Ole Miss Football was ranked No. 5 in the nation in strength of schedule out of every team in FBS according to ESPN’s FPI rankings. The Rebel calendar features many heavy-hitting matchups, especially on the road. The team must travel to Texas, Oklahoma and Florida, all of which house huge stadiums with rowdy fans and deafening environments.
The Rebels will also start out the season with a neutral-site matchup against an underrated Louisville team. Running back Isaac Brown and Ohio State transfer quarterback Lincoln Kienholz head a new-look offense for the Cardinals.
The Rebels will then have their home opener against Charlotte. Ole Miss should make quick work of the Bobcats.
The Rebels’ next matchup is against LSU. While LSU may be an improved team under Lane Kiffin, this is still Kiffin’s first season with the Tigers, so the Rebels may be able to win based on pure passion and mindset.
Florida will be a polarizing game. “The Swamp” is such a place to play. Head coach John Sumrall led Tulane to the College Football Playoff last season; however, he is in his first season with the Gators and may struggle to flip Florida’s success in just one year. Ole Miss should take care of business.
Following Florida, the Rebels will have a bye week, then play at Vanderbilt before hosting Missouri. While the Commodores are currently having an open competition at quarterback, true freshman Jared Curtis has starting potential. Missouri’s offense is led by two former Rebels: quarterback Austin Simmons and wide receiver Cayden Lee. Both teams are a tier below Ole Miss, and the Rebels should handle these opponents with ease.
The team will then face a gauntlet of SEC opponents with home games against Auburn and Georgia and away games at Texas and Oklahoma.
Ole Miss will travel to Texas for possibly its hardest matchup of the year. This contest will be one of the few games during which Ole Miss is not a betting favorite.
Quarterback Arch Manning leads a loaded Longhorn roster with arguably the most talent on any team in the nation. Whether head coach Steve Sarkisian and company can finally put it all together is still a question.
The following week, the Rebels will take on Auburn, who is led by first-year head coach Alex Golesh, who coached at South Florida last season. The Rebels should be able to take down the Tigers during this Halloween game.
Playing Georgia at home is a blessing. One of the main reasons why Ole Miss lost in Athens, Ga., last season was because the Bulldog crowd created such an intense atmosphere that the Rebel offense completely fizzled out in the final minutes. In fact, the Rebels had less than 15 yards of total offense in the entire fourth quarter.
Georgia and Ole Miss have had a budding rivalry since 2023. They have played four times in three years, and each team has won twice. The Rebels lost both away games but beat the Bulldogs once at home and, last season, at the Sugar Bowl.
Due to updates in the SEC schedule, Ole Miss will travel to Oklahoma for the second season in a row. Last year, the Rebels won a hard-fought battle against the Sooners, 34-26. While the Rebels won by eight points, Sooner quarterback John Mateer was dealing with a hand injury and was not at his best.
Following those games, Ole Miss will be heavy favorites against Wofford and will look for another Egg Bowl trophy to end the season at home.
Last year, the Rebels faced highly ranked LSU, Georgia and Oklahoma. They needed to win at least one of those games to make the playoff, which they did, beating both LSU and Oklahoma.
This year, assuming the Rebels take care of the rest of their schedule, they will still need to win at least two of their matchups against their four toughest opponents — Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Georgia — if they want to be in a good position to make the playoff.
