No. 3 Ole Miss improved to 4-0 despite hardly playing its best ball at home against Vanderbilt. The Rebels will now have a tricky road test up next, as they go to Gainesville to face a 4-0 Florida team. The Gators boast one of the best secondaries in college football, but can they cope with the Rebels’ deep receiving corps?
Read on for our preview of this fascinating SEC showdown in The Swamp. Meanwhile, check out our preview of the marquee matchup between two of the SEC’s best: Alabama vs. Georgia.
Ole Miss continued its perfect start to the season with a 27-16 home win over Vanderbilt last week. However, after averaging 62 points in their first three games, the Rebels offense fell back down to earth as they failed to cover the 27-point spread. They’re now 3-1 ATS this season.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Quarterback Chad Kelly threw for over 320 yards for the third-straight game, but he also showed off his wild side with a couple of picks. He’ll need to avoid more careless turnovers that could come back to haunt the Rebels on the road.
Kelly has a wealth of receiving options to move the ball well, even against a very formidable Florida secondary. Five Rebel receivers already have 10 or more receptions this year. The running game, particularly Jaylen Walton (133 yards on just 21 carries with a touchdown against Vandy), will also help the offense move along on the road.
Meanwhile, the Ole Miss defense, which led the nation in scoring defense last season, remains terrific as ever. Their outstanding front should be able to limit the Florida rushing attack and force the ball into the hands of Florida’s very green quarterback Will Grier. The redshirt freshman has thrown a pick in each of his last three games.
Through four games, Ole Miss already has seven interceptions (most in the SEC), and is allowing just 5.3 yards per pass attempt (tied for first in the conference). That defense has also helped the under go 7-1 in Ole Miss’ last eight conference road games.
All credit must go to Florida for pulling out an amazing comeback from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Tennessee. The Gators remain undefeated at 4-0 (3-1 against the spread) on the season.
However, maintaining that perfect record against Ole Miss will be quite a tough task for this very young team, particularly Will Grier. The redshirt freshman QB struggled against the Vols, completing just 55 percent of his passes. He should expect to work under duress all night, as his young and inexperienced O-line will find it tough to contain a ferocious Ole Miss front seven.
After three subpar games, junior running back Kelvin Taylor broke out with his best game of the season against Tennessee, with 102 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. He’ll have to come up with another strong effort to help Grier move the ball with any sort of consistency against Ole Miss.
Defensively, though, the Gators (4.34 yards allowed per play, fifth in the SEC) should have enough about them to give the Rebels offense a rough time. Even if star corner Vernon Hargreaves won’t be at his very best as he battles a back injury, their talented secondary will get starting cornerback Jalen Tabor back from his one-game suspension.
Florida is just 3-7 against the spread in its last 10 home games against conference opponents.
Writer’s Prediction
Ole Miss overpowers Florida’s youngsters as the Rebels roll to a 28-14 road win.
