Ahead of Saturday's 3:30 p.m. ET contest in Oxford between Florida and No. 6 Ole Miss, Swamp247 went Behind Enemy Lines with Neal McCready to get a better sense of the Rebels.
1. Let's get this one out of the way: what is the current sentiment surrounding the Ole Miss program – and fanbase – regarding the noise concerning head coach Lane Kiffin, from his potential contract extension with the Rebels to the possibility he heads elsewhere after the season?
I can't speak for the collective feeling of fan bases. I don't know. It's not like I'm out amongst the people very much.
There seems to be a variety of opinions, but they're based on emotion, so I basically tune most of that out.
I think it's clear that Kiffin is torn regarding his future. He's built Ole Miss into a program that is one win away from 10 or more wins in four of the last five seasons. Dating back to the season opener in 2021, Ole Miss is now 48-15 entering Saturday's game against Florida.
He's at a program that has incredible synergy, from the chancellor to the athletics director to the collective to the foundation and more. He's made Oxford home. You know the stories by now. They're all true. His daughter, Landry, is a junior at Ole Miss. His son, Knox, is the sophomore starting quarterback at Oxford High School. The Chargers have a playoff game later this week. His top receiver, Kevin Smith Jr., is the son of Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith. Knox has a huge friend group and is seemingly very happy in Oxford. Lane's brother, Chris, is in Oxford with his wife and children.
There's a lot here. Also, and this somehow gets buried, Ole Miss is in position to make the College Football Playoffs. The Rebels, with wins over Florida and at Mississippi State, would be no lower than sixth in the CFP, meaning a home game in Oxford (Ole Miss is 21-1 in the last three seasons at home) and potentially a date in the quarterfinals on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.
As for contracts, Ole Miss clearly wants to keep Kiffin and will basically pay him whatever. When people tell you this will be about money, you know they're wrong. It won't be. He's going go be making $13 million or more next year if he's coaching college football.
This will be about where he believes he can win championships regularly, and I think it's obvious he's torn right now.
Oh, and there's another wildcard in this. What if the NFL comes calling? I have no idea regarding legitimacy, but Kiffin's name has come up with the New York Giants, currently quarterbacked by rookie/former Ole Miss star Jaxson Dart.
I think it's unclear where Kiffin will be next season. One fan base can act as confident as it would like — and my God, Florida fans are, for the most part, obnoxiously arrogant about this — but no one knows. I don't think Kiffin knows, to be honest.
2. Looking at Ole Miss' offense, what have been the keys to success for the Rebels this season?
Ole Miss lost Austin Simmons late in Week 2 and replaced him with Trinidad Chambliss. The offense got different and better pretty much immediately. Ole Miss' offensive line is solid, sometimes really good. Running back Kewan Lacy has been terrific.
The Rebels have a deep tight end room and a plethora of dangerous wide receivers. Ole Miss can beat you in a lot of ways, Chambliss has very good pocket presence and the Rebels produce a lot of explosives with very few turnovers.
3. The Rebels' defense was dominant along the line of scrimmage last season. How have they fared this season, and who are the key players for Florida fans to know?
It's not the dominant defense of a season ago. Not at all.
That said, Ole Miss has played better in recent weeks, holding Oklahoma, South Carolina and The Citadel basically at bay after being mauled at Georgia.
Zxavian Harris and Will Echoles are terrific at tackle, Princwell Umanmielen and Suntarine Perkins have been solid at the end spots (Perkins sort of plays all over) and Kam Franklin has been very steady as well.
TJ Dottery has been consistent at linebacker and in recent weeks, Andrew Jones has emerged as a playmaker. The secondary is suspect. There's talent back there, but coverage busts have been a major issue. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding is still searching for the right combinations on the back end.
4. Florida's availability report featured double-digit players listed as out last week against Kentucky. Are there any injury concerns for the Rebels heading into this game? If so, who do you expect plays a larger role Saturday?
Ole Miss is pretty healthy.
Tight end Dae'Quan Wright and Echoles left The Citadel game with injuries and didn't return, though Kiffin said both could have played had it been necessary. To my knowledge, that's the extent of the injury report at this time.
Kiffin's teams are great about staying healthy and getting fresher as the seasons wear on.
5. Alright, give me your prediction: how do you see this one shaking out? What must the Rebels do to avoid an upset at home to a struggling Florida team?
I think Saturday night is going to be a clash between a team with everything to play for and one with nothing to play for. Florida looked like a team ready to quit Saturday in Lexington. I mean, losing 38-7 to that crew is a statement all of its own. Wow. Ole Miss has played well of late and looked laser focused in the last two games. Florida has talent on defense and DJ Lagway tore the Rebels up last November in Gainesville, but I'm not sure I can make a case for a repeat performance.
I think Ole Miss gets ahead early and pulls away late for a fairly easy win. I'll go Ole Miss 31, Florida 14, but if you told me it was a rout, I'd buy it. To avoid an upset, Ole Miss just has to protect the football, get ahead early and let momentum do its thing. A slow start, critical turnovers and a team getting tight versus a team with nothing to lose is the recipe for the Rebels blowing this one.
Ole Miss fans are going to be rowdy Saturday. Florida fans have pissed them off over the past few weeks, and I think you'll see and hear that Saturday night in Oxford.
Florida might get the last laugh, but I suspect Saturday night will absolutely belong to Ole Miss.