Greg McElroy Believes Ole Miss Could End SEC Championship Drought in 2024

College football analyst Greg McElroy believes that the Ole Miss Rebels could end their SEC Championship drought in 2024.

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin and quarterback Jaxson Dart in the 2023 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

It has been a while since the Ole Miss Rebels claimed a Southeastern Conference championship, and the program has never appeared in the title game since its advent in 1992. But could that trend end in 2024?

College football analyst Greg McElroy recently discussed Ole Miss' potential conference title hopes on the Always College Football podcast, and he believes that the Rebels have a real shot at bucking this trend, especially when you consider their returning talent and added pieces from the transfer portal.

"Sixty-one years since the Ole Miss Rebels have won a conference championship," McElroy said. "1963 was their last SEC crown. If you want to have question marks about their depth, if you want to have question marks about the potential of an up-and-down performance, fair enough.

"I have those question marks, but if you look at just known commodities across the board and the influx of talent that Lane Kiffin has had in the transfer portal ... Could this be the year that Ole Miss wins the conference crown for the first time since the mid-1960s? It could very well come to fruition. It could, especially when you look at their schedule and how things potentially settle out."

The Rebels do seem to have a somewhat-favorable conference schedule this season. Although they do face the Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners, both of those games will take place in Oxford, and Ole Miss' most difficult road trip on paper is a journey to Baton Rouge to face LSU on Oct. 12.

It's worth noting that Ole Miss also does not face the Texas Longhorns or Alabama Crimson Tide in their 2024 conference slate, and with the SEC abandoning the division model this fall, the Rebels' path to a conference title may be less arduous than in years past.

Lane Kiffin and company also return a ton of talent from last year's 11-win team, including quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receivers Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins, and running back Ulysses Bentley IV. They also added some huge names out of the transfer portal in edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, defensive lineman Walter Nolen and others.

The expectations are high in Oxford this offseason, but can the Rebels reach those goals this fall? Their season begins on Aug. 31 when they play host to the FCS Furman Paladins.