw the matchups, I liked his plan more. I daresay these first-round matchups, on the whole, would have been better in quality than those served up in last season's 12-team playoff. 'There's still flaws in every system,' Kiffin said, 'but the best system should be 16, and it should be the 16 best' teams. 'Get rid of automatics, and figure out a system to get the best 16 teams in.' Doesn't sound half bad. The man with the tan cooked up a worthy plan. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin on 'College Football 26' deluxe cover
OXFORD — Ole Miss football has some representation on the deluxe edition cover of EA Sports "College Football 26" video game. Coach Lane Kiffin is in the crowd of people featured on the deluxe edition cover revealed on May 27. This edition represents many teams on the cover with a crowd shot of coaches, athletes and mascots. Kiffin is on the third row in front of Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon Duck. Kiffin is by Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham and Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs. Georgia coach Kirby Smart also made the cover. Advertisement There is also a standard cover that features Alabama receiver Ryan Williams and Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith. "College Football 26" is scheduled to be released on July 10. Kiffin's inclusion is a nod to what Ole Miss has accomplished in his tenure. Kiffin has been at Ole Miss since 2020 and has led the Rebels to 10 wins in three of the four full-length seasons he's been the coach. OLE MISS: Lane Kiffin, Chris Beard, Ole Miss athletes participating in celebrity softball game The Rebels finished 10-3 in 2024 with a 52-20 Gator Bowl victory over Duke. The Rebels have made a bowl game in each of the five seasons under Kiffin. Advertisement Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@ or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_ This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin on 'College Football 26' deluxe cover
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Inside Lane Kiffin's pursuit of peace at Ole Miss after year that cut him deep
Lane Kiffin calls me back on a Saturday afternoon. He wants to chat about rocking chairs. Kiffin has been thinking since we last spoke 12 days previously. Among the topics on his mind: rocking chairs. They're a symbol for the evolution he sees in his life. Advertisement In Kiffin's five years coaching Mississippi football, he's changed his views on these quintessential furniture pieces that populate Southern verandas and living rooms. When Kiffin arrived in charming and cozy Oxford, he considered the idea of rocking in place maddening. Like, why would someone sit and do nothing but rock back and forth? 'That seems miserable and a waste of time,' Kiffin remembers thinking, 'sitting in a rocking chair and just having a conversation with somebody and watching people drive by.' Kiffin, 49, spent much of his career speeding toward what's next. Next opponent, next job, next big move. Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin reacts near the end of his team's game against Georgia at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kiffin says his years coaching Ole Miss have changed him – that he needed this place more than it needed him, that he needed to slow down, recalibrate, find some peace and relish the moment. Advertisement He credits former girlfriend Sally Rychlak, with whom he enjoyed a four-year relationship that ended last fall, for teaching him the ways of Mississippi and how to be more caring and engaged with fans he encountered. The outpouring of remembrances after his dad, Monte, died last summer showed Kiffin that a man is remembered more for the lives he affects than his win-loss record. Kiffin absorbs all of this as he continues the evolution of 'becoming the higher version of myself.' Kiffin is a former hotshot wunderkind, turned Tennessee renegade, turned fired coach in need of a Nick Saban life raft. At Ole Miss, he found sobriety, improved his diet and prioritized his health and wellness. He also attained a professional peak, notching 21 wins the past two seasons after he eschewed Auburn and stayed at Ole Miss. Advertisement Oh, and he got some rocking chairs, too. Two rockers reside on his Ole Miss office balcony. Kiffin and his son, Knox, rocked for a spell in the sunshine on a recent Friday. 'People slow down, and they have an appreciation for what they have, instead of always chasing,' Kiffin says. 'That has really hit me of where you can find some peace. You can find some rhythm and some peace.' Peace, though, does not always exist uninterrupted. Lane Kiffin's highs of 2023, followed by painful 2024 Kiffin counts 2023 'one of the best years in my life,' personally and professionally. He won a career-high 11 games, and Ole Miss attained its best season since 1962. His family life was going strong, and he was in 'a wonderful relationship' with Rychlak. Advertisement As the calendar rolled to 2024, the hype for Ole Miss cooked to a boil after Kiffin meticulously assembled his best roster. He had a proven quarterback, skilled wide receivers and the best defense the Rebels had seen in many years. Could Ole Miss qualify for the College Football Playoff? Contend for a national championship, even? All of it was on the table – until it wasn't. Throughout a painful year, Kiffin experienced personal loss, plus one too many football defeats to qualify for the playoff. 'This last (year),' Kiffin said, 'was really maybe the worst.' In July, Kiffin's dad – his hero – died. In September, he and Rychlak decided to end their relationship. In November, Ole Miss suffered a third loss by one score, a result that revoked the Rebels' playoff spot. Advertisement 'They say things come in threes,' Kiffin mused. By missing the playoff, Kiffin said, he felt like he 'let down the whole city.' I asked Kiffin how long it took him to get over last season. He corrected me. 'I wouldn't say I fully am (over it),' Kiffin said. Kiffin views life as a journey through various seasons. He describes 2024 as a harsh, bitter winter. Seasons come and go. A temperate spring can follow a ruthless winter. 'I remind myself it'll be OK,' Kiffin said. 'It will pass.' Once upon a time, Kiffin desired a statue. Something like the ones outside Bryant-Denny Stadium that honor Alabama's five coaches who have won national championships. Advertisement 'I wouldn't have said that publicly,' Kiffin said, 'but it was like, 'I want to win enough where they build a statue of you. … That means you made it in life.' 'Now, I just want to be a really good neighbor, dad, brother, co-worker, boss. I look at life completely different.' That begs the question, can this version of Kiffin – the dad who dances in TikTok videos with his daughters, the mentoring boss, the coach who plays pickleball with his players, the guy who tells himself to slow down and embrace the moment and sit in rocking chairs – accelerate his career to unattained heights? 'You know,' Kiffin said, 'what's to say you can't do both?' Advertisement Anyway, he says there's no turning back. He's come too far. Monte Kiffin's legacy inspires Lane Kiffin Kiffin tells good stories, and he's got some doozies about his dad, but the words at first refused to come as he stood at the mic last July. Kiffin exhaled a deep breath, tapped his fingers on the lectern, cleared his throat, bowed his head and wiped each eye. After a minute, he collected himself, ready to speak about his hero. Kiffin started his eulogy by rattling off the 16 moves Monte made, many with the family in tow, throughout a legendary career coaching in college and the NFL. 'I remember thinking, why are we moving again?' Kiffin said at his dad's celebration of life. 'Why do I have to change friends again, and my mom has to pack?' Advertisement After Monte died, Kiffin received calls, texts and letters from people tucked into every corner who wanted to share stories about his dad's positive effect on their life. He heard from a guy who met his dad at a gas station. Monte chatted with the fella like he'd known him for years. One of Kiffin's former Little League teammates – Monte coached the team – wrote that Monte was 'a special kind of person' who 'brought out the best of people,' including the Little League player who struggled to put bat to ball. Kiffin arrived at a realization. 'We moved,' Kiffin said at the celebration of life, 'so that this man could impact people not in one town or one city, but 16 different ones.' Kiffin subscribes to the belief that you must choose between the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Monte preached and practiced discipline. As part of his routine, he'd buy a gas station doughnut, take one bite, and throw the rest away – his way of showing discipline, instead of experiencing the caloric regret of eating the full doughnut. Advertisement Kiffin lost his dad and a valued co-worker when Monte died. In 11 of Kiffin's first 12 seasons as a head coach, his dad worked as either an assistant coach, or, later, in an off-field analyst or player personnel role. 'All of a sudden, (before the 2024) season, he's just gone,' Kiffin said, 'and there's his office that I walk by.' That office remains filled with Monte's things. Monte Kiffin saw son attain 'emotional sobriety' As Texas coach Steve Sarkisian put it, Monte 'cared for all of those that nobody cared about.' 'That was him,' Kiffin agrees. Is Kiffin that man? Kiffin is smart and witty and sarcastic. In a profession filled with boring people, he's a breath of something interesting. But, he'd struggle in a Mr. Congeniality contest. He can be aloof. Advertisement Kiffin admits he can't be his dad, but, he can aspire to be the best version of himself – and he's grateful his dad lived long enough to see him succeed in those aspirations and achieve 'emotional sobriety,' as Kiffin puts it. 'If I wouldn't have changed, he wouldn't have seen that higher version of myself,' Kiffin said. 'He would have seen me doing well (as a coach), but not being the best that I could be, the best version, and he would say that often. He would say, … 'I'm so proud of you.'' Monte, his son says, would appreciate seeing the family together and thriving. Kiffin's brother, Chris, is a defensive analyst on his staff. Their backyards butt against each other, creating a space for cousins to play. Landry, Kiffin's oldest daughter, is an Ole Miss sophomore. Kiffin credits Landry's urging him to stay at Ole Miss as a reason why he's coaching the Rebels and not Auburn. Middle child Presley will play volleyball for Southern California. Kiffin's son, Knox, lived with his mom, Layla, in California, but Knox and Layla will move to Oxford this summer. Advertisement Kiffin and Layla were once college football's 'it' couple. They divorced in 2016. Tabloids have speculated about Kiffin and Layla possibly being back together. Kiffin shares these tabloid articles on social media, but, when asked about this subject, Kiffin declines to elaborate. He'll say plenty, though, about his family life at Ole Miss. 'That helps me, that they're here, that my family is here now,' Kiffin said, 'and then Chris being here with his four kids. That helps a lot.' Lane Kiffin on growing his Ole Miss appreciation If you fed Kiffin truth serum several years ago, he probably wouldn't have spoken so fondly about being at Ole Miss. He'd coached in the NFL and at Tennessee. He'd worked for Saban. He'd lived on each coast. Mississippi stood in contrast. Advertisement 'At first I was like, man, everybody is slow,' Kiffin said. 'It's like, can we just get through this conversation? Get to the point? And, I was very frustrated.' Rychlak helped Kiffin see the light. Maybe, the problem wasn't them. 'She said, 'You're looking at this all wrong.' Why don't you look at this as, 'That's a little thing for you, and a big thing for them when you stop and take some time with them?'' Kiffin said. She told him, is it so bad to coach where fans care more about college football than they do in Los Angeles or Boca Raton? Also, who says big cities are right about the pace at which life should operate? Advertisement The penny dropped for Kiffin. 'They are slowing down,' Kiffin said, 'because they are present in their relationships … versus everybody going so fast, moving around.' Kiffin's success is undeniable. He's Mississippi's best coach since Johnny Vaught. But, has he hit his ceiling there? 'I would say: Maybe,' Kiffin said. If this answer surprises you, consider the source. Kiffin prides himself in avoiding coach-speak. He's not saying he's at his ceiling. He's not saying he's not. He's saying he doesn't know. The Rebels went 4-0 in one-score games in 2023. Last year, they lost one-score games to LSU, Kentucky and Florida by 13 combined points. Advertisement Kiffin's latest roster seems built for another winning season, but the talent doesn't appear to match what he had last season. Maybe. Now, Kiffin wants to tell me the parable of the Chinese farmer. The gist is this: The farmer keeps answering 'maybe' when told about a series of circumstances that most people would judge to be definitively good or bad. The moral of the story is to reserve judgment on whether something is good or bad. Time will tell. Let it play out. That parable would be well told from a rocking chair, while the storyteller takes his time with the tale and enjoys some peace. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ Follow him on X @btoppmeyer. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lane Kiffin pursues Ole Miss football peace after tough season
Miami Herald
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Ole Miss Football Preview 2025: Can Lane Kiffin's Rebuilding Rebels Make the College Football Playoff?
Seriously, how good is Lane Kiffin?I went in detail in last year's Ole Miss Preview about how everyone thinks the Rebel program is a historical powerhouse, but it's actually been totally meh over its 119 years of existence with just 64 winning seasons, coming up with ten wins or more ten has three of those ten-win seasons in his five years with the program, and they all came in the last four years. And there but for an odd home loss to Kentucky, or the gajillion interception game from Jaxson Dart in the loss to Florida, and Kiffin's Rebels would've been in the College Football Playoff. How good was last season's team? Two of the three losses were by three points, and the other by seven. Ole Miss rolled by Georgia, stuffed South Carolina, and now it'll be something Ole Miss and it's Lane Kiffin, so the transfer portal once again beefed up the talent, but the star power isn't coming in like normal, and most notably, there wasn't a high-profile talent level isn't quite the same as it was over the last few seasons, but the schedule is about as favorable as it gets for an SEC team, and Kiffin is still in College Football Playoff or bust. Kiffin is due to take the program up another notch. Ole Miss Rebels Preview 2025: Offense X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- To keep harping on the same theme, a Lane Kiffin offense is going to be good. It'll go really fast, it'll keep defenses on their toes, and there will be times when it can't be stopped. It might not be as good as the one that finished second in the nation last season, and there are a whole lot of new starters, but it'll produce.- Is Austin Simmons ready to be the main man? The Ole Miss quarterback is a statistical-superstar position, and without and big-time transfers coming in, the mobile 6-4, 215-pounder has to be an instant star - more on him in a moment. - Simmons has a new receiving corps to work with. Cayden Lee was second on the team in receptions, and Dae'Quan Wright should shine as the main tight end, but the top five other options are new. It's a portal-heavy bunch with De'Zhaun Stribling coming in from Oklahoma State along with Harrison Wallace, a dangerous threat from Penn State.- The offensive line is filing in the parts. The depth is really young and really new, but the starting five should be okay around center Brycen Saunders and tackle Jayden Williams. Patrick Kutas (Arkansas) was one of the star gets through the portal - he can play inside or out, and Delano Townsend (UAB) should settle in at one of the guard running backs are thin on experience. Logan Diggs got one carry last year, Dominique Thomas was fifth on the team in rushing, and Kewan Lacy got in a little work last year at Missouri. Ole Miss Rebels Preview 2025: Defense - The offense gets all the attention, but the Ole Miss defense was No. 1 in the nation in sacks and tackles for loss, and 14th in total D. Unfortunately, almost all the stars are gone to the next level including tackles Walter Nolen (Arizona) and JJ Pegues (Las Vegas), linebacker Chris Paul (LA Rams), and corner Trey Amos (Washington). However, the defense has more key returning parts than the offense.- The line can't replace Nolen and Pegues, but 6-7, 320-pound Zxavian Harris is a big body on the inside, and the portal brought in the pass rushing prospects in Princewell Umanmielen (Nebraska) and Da'Shawn Womack (LSU). The problem is that the ends haven't blown up yet - they're more prospects than proven. - The linebacking corps has the star power. Suntarine Perkins and TJ Dottery might not be big, but they can move. The 210-pound Perkins led the team with 14 tackles for loss, and Dottery was second on the Rebels with 76 stops.- The secondary is undergoing one of the team's biggest overhauls. It's all about the four transfers - corners Ricky Fletcher (South Alabama) and Jaylon Braxton (Arkansas), and safeties Sage Ryan (LSU) and Kapena Gushiken (Washington State) to be terrific right away. Basically, the new guys had better work. Ole Miss Rebels Key to the Season Always score in the red a slight issue with the speedy style of Ole Miss. Inside the 20, the hurry-up factor gets negated. The Rebels scored 5-of-14 times in the red zone in the three losses, and 44-of-47 in the ten Miss had a missed field goal against Kentucky - it lost by three. It went 3-of-6 scoring in the red zone against LSU - and lost by three. And then there was the Florida debacle, coming away empty in all three trips inside the 20. Ole Miss Rebels Key Player Austin Simmons, QB transfer portal quarterbacks have rolled into Oxford under Lane Kiffin. There were a few in this round, but they're backups to the home grown guy. Simmons has to replace New York Giants savior Jaxson Dart, who replaced statistical star Matt Corral. Before the Kiffin era is was Jordan Ta'amu and Shea Patterson. Simmons has the upside to be as good as any of them, but it has to be now. Ole Miss Rebels Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss Top Transfer In: Patrick Kutas, OG Rebels needed guards, and they might have grabbed the best in the transfer portal. The 6-5, 315-pounder from Arkansas has tackle size, and he can move - making him the ideal guard for the Rebel Transfer Out: Micah Pettus, OT Ole Miss line should be okay, but it would've been really, really nice if the 6-7, 350-pounder was still around as an option for one of the tackle gigs. Instead he's blocking at Florida State now. Ole Miss Rebels Key Game at Georgia, Oct. 18Everything else is manageable. However, even with a favorable slate, it's asking a lot to beat Georgia two years in a row, and this one's in Athens. Win, and ten wins could be a must. Lose, and the date at Oklahoma the following week becomes more interesting.- 2025 Ole Miss Rebels Schedule Breakdown Ole Miss Rebels Top 10 Players 1. Suntarine Perkins, LB Jr.2. TJ Dottery, LB Jr.3. Austin Simmons, QB Soph.4. De'Zhaun Stribling, WR Sr.5. Princewill Umanmielen, EDGE Jr.6. Logan Diggs, RB Sr.7. Jayden Williams, OT Sr.8. Patrick Kutas, OG Jr.9. Sage Ryan, S Sr.10. Harrison Wallace, WR Sr. Ole Miss Rebels 2024 Fun Stats - 1st Quarter Scoring: Ole Miss 147, Opponents 37- Sacks: Ole Miss 52 for 340 yards, Opponents 29 for 167 yards- Average Yards Per Play: Ole Miss 7.3, Opponents 4.5 Ole Miss Rebels 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen The team isn't as good as the 2024 version, but the final result might be one problem is the timing. It would've been great if the Rebels had a few more warm-up games - like, play The Citadel in early September instead of November - because the SEC opener at Kentucky is in Week 2. Everything has to be rocking right the SEC so the Any Given Saturday cliché thing applies, but there's no Alabama or Texas to deal with. There's no Auburn, Missouri, Tennessee, or Texas A&M, either. The road game at Georgia is a problem, the date at Oklahoma is a big deal, and everything else to worry about - LSU, South Carolina, Florida - is in Oxford. If the starting 22 is ready, and there aren't any major injury issues, this is a ten-win schedule. But there will be a misfire - like Kentucky and Florida last year - to be just enough to keep the Rebels out of the playoff The Ole Miss Rebels Win Total At … 9Likely Wins: Citadel, Georgia State, Tulane, Washington State50/50 Games: Arkansas, Florida, at Kentucky, LSU, at Mississippi State, at Oklahoma, South CarolinaLikely Losses: at Georgia © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
