5 Reasons to Believe Ole Miss Can Exceed Expectations This Season

Ole Miss football will have a target on its back this year.

Every SEC team will be chasing the Rebels, who finished first in the conference last year. Ole Miss will face a very tough schedule this year, and it will be a test for head coach Pete Golding in his first full year.

The media expects Ole Miss to regress and finish 9-3. But this Rebels team has the experience to challenge that prediction. Here are five reasons the Rebels can exceed expectations this season.

1. Outcome of the LSU game

LSU players swarm the Ole Miss offense during a college football game between Ole Miss and LSU | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

There is no doubt that the LSU game is one of the biggest matchups in Ole Miss history. The amount of drama in this game is only building. This game is a battle for the heavyweight championship.

The Rebels want their revenge on their old coach, Lane Kiffin. Coach Golding will know how to channel that energy in order for Ole Miss to win this game.

When the Rebels win this game, they will have an unbelievable amount of momentum for the rest of the season.

This matchup is getting as much attention from the media as a national championship game. If Ole Miss wins this battle they will have the confidence to walk into any stadium knowing they can win.

2. Trinidad thrives in hostile environments

Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss celebrates his touchdown against the Georgia Bulldogs | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A lot of the media is assuming that Ole Miss will lose to Texas in Austin.

Texas is thought of as way too good a home team to lose to the Rebels. Well, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has already proved he is not afraid of a road game in the SEC.

Last year, he went into Athens and Norman and balled out. In Georgia, he had over 300 yards total with three touchdowns. He silenced 90,000 Bulldog fans. The game ended up being a loss for Ole Miss, but Chambliss did everything right in a really tough environment.

A week later after that tough loss, he was against a homecoming crowd of 83,000 yelling “boomer sooner”. He threw 315 yards and one touchdown and helped Ole Miss beat Oklahoma.

Chambliss knows how to silence a crowd and will make Austin quieter than a library in week eight. The Rebels will win this game and surprise everybody.

3. A strong depth chart

Michigan State's Makhi Frazier runs for a gain against Penn State during the first quarter | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It seems one point of emphasis in the Rebels' transfer portal was to add depth.

Ole Miss added a lot of players who may not be starters but will still have big impacts in their games.

For example, the Rebels have added a lot to the defensive line. The starters on the line will likely be Will Echoles, Kam Franklin, Suntarine Perkins, and Michai Boireau. This is a very solid defensive line, but they obviously can’t play the whole game.

Luckily for the Rebels, they got transfers like Jonathan Maldonado and Jordan Renaud to rotate in the game to keep the Rebel starters fresh.

Golding also added running back Makhi Frazier to take some of the load off star running back Kewan Lacy and keep his legs fresh.

Not only will these depth players perform well for the Rebels, but they will allow Ole Miss starters to make a huge impact late in games because they will be closer to 100%.

4. Huge games will be in the Vaught

Though Ole Miss has shown they can thrive in a hostile environment, it is still a lot easier for the Rebels to play at their best in front of their fans.

Luckily, two of their biggest games are at home. In week three, the Vaught-Hemingway crowd will likely break the sound barrier when LSU comes to town.

60,000-plus fans will create a very hostile environment for the Tigers and will be a big reason Ole Miss wins that game.

Those 60,000 Rebel fans will come in play again for the second biggest home game for the Rebels. Ole Miss Kicker Lucas Carneiro shared that “last year's Sugar Bowl against Georgia was like playing in a home game.”

Rebel fans played a huge part in that game and will once again be a big reason why Ole Miss will win this Week 11 matchup against the Bulldogs.

5. Playoff Experience

Ole Miss players comfort each other after losing the CFP Fiesta Bowl against Miami | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

After a successful regular season, the Rebels will find themselves in the playoffs for the second straight year.

Last seasons playoff experience will help this year's postseason run immensely. The Rebels know how to win big playoff games. They can also look at last year's loss against Miami and learn from their mistakes to reach the national championship game.

Ole Miss is riding with a lot of momentum. As per usual, the media is not putting a whole lot of faith in the Rebels to make it very far, but they have the coaches and the players to exceed college football's expectations and make it to the national championship.

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