2008 Mississippi Rebels College Football Predictions
2008 Mississippi Rebels College Football Predictions Courtesy of Alex Smart, An Expert College Football Handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting college football this year, be sure to buy Alex’s college football picks each week and guarantee a winning season!!
Mississippi Rebels (3-9, 0-8 in 2007, 6th place in SEC West)
Ed Orgeron is out as HC of the Rebels. Houston Nutt will replace him after a successful tenure at Arkansas. The good news for Nutt is that 16 returners should ease his transition to Ole Miss. The bad news is that the team went 0-8 in the SEC last season, and really wasn’t competitive in quite a few of those games. Nutt and the Mississippi fans expect much better from the Rebs in ’08.
Offensive Outlook: QB Jevan Snead has transferred from Texas to take over the Ole Miss offense. He’s a dual threat quarterback, and could be a terror on opposing defenses with his legs and arm. He’ll be helped by true freshman RB Enrique Davis, who was a top recruit this off-season. Seven starters will provide the supporting cast for Snead and Davis, including four starters on an offensive line that is one of the best in the SEC. The tackle combination of Michael Oher and John Jerry could pave a lot of holes for the rushing game this season.
Defensive Outlook: The defense surrendered 28.5 PPG a year ago for the Rebels, so the nine returning starters must step up their level of play if Mississippi believes they’re a bowl team this year. Six of the front seven in their 3-4 scheme return, including all four linebackers. Nutt is encouraged with the play of senior DT Peria Jerry. There isn’t a lot of depth behind the starters in the front seven, so keeping these guys healthy is very important. Perhaps the best player on the defense last year was safety Jamarca Sanford, who returns for his senior season.
2008 Preview: The SEC schedule will once again prove difficult, but the Rebels shouldn’t have another donut in their win column again this year in conference play. Games against Vandy, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Mississippi State are all winnable, and the non-conference schedule isn’t overbearing. A bowl game isn’t totally out of the question in Nutt’s first season.
2008 will be a success if… Snead and Davis live up to the hype. With Auburn switching to a spread offense, Ole Miss may have the best running game in the SEC West. Davis needs to have a 1,000-yard season. Snead will inevitably have ups and downs, but much like Vince Young did at Texas, expect to see him put the team on his shoulders and win games by himself if that’s what needs to be done.
Things should change in a hurry for the Rebels, and for the first time since the days of Eli Manning, expect to see Ole Miss competing in the SEC West.
Prediction: 7-5, 3rd place in SEC West
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