Can Ole Miss Claim Double-Digit Wins in 2024? Here's Why a Playoff Run is Possible

The college football world is entering one of the quietest stretches of the calendar year: summer. How do we fill the void? By giving predictions about the season to come.

That is a particularly interesting exercise where this year's Ole Miss Rebels are concerned. Injuries and mishaps can derail any promising campaign, but if the team that coach Lane Kiffin fields in the season opener is able to perform at its expected level, special things are possible in Oxford in Year 5 of his leadership.

The Rebels finished last year 11-2 with a win in a New Year's Six bowl over Penn State. With the College Football Playoff set to expand to a 12-team format this season, the offseason expectation around this Ole Miss team is that is should be able to break into that field, especially given the momentum it established last season.

Ole Miss returns a good deal of talent from a year ago (quarterback Jaxson Dart, for instance) and made a massive haul in the offseason transfer portal market (hello, Walter Nolen), but can the Rebels turn this dream into a reality?

Ole Miss On SI will give its season predictions for the Rebels closer to kickoff, but some outlets are already providing some expectations for the season. Take College Football News, for instance.

Here's what they had to say about the Rebels recently.

"If last year’s team could get to 11 wins - 10-2 in the regular season - this one should be able to do the same with a stronger bunch playing a potentially easier schedule. Yeah, the expanded College Football Playoff is the goal, and anything less will be a massive disappointment....It’ll take a few massive biffs and something amazing from an underdog for the Rebels to not be at least 5-1 - more like 6-0 - going into the road game at LSU."

This was part of a large preview given on Ole Miss, and the publication set the Rebels' over/under win total at 9.5, consistent with that of Vegas. What followed, however, should be most telling to fans in The Grove.

The story broke down likely wins, "50/50 games" and likely losses. The wins were simple: Ole Miss is expected to handle business against the likes of Furman, Georgia Southern, Middle Tennessee and Wake Forest.

The toss-up category featured the entirety of Ole Miss' conference schedule because, well, it's the SEC. Teams are good in this league, and rarely is a win guaranteed within its confines.

The final category, however, was blank. That is an unfamiliar place for the Rebels to be, historically. Typically, games against teams like Alabama, Georgia and others are in that "guaranteed loss" slot, but since Ole Miss doesn't face the Tide and hosts the Bulldogs at home, the schedule sets up more favorably.

Of course, this is an exercise in opinion. When the ball is dropped, anything can happen in the SEC, but if we're talking expectations (and we are), then Ole Miss has reason for some high hopes this fall.

The season that begins on Aug. 31 in Oxford will tell the full story, but for now, we simply analyze and discuss. That's what summer is for.