Thus begins life without Bo Wallace for the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels. They’ll be greeted with a pretty manageable outing against an FCS team in the University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks. Will the Rebels’ offense rev all the way up in the first game of the season? Or will the Skyhawks give them a shocker right off the gates? Read on as we take a look at this explosive Week 1 matchup.
FCS school University of Tennessee-Martin has one tough out to start the college football season. They take on Hugh Freeze’s Ole Miss Rebels. Ole Miss finished last season first in the FBS in scoring defense (16 points per game) and 13th in total defense (329 yards allowed per game).
[sc:NCAA240banner ]The Skyhawks have quite a formidable offense, which helped them place third in the Ohio Valley Conference last season. They ranked 43rd out of 121 FCS teams in scoring offense (29.7 points per game) and 22nd in rushing offense (214.6 yards per game). This UT-Martin offense is led by senior quarterback Jarod Neal, who completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,880 yards and 14 touchdowns with six interceptions last season. Neal also ran for 219 yards with six scores.
Neal is pretty solid at quarterback, but the Skyhawks got the most of their offense from their running game led by Abou Toure. Unfortunately, Toure is now in the NFL after leading his team with 1,138 yards and 11 scores last season. Trent Garland should now start at running back. He was solid in limited playing time last season with 486 yards and three scores on 82 carries.
UT-Martin also has a pair of solid defensive backs in Terrious Triplett and Walter Evans who could cause problems for Ole Miss’ inexperienced quarterbacks. Triplett had two interceptions last season, while Evans had three including a pick-six.
UT-Martin has lost six of their seven games against FBS schools since 2011, going 2-5 against the spread.
Betting on the Ole Miss Rebels
Big things are in store for Ole Miss this season. The Rebels have steadily improved their records in each of Hugh Freeze’s three years in charge. Considering they went 9-4 last season, then they may finish the upcoming season their first double-digit win season since 2003.
The Rebels are looking very solid this upcoming season with six representatives on the preseason All-SEC teams. Tight end Evan Engram, wide receiver Laquon Treadwell and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche made the first team; junior defensive back Tony Conner made the second team; and senior defensive back Trae Elston made the third team.
Engram and Treadwell are solid members of the receiving corps to provide quarterbacks Chad Kelly or Ryan Buchanan able targets. Engram caught 38 passes for 662 yards and two touchdowns last season, while Treadwell had 632 yards and five touchdowns.
Freeze is yet to name a starting signal caller ahead of the season, but both should be able to tear apart an FCS defense like UT-Martin’s. Either quarterback should also be cozy behind a solid offensive line this season.
Of course, it’s hard not to rave about Mississippi’s defense heading into this season. Aside from leading the nation in scoring defense, the Rebels were also 29th in rushing defense and 16th in passing defense last season. They’ll still have plenty of talent all over the field this campaign. Linebacker C.J. Johnson was stellar last season with the second-most total tackles (69) in the team. Nkemdiche was also in fine form last season with 35 tackles (four for loss) and two sacks as he helped lead the team’s amazing defense.
The Rebels have won seven of their last 10 games as favorites, going 6-4 against the spread.
Writer’s Prediction
It won’t be a contest. The Rebels blow out UT-Martin to start the season on a high note. Create a betting account now and get in on the hottest college football games about to come.
