Oklahoma-Ole Miss Preview: Sooners On SI Staff Picks

The Sooners On SI Staff offers their picks for Saturday's OU game at Mississippi.

Sooners On SI Staff /

John E. Hoover

How in the world can Oklahoma, with one of the worst offensive lines in the country, score against Ole Miss, with one of the best defensive lines in the country? Simple. They can’t. This 20-point spread feels about right. The firing of Seth Littrell and the promotion of Joe Jon Finley, Kevin Johns and Jackson Arnold can only do so much. The offense might look less predictable and more creative, and the quarterback play might feel a lot sharper, but everything depends on how OU’s offensive line plays. We saw last week what such a mismatch can produce. Bad news: it happens again this week.

Final: Ole Miss 35, Oklahoma 7

Ryan Chapman 

Last week was finally Brent Venables’ breaking point, forcing the Oklahoma head coach to make a change in leadership on offense. Unfortunately for Joe Jon Finley and Kevin Johns, Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line is still painfully overmatched against elite SEC defensive lines like the one the Sooners will face this weekend. Mississippi ranks seventh in sacks per game this year, and it’s likely that OU quarterback Jackson Arnold will be running for his life immediately after the snap. Teams have been known to put in a spirited performance after coaching changes before, but the personnel issues up front have prevented the Sooners from running a functional offense in conference play and that can’t be covered up by the new coach bump.

Final: Ole Miss 38, Oklahoma 10

Dekota Gregory 

Ole Miss looked invincible early, but the SEC brought reality to the Rebels. In conference play, the Rebels are averaging 23.3 points a game. However, their best performance and only SEC win came against South Carolina, 27-3. And we all just saw what the Gamecocks did to the Sooners. A switch at OC and QB won't fix all of OU's issues (if any) in the week that's passed since then. The Rebels have continuity and home field advantage. The Sooners have neither of those. 

Final: Ole Miss 31, Oklahoma 13

Ross Lovelace

The Sooners have burned my score predictions the last two weeks, and it won’t happen again. Oklahoma caught a break avoiding a night game in Oxford, but the reality is Ole Miss is just a much better football team. The Rebels are coming off a bye week and have had plenty of time to prepare for Oklahoma’s stale offense. Lane Kiffin’s team will also be fired up coming off of a loss to LSU. Jackson Arnold should be able to move the ball better than Oklahoma did a week ago, and he showed his ability to take deep shots against South Carolina, but Ole Miss is a different beast. The Sooners will have to play a perfect game to make it competitive, but it seems more than likely this one could be over by halftime. The Rebels have a veteran team with everything to play for during the final stretch of the season. Give me Ole Miss and the points.

Final: Ole Miss 34, Oklahoma 10

Bryce McKinnis

No. 18 Ole Miss is probably only more dangerous off a bye week preceded by a 29-26 loss to LSU in Baton Rouge. A very good quarterback, Quinn Ewers, completed 69 percent of his passes for 199 yards and a touchdown against a very headstrong Sooners defense. A better quarterback, Jaxson Dart, has thrown for no fewer than 284 yards in a game this season and should have more success against the same defense. The offense that surrendered three turnovers on its first three possessions a week ago (but was more serviceable in the second half) might be more confident, but again, Ole Miss has a better equipped defense than South Carolina — especially against the rush, which isn’t Oklahoma’s strong suit. Jackson Arnold’s performance will determine if this is a blowout or a they-fought-until-the-end story.

Final: Ole Miss 45, Oklahoma 21

Randall Sweet

While the Sooners' offense may be slightly improved this week against the Rebels, letting go of Seth Littrell and returning to Jackson Arnold as the team's starting quarterback likely won't be enough to pull off a big upset on the road. Even a strong performance from OU's defense isn't going to get Oklahoma back in the win column as the team's offense will once again put Zac Alley's group in tough positions. The Sooners may be able to slow Joxson Dart down, but OU's defense staying on the field for extended periods of time will allow Mississippi to hit enough big plays to come away with a win.

Final: Ole Miss 30, Oklahoma 17