Paul Finebaum Buying Ole Miss As Contender

Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network believes the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels are for real.

USA Today Sports

The Ole Miss Rebels are undefeated through the first five games after beating the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats at home 22-19 and moved up five spots to No. 9 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll following their nail-biting victory. 

While the offense was stagnant in the second half, the Rebels were able to pass their first real test of the season, and coach Lane Kiffin got his first top 10 victory at Ole Miss in the process. 

While it is still early in the year, Ole Miss is beginning to impress even though many experts believed they would regress after so much talent left for the 2022 NFL Draft.

One of those impressed experts is none other than SEC Network's Paul Finebaum. The Spun recently reported that Finebaum mentioned during his weekly recap show that this Ole Miss team might be the real deal.

"Being with Lane on Friday and just soaking in that campus, that’s a legitimate football school," Finebaum said. "And their schedule sets up moderately well. … And right now, who else are you going to take seriously in the SEC West?" 

Finebaum went on to praise the Ole Miss defense for making plays versus Kentucky, a unit that is currently allowing 11.8 points per game. 

"Their defense really kept them alive in that game," Finebaum said of the Rebels. "I have not seen as many ways to blow a game that we saw by Kentucky probably since the previous week by Missouri against Auburn. It was really unbelievable to watch."

If the Rebels want to be contenders, they will have to finish out the remainder of their schedule which includes seven straight SEC matchups.

Ole Miss will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road in Week 6. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT, and the matchup will be televised on SEC Network.

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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