Ole Miss Schedule Preview: Kentucky Wildcats

The Ole Miss Rebels will open SEC play this season at home against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky Wildcats wide receiver Barion Brown (7) heads to the end zone on a 60-yard pass play that gave him a touchdown during fourth quarter action. The Kentucky Wildcats faced off against the Clemson Tigers Friday, December 29, 2023, in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. The Wildcats led 14 to 10 at the half but the Tigers fought back and came away with a 38 to 35 victory. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union] / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY

The 2024 college football season is still about a month away, but with SEC Media Days in the rearview mirror, now is the time to begin previewing the Ole Miss Rebels' schedule.

Ole Miss is coming off an 11-2 season that saw it capture a Peach Bowl victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in December. The Rebels return a plethora of talent from last year's team (including quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Tre Harris, tight end Caden Prieskron and others), but they also made a huge haul in the transfer portal to shore up some holes on its roster.

It's this combination of talent and a seemingly-managble SEC schedule that have many believing the Rebels can qualify for the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

Over the next few days, Ole Miss OnSI will preview each of the Rebels' 2024 regular season opponents. We last looked at the Georgia Southern Eagles, and today, we analyze the Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky Wildcats

Mark Stoops is entering his 12th season as the head coach of Kentucky, and the Wildcats have reached a level of respectability under his leadership. Last season, UK finished with a record of 7-6 (3-5 SEC) after dropping the Gator Bowl to the Clemson Tigers.

The biggest win for Kentucky was likely its in-state rivalry game over No. 10 Louisville, earning a 38-31 victory on the road.

Wildcats starting quarterback Devin Leary is now in the NFL as a Baltimore Raven, so a newcomer will be calling the shots under center in Lexington. The leader in the clubhouse to be the starter is Georgia grad transfer Brock Vandagriff who appeared in 13 games during his three seasons in Athens, throwing for 165 yards and two scores.

Ole Miss fans may vaguely remember Vandagriff from last season's game against the Bulldogs. He completed one pass for five yards in Georgia's blowout of the Rebels.

Last season's leading rusher (Ray Davis) has also gone to the NFL, but Kentucky does return two of its three leading receivers from a year ago in Dane Key and Barion Brown. Both of those wideouts eclipsed 500 receiving yards in 2023.

At running back, grad transfer DeaMonte "Chip" Trayanum could see a load of carries after coming in from Ohio State. He has over 1,000 rushing yards in his collegiate career.

From a defensive perspective, Kentucky returns a good bit of production in its starting 11. Leading tackler and linebacker D'Eryk Jackson returns after posting 89 total tackles, eight TFLs, two sacks and two interceptions a season ago. The leader in interceptions (Maxwell Hariston) also returns after hauling in five in that category in 2023.

This will be the first conference test of the season for Ole Miss after a seemingly-manageable non-conference slate. It helps that this game comes in Oxford, but Kentucky has shown an ability to hang around and win its fair share of SEC matchups in recent seasons. The Rebels will have to be on their guard when the Wildcats come to town.

Kickoff in this game is slated for 11 a.m. CT on Sept. 28, and it will be televised on either ESPN or ABC.