2024 Bulldog Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 12

Mississippi State travels to Oxford for the Egg Bowl.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin watches during the Ole Miss Grove Bowl Games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, Apr. 13, 2024. / Bruce Newman/Special to the Clarion

Few games are genuinely unpredictable in sports where records are irrelevant, but the annual match between the top two programs in Mississippi is unpredictable. Last season was an example as the Bulldogs limped into the Egg Bowl with a 5-6 record and the Rebels at 9-2, but the game was competitive.

However, Ole Miss returned a lot of talent and added even more. Here's an early look at Ole Miss as we continue to preview Mississippi State's opponents for the upcoming season.

Offense

Lane Kiffin is a dynamic play-caller and offensive mastermind and has some impressive weapons to work with this year. Jaxson Dart returns this season, and this will be the third year starting for the USC transfer.

Dart improved a ton from his first season last year, but can he take another jump? He threw for 3,364 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2023 and rushed for 391 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Rebels did lose arguably the best running back in the country, Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State), who led the Rebels with 1,158 yards a season ago. However, they do return Ulysses Bentley, who rushed for 540 yards, and signed productive guys out of the portal: Logan Diggs (LSU, 653 rushing yards), Henry Parrish Jr. (Miami, 625 yards), and Rashad Amos (Miami (OH), 1,075 rushing yards).

The Rebels also return Tre Harris, a dynamic receiver who makes highlight-reel catches. Harris posted 54 catches for 985 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Ole Miss also signed Juice Wells (South Carolina) out of the transfer portal. Wells has struggled with injuries in his career, but he is a dangerous weapon when he is healthy.

The Rebels struggled a bit on the offensive line last year, but they bolstered that group in the portal by signing Diego Pounds (North Carolina), Nate Kalepo (Washington), Julius Buelow (Washington), and Gerquan Scott (Southern Miss.)

Defense

The Rebels improved immensely last season under new defensive coordinator Pete Golding. While Ole Miss added a lot of talent from the portal on offense, the defense added even more.

The most important edition was Walter Nolen (Texas A&M.) The former 5-star had a pair of productive seasons in College Station and posted 37 tackles and four sacks last season.

Nolen is a serious NFL prospect, and Ole Miss has not had many at the defensive line position. Princely Umanmielen (Florida) is another SEC defensive line prospect the Rebels got out of the portal.

Umanmielen made 40 tackles and seven sacks for the Gators a season ago. Golding also brought in Chris Paul Jr. (Arkansas), who led the Razorbacks with 74 tackles in 2023.  

Yam Banks (South Alabama) is a talented safety the Rebels signed. The Ridgeland, Miss. native racked up 45 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, an interception, and three pass deflections last season for the Jaguars.

Schedule

Ole Miss finished 11-2 a season ago with a win over Penn State in the Peach Bowl. The Rebels have a lot of hype coming into the season, and rightfully so.

Kiffin and Golding have signed many transfer portal talent to complement a strong cast of returnees. However, if the Rebels lose an early game, will their roster be able to stay together down the stretch?

Outlook

The Bulldogs are entering the Jeff Lebby era and are looking to improve from a season ago. Lebby was the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss under Kiffin from 2020-2021.

MSU will undoubtedly be the underdog in this game, but crazier things have happened. This game is personal, nasty, and filled with hatred, and it is the most important game on both teams' schedules.

The Game

When is the game?

November 29th, 2024

What time is the game?

2:30 p.m. CT

What channel is the game televised on?

ABC

Where is the game played?

Oxford, Miss.

What is the series history?

Ole Miss leads the series 67-46-6