Ole Miss Week 1 Opponent Preview: Keys to the Game for Each Team

What does Ole Miss need to do to secure a Week 1 victory versus Mercer?

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels begin their 2023 campaign with a non-conference matchup at home versus the Mercer Bears in Week 1 of the college football season. Similarly to Ole Miss, Mercer is in the midst of a quarterback competition after senior signal caller Fred Payton declared for the 2023 NFL Draft in December.

According to their official team website, Mercer is entering the fall with four quarterbacks on its roster including redshirt freshman Daniel Schoch, freshman Drew Moore, and redshirt sophomores Carter Peevy and Hess Horne. Whoever takes over for Payton will have big shoes to fill after the Lilburn, Ga., native had statistically the best season for a quarterback in Mercer history last fall, setting multiple school records in the process.

The last time Ole Miss and Mercer met was in 1911, and the Rebels crushed the Bears on the road 34-0. The two programs have not met since. Ole Miss' Week 1 matchup will kick off at 1 p.m. CT on Sept. 2 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. We recently examined Mercer's top defenders, and now we will go over the keys to the game for both the Rebels and Bears.

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Mercer Bears

1. Get the ball to WR Ty James

If Mercer wants to have any chance of keeping up with Ole Miss, the Bears are going to have to get the ball to redshirt junior receiver Ty James. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound wideout set Mercer's school record for single-season receiving yards with 1,105 last season and also caught 13 touchdowns on 52 receptions. In the final game of the 2022-23 season, James went nuclear, recording 351 receiving yards and two touchdowns off of 13 catches versus the Samford Bulldogs. His yardage total set the Southern Conference single-game receiving yards record. 

2. Try to slow down Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins

The Mercer defense will have its hands full when the Bears travel to Oxford, as the team will be forced to take on the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins. In 2022, opponents averaged 120.2 yards per game on the ground versus Mercer, while Ole Miss averaged 256.6 rushing yards per game with Judkins leading the way. 

Ole Miss Rebels

1. Air it Out

Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins will likely be an important factor, but the Rebels should take advantage of Mercer's permeable pass defense. In 2022, the Bears only recorded 15 sacks as a team while allowing 217.7 passing yards per game to opponents. It will be the perfect opportunity for the winner of the ongoing quarterback battle at Ole Miss to get used to the offense before the Rebels take on the daunting portion of their 2023 schedule.

2. Get after the QB

As mentioned above, Mercer is also in the midst of a quarterback competition and will be rolling into Oxford in Week 1 with a relatively green signal-caller starting under center. The likely candidate to start is redshirt freshman Daniel Schoch who has the most experience in the Bears' quarterback room after appearing in four games last fall, recording 52 passing yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions with a 57.1 completion percentage. 

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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