Tag: Ole Miss

Reasons UGA will beat Ole Miss

Why Georgia will beat a stacked Ole Miss team in a top 25 matchup this Saturday

The Georgia Bulldogs are slight road favorites against the No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, Mississippi. In this game, it will take all three phases for Georgia to pull out a victory.

Three reasons the Georgia Bulldogs will beat Ole Miss

Resiliency 

Georgia has faced many road challenges this season.  Early in the season Georgia played unranked Kentucky and was hit with haymakers all game. UGA struggled offensively, gaining only 262 total yards, but found a way to win.

Two weeks later, the Bulldogs went into Bryant-Denny Stadium against No.  11 Alabama and had their worst start in the Kirby Smart era. They fell behind 28-0 in the first quarter. Carson Beck showed his elite quarterback play. He threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns in the second half before losing.

The third test was when they went into Austin, Texas, where it was Georgia vs. The World. No. 5 Texas was called the new “sheriff” in the SEC by ESPN analyst Desmond Howard. Georgia’s defense honed in and created havoc in the backfield with seven sacks. Running back Trevor Etienne carried the load for three touchdowns. UGA overcame a controversial call, too.

In these three games, Georgia had its backs against the wall and responded with big performances. UGA knows it has a big challenge against Ole Miss, but that’s when the Dawgs have played their best this season.

Kirby Smart

John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Kirby Smart is the best coach in college football. Smart is an impressive 27-12 against ranked teams since he began coaching Georgia in 2016.

Smart has led Georgia back into the nation’s elite, and the Bulldogs are among the nation’s best over the past four years. Smart is arguably the best coach at preparation for his opponent now that Nick Saban has left college football. Smart has the coaching edge over Lane Kiffin.

Battle of the Trenches

Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

The battle of the trenches is the most important matchup in this game. Ole Miss’ defensive line has sacked opposing quarterbacks 42 times, which is the best in the nation. Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielen have revamped this Ole Miss defense to be among one of the best defensive line groups in America.

Luckily, the Bulldogs had guard Tate Ratledge back for the Florida game. Georgia’s offensive line will neutralize this Rebels’ defensive line to help create running lanes for the running backs and create time in the pocket for Carson Beck.

This Georgia defensive line has momentum and has totaled nine sacks in the past two games. It has far more NFL draft talent than Ole Miss’ offensive front.

Former LSU RB Logan Diggs could be ready to make his Ole Miss debut

Former LSU running back Logan Diggs could make his Ole Miss debut later this year

A former LSU running back could be set to make his Ole Miss debut soon. [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag], who began his career with Notre Dame and spent one year with the Tigers, hit the transfer portal and transferred to Ole Miss after LSU’s bowl game.

Diggs tore his ACL in the bowl win, but [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag] said Diggs has a chance to return following Ole Miss’ second bye week. That would be Nov. 23, after Ole Miss plays Arkansas and Georgia.

Diggs ran 119 times for 653 yards with the Tigers in 2023. He caught eight passes for 82 more yards. That put Diggs at a solid 5.8 yards per touch, something LSU could use now with its struggling run game.

Kiffin said it would be great for Ole Miss to get a “big, physical back” like Diggs in the backfield.

Week 13 may seem late for a return, but Ole Miss is still hoping to make a college football playoff run. Diggs could inject some life into a Rebel offense looking for consistency.

Ole Miss already has a strong rotation with Henry Parrish and Ulysses Bentley. Diggs would make it one of the deeper backfields in college football.

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Ole Miss fans go nuts as squirrel scores touchdown

A squirrel captured the fans’ imagination at Oklahoma-Ole Miss

Ole Miss played host to Oklahoma in an SEC game on Saturday. There were thousands of fans and an unexpected guest on the field.

A squirrel made an appearance on the field at the 17-yard line. The fans loved it as the little fella showed speed and dexterity as he headed to paydirt.

Former Notre Dame baseball player hired as Pitt athletic director

Great to see him doing well.

A face familiar to Notre Dame sort of will be reuniting with the Irish in the ACC. [autotag]Allen Greene[/autotag], who played baseball at Notre Dame for three seasons, has been hired as Pittsburgh’s new athletic director, effective Nov. 1. He will leave his current role as chief operating officer and senior deputy athletic director at Tennessee.

From 1996 to 1998, Greene slashed .329/.413/.538 for the Irish, resulting in a .951 OPS. He hit 15 home runs, had 113 RBIs and stole 22 bases. After his final season, the New York Yankees selected him in the ninth round of the MLB draft, but he never got above High-A.

Since then, Greene has worked a seven-year stint at Notre Dame, had two stints at Ole Miss and served as the athletic director at Buffalo and Auburn for a combined eight years. He clearly found his calling after his playing days ended, and it’s great to see him thrive in it:

https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1847260012298600647

Best of luck to Greene in his new role (though not against the Irish).

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Texans land former top defensive recruit in latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft

Ole Miss superstar Walter Nolen could be headed to NRG Stadium in 2025.

Currently, the Houston Texans’ top need is defensive back help. Jimmie Ward and Kamari Lassiter remained sidelined for the next several weeks due to injury. Rookie Calen Bullock, plus veterans Jalen Pitre and Eric Murray, have been hit-and-miss this season in man coverage. 

But what’s the Texans’ biggest need entering the offseason? For now, it remains defensive tackle. Houston chose to spend money elsewhere in the offseason, thus leading to one-year deals with Tim Settle, Foley Fatukasi and Mario Edwards Jr. 

The Texans would be wise to find an interior running mate to pair alongside Defensive Player of the Year candidate Will Anderson Jr. and Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter. That’s what ESPN has the Texans doing in its latest mock draft with the selection of Ole Miss defensive lineman Walter Nolen at pick No. 30. 

A true wrecking ball up the middle is one of the few missing ingredients for an elite football team in Houston. After two underwhelming seasons at Texas A&M, Nolen is having a breakout year in his first season at Ole Miss. He already has 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and 8 run stops. With aggressive hands and a sudden first step, he’s consistently able to defeat single blocks at the first level.

Formerly the No. 1 defensive recruit of the 2022 class, Nolen started two years for the Aggies before transferring this offseason. Despite the underwhelming results under then-coach Jimbo Fisher, Nolen flashed potential, totaling nine tackles for loss, 24 QB hits and four sacks. 

Entering the Rebels’ bye week, Nolen has been the anchor of a defense that leads the nation in run defense, holding opponents to 1.96 yards per attempt and 66.5 yards per game.

Edwards, Settle and Fatukasi call could cash in elsewhere this offseason, meaning Houston could bargain shopping once more to fill the void up the middle. Bringing in a player with a fifth-year option to shore up some money elsewhere makes not only sense on paper but also to a defense headlined by DeMeco Ryans. 

The Texans are also picking 30th, which means that ESPN believes Houston is poised to go on a postseason run.

To show up in the AFC title game for the first time in franchise history and land a potential All-American defensive lineman as the foundation of the run defense? It’s hard for Texans fans to hate that result entering 2025. 

Notre Dame reportedly to take part in 2026 Maui Invitational

The Irish are gonna get some sun before they get some turkey in a couple of years.

Imagine being a college basketball fan and knowing part of your team’s schedule two years in advance. It’s not college football when you often know who your team is playing a decade or more in advance. Both sports are just different.

According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Notre Dame is among seven teams that will take part in the 2026 Maui Invitational during Thanksgiving week. Also participating are Ole Miss, Maryland, Providence, BYU, VCU and Arizona. The eighth team that will round out the field is not yet known.

This will be the Irish’s fifth appearance in the tournament, in which they have an all-time record of 8-5. They last competed in 2021 when COVID-19 forced the tournament to be relocated from Hawaii to Las Vegas. They won this tournament in 2017 with [autotag]Matt Farrell[/autotag] receiving tournament MVP honors.

So if you love Notre Dame hoops and want to do something during Thanksgiving week two years from now, might we suggest making the trip to Hawaii to watch these games?

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Stunning upset loss to Kentucky cools the hype for Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart

Stunning upset loss to Kentucky cools the draft hype a little for Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart

We got a great example this weekend of why one-week reactions are but snapshots and not full pictures of players and draft prospects. Coming into the weekend, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was surging with the unbeaten Rebels, looking a lot like a more aggressive version of Broncos’ first-rounder Bo Nix.

However, Dart’s wave crashed on the shoals in a stunning upset by Kentucky. It’s not that Dart played poorly in the game, a 20-17 Wildcats win on an offensive fumble recovery in the end zone with a little over two minutes to play. But Dart’s inability to get much going against the best defense he and the Rebels have seen all year puts a damper on the draft buzz.

Dart led just two touchdown drives against a Kentucky defense that flew around the field with aggressive discipline. He completed just 18 of his 27 passes, netting 261 yards and a touchdown. Dart had thrived on his consistency all season, but this performance was more uneven.

Take the final Ole Miss drive, which came after Kentucky took a 20-17 lead. Dart made a bad choice in trying an ill-advised keeper on first down, then was inaccurate under pressure on second and third downs. Fourth down saw Dart remind everyone why he’s still a very impressive prospect on the whole. A picture-perfect pass to Caden Prieskorn kept the drive, and unbeaten hopes, still very much alive.

Yet Dart couldn’t seal the deal. He just missed his running back on a wheel route that was there for the taking on the next play, then took a terrible sack on second down when he had chances to throw the ball away or tuck and run and gain more yards for his field goal kicker. He got let off the hook on a lost fumble on the next play with a twitchy offsides call. Those yards proved precious, as the 48-yarder that would have tied the game (very badly) missed.

A comeback win in a game like this would have provided another big feather in Dart’s draft hat. It’s certainly not all on Dart, but the fact he couldn’t avoid the upset will work against him with many evaluators. It was Dart’s weakest performance–by far–on the season, one that should cool the momentum a bit on the ballooning draft hype that saw Dart floating as a top-15 pick in many mock projections.

One game shouldn’t weigh on the full picture like that, but given how easy of a schedule Dart and the Rebels had faced, it was seen as a validation test going in. Dart’s still good–he’s firmly a top-40 overall prospect on my board, but the illusion of his near-perfect first four games took a hit.

Lady Vols defeat Ole Miss to open SEC play

Tennessee opens SEC play with a victory against Ole Miss.

Tennessee (6-1-1, 1-0 SEC) defeated Ole Miss (5-5, 0-1 SEC), 2-1, Thursday at Regal Soccer Stadium in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools.

Tennessee allowed a goal for the first time in seven matches. Tennessee last conceded a goal in its season opener against Indiana on Aug. 15.

Kate Runyon totaled one goal and one assist in the match for the Lady Vols.

The Lady Vols led, 1-0, after Runyon scored an unassisted goal in the 26th minute. The Rebels tied the game in the 25th minute when Kelly Brady scored.

Tennessee’s Sammi Woods scored Tennessee’s second goal in the 60th minute. Runyon was credited with an assist.

The Lady Vols outshot Ole Miss, 13-8, and recorded 10 shots in the first half. Tennessee had eight of its scoring chances land on goal. The Rebels had three shots on goal.

Lady Vols’ goalkeeper Ally Zazzara recorded two saves in the match.

Former Lions RB Kevin Smith shows off basketball skills at Ole Miss team meeting

Former Lions RB Kevin Smith shows off basketball skills at Ole Miss team meeting

Former Lions running back Kevin Smith was a pretty good football player during his time in the NFL. Turns out he’s also pretty good in basketball as well.

Smith, who spent five seasons with the Lions from 2008-2012, is now the running backs coach for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. He is in his second stint at Ole Miss and fourth season overall with the Rebels — Smith coached in 2020 and 2021, went to Miami in 2022 and came back to Ole Miss in 2023.

During a recent team meeting, Smith was able to showcase some of his basketball skills and now we are all able to see some of those skills thanks to Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who shared the video.

Smith has the Rebels fired up heading into a season in which they are ranked No. 6 in the preseason AP Poll. Will the Rebels crack the new 12-team playoff this season? Time will tell. Smith and Ole Miss open the season Saturday, August 31 against Furman.

247Sports projects Notre Dame-Ole Miss for College Football Playoff

The Irish don’t host in this projection.

Until the 2024 season begins, we’re left to make our own predictions for the newly expanded College Football Playoff. The only certainty is that Notre Dame can’t have higher than a fifth seed since the top four seeds are reserved for conference champions.

Most people think the Irish will host a first-round game, but Brad Crawford of 247Sports says not so fast. Crawford released his bowl projections for the season. While he does have the Irish in the No. 5 vs. No. 11 game, he has them as the 11th seed, traveling to Ole Miss.

The Irish and Rebels haven’t played each other much, and it’s been a long time. The Rebels were the only team the Irish lost to during their 1977 championship season, and the Irish won their only other meeting in 1985 in South Bend. Historically, this isn’t anything close to a rivalry.

Still, the Irish could use this as bulletin-board material. They know they’re good enough to host a first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium, and this should give them extra motivation to have a season that guarantees them that honor.

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