Ranking the Ten Games on the Ole Miss Schedule by Difficulty
Ole Miss finally has their 2020 schedule set.
The Southeastern Conference announced on Friday evening the two addition teams from the SEC East that Ole Miss will be playing in 2020 under their 10-game format. Ole Miss will now be playing additional games at Kentucky and home for South Carolina in addition to their prior determined conference slate.
It's not the toughest possible draw the Rebels could have gotten. For that one would look at Missouri, who added games against LSU and Alabama. Regardless, Ole Miss already had a relatively difficult slate, drawing Florida from the East before.
We don't have to break down the Rebel games quite yet, but here's a quick look at how they shape up in order of difficulty:
**for reference in these rankings, Ole Miss is preseason No. 37 by SP+ and No. 38 by FPI.**
10. at Vanderbilt
3-9 in 2019; SP+ Preseason Rank: 101; FPI Preseason Rank: 100
It's nearly a miracle that Derek Mason returned for his seventh season in Nashville after his second one-win SEC season in three years. In six years at Vanderbilt, he's never won more than 3 SEC games and three times failed to pick up even a second win. Mason may have an upgrade at quarterback with highly touted freshman Ken Seals, but it's not even a guarantee he'll win the job.
9. at Arkansas
2-10 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 76; FPI Rank: 59
Like Ole Miss and the No. 7 team on this list, Arkansas is working with a new head coach in 2020. Chad Morris was fired after going winless in the SEC; Arkansas replaced him with an offensive line coach, Sam Pittman from Georgia. Pittman has a hell of an uphill battle for him at Arkansas, but Pittman and OC Kendal Briles actually have a relatively intriguing quarterback option in Florida transfer Feleipe Franks.
8. South Carolina
4-8 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 35; FPI Rank: 39
The first of the two new additions to the Ole Miss slate comes in at eight. Like Mason at No. 10, Will Muschamp is going to need to step things up in 2020 or he could easily find himself out of work. There's clearly a jump in competency when you go from Vandy and Arkansas to USC, but this might be the most intriguing game on the Rebel schedule just for balance sake. Ole Miss and USC rank No. 37 and No. 35 respectively in SP+ and then No. 38 and No. 39 respectively by FPI.
7. Mississippi State
6-7 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 43; FPI Rank: 72
Preseason ranking numbers for the Bulldogs might not really come close to that of South Carolina, but it's the Egg Bowl. To satirically steal an overused commercial phrasing, 'it just means more.' Depending on where this game lands on the schedule, it might be easier or more difficult for the Rebels, simply because it's proven that learning the Mike Leach offense can take some time.
6. at Kentucky
8-5 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 28; FPI Rank: 33
It might sound strange, but the Kentucky Wildcats are kind of good at football. The Wildcats very well may have the best offensive line in the conference. Mark Stoops has built this Kentucky team through the trenches, a strategy that's led them to four-straight bowl appearances and 18 wins over the past two seasons.
5. at Texas A&M
8-5 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 10; FPI Rank: 15
If Jimbo Fisher and Kellen Mond can't get it done this year at Kyle Field, will they ever? The combo has been wildly overwhelming since Fisher showed up in College Station in 2018, despite back to back 9-4 and 8-5 seasons. The good news for Ole Miss here is that the normal allure of playing in Kyle Field will be minimized this year. If there's any fans in the stadium, it's hard to imagine crowd noise will be a factor in 2020.
4. at LSU
15-0 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 6; FPI Rank: 6
Slotting LSU and the team at No. 3 on this list was difficult. In a normal year with a game in Death Valley, they'd move up a slot. Hell, maybe they'd come in at No. 2. But as mentioned with Texas A&M, crowd noise and home field advantage simply isn't going to be a huge factor in 2020. Obviously, the Tigers still have a ton of returning talent on both sides of the ball, but replacing Joe Burrow, Joe Brady and Dave Aranda will not be easy.
3. Auburn
9-4 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 11; FPI Rank: 9
I'm higher on the Auburn Tigers than most. A large stake in my Tiger stock comes from aa second year leap for Bo Nix, the No. 1 overall dual threat quarterback recruit in 2019 who started 13 games as a true freshman for Gus Malzahn, leading the team to a 9-4 record. Like the top two games on this list, Ole Miss will get the Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway, but will that even play a large factor?
2. Florida
11-2 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 7; FPI Rank: 12
For the final two slots on this list, we come to The Grove Report's picks for the two teams to be playing in the 2020 SEC Championship Game. The Gators, led by our prediction to be the league's All-SEC quarterback selection in Kyle Trask, will have their best shot to win the SEC since the Tim Tebow Era in 2020. Can they get over their Georgia hump? That much is to be determined, but that doesn't impact their game against Ole Miss.
1. Alabama
11-2 in 2019; SP+ Rank: 1; FPI Rank: 3
Duh. Just like with the Patriots, you pick Alabama until the run ends.
More From The Grove Report:
Is Maddox Kopp the Future of the Ole Miss QB Position?
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