Ole Miss 2015 Preview: Great D, By Damn

Ole Miss’ 2014 was a weird one. The Rebs went to the heights of No.3 in the nation after winning their first seven games in a row, including an incredible field-invading, Katy Perry-attending, classic against Alabama. They looked solid. Bo Wallace looked ready to play. Everything was going their way. And then they walked into Tiger Stadium, LSU. There nothing went their way. They lost 10-7 that was classically bad, and then lost a home heartbreaker against Auburn 35-31, in which star WR Laquon Treadwell broke his leg and had us all reaching for the sick bucket. A 30-0 loss to Arkansas and a bowl schellacking by a pissed-off TCU – sandwiched with a gratifying 31-17 Egg Bowl victory over No.4 Mississippi State – made sure this was a season to smile about…but also think: “What if the luck had fallen for us?”

THE OFF-SEASON

Laremy Tunsil dominated the off-season, after getting arrested for domestic violence for getting in an altercation with his stepdad. Truly a horrible situation, Tunsil’s been accused of taking bribes by agents, coaches, and anyone but Wall Street bankers (actually, maybe them too!) to play at Ole Miss, but no-one actually knows what the hell is going on. It’s all pretty sad. The case was dismissed in early August, but it put a cloud over Hugh Freeze and the program. Mind you, the accusations of people taking money in the SEC aren’t exactly revelations, are they? The NCAA is still investigating.

Safety Trae Elston and WR Damore’ea Stringfellow were arrested for disorderly in January, with Elston charged with resisting arrest. Idiots. But it’s hardly the domestic violence charges that have haunted Alabama and LSU this season, is it?

Otherwise, Bo Wallace graduated, which is going to take a bit of fun out of Ole Miss’ offense this year, but recruiting went well, with four-star offensive linesman Javon Patterson, receivers DeMarkus Lodge and Van Jefferson and Juco DT DJ. ones providing the main highlights.

Anyway…

WE LOVE YOU, ROBERT NKEMDICHE AND THE DEFENSE

Seriously, we do. DT Robert Nkemdiche is absolutely filthy, and going to the NFL’s first round in 2016. If he chooses to leave. His stats of 27 tackles and 2 sacks would have been a lot more had he not been double-teamed a lot. If Nkemdiche’s tired, D.J. Jones – who also weighs in at 300lb – can provide ample back-up for him. Which isn’t bad going.

DE Fadol Brown is another part of a unit that returns seven starters. A lot of people are hugely excited the secondary.  Huskie Tony Conner is excellent in coverage, and seniors Mike Hilton and Trae Elston are going to roam the backfield. With two All-Americans departed from the unit, we will see.

AND THE OFFENSE?

The return of Tunsil to the offensive line and gamechanger Treadwell to the wide receiving corps is very exciting news for Hugh Freeze & Co, and will help junior QB Chad Kelly, who was great as a Juco after getting booted at Clemson. Freeze wasn’t exactly ecstatic-sounding naming Kelly as the Week 1 starter, but is that because Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade are as great too, or that QB isn’t a great spot for the Rebels? We don’t know at this stage. And we’re unlikely to know when Ole Miss drop 60 on Tennessee-Martin, either.

As well as Treadwell, we’re excited about Cody Core (558 yards, 6 TDs) and Quincy Adeboyejo, who could cause secondaries a lot of problems.

THE SCHEDULE

The schedule’s evil. That’s because Ole Miss plays in the SEC West.

Sep. 5 – UT-Martin
Sep. 12 – Fresno State
Sep. 19 – at Alabama
Sep. 26 – Vanderbilt
Oct. 3 – at Florida
Oct. 10 – New Mexico State
Oct. 17 – at Memphis
Oct. 24 – Texas A&M
Oct. 31 – at Auburn
Nov. 7 – Arkansas
Nov. 21 – Louisiana State
Nov. 28 – at Mississippi State

PREDICTION: Our friends at Saturday Edge think that Ole Miss goes under 8.5 wins this year. We think that Ole Miss goes a respectable 8-4 this year, taking a one-game back-step because of not only the loss of talent, but also the fact that they’ve got two evil road games at Alabama and Auburn, and that there’s always a surprise loss, which we think will be to Texas A&M at home in a shoot-out.