Three Games to Circle on 2022 Ole Miss Football Schedule

There are tons of storylines in the upcoming football season for Ole Miss, but these are three games that catch our eye in the offseason.

At least in theory, the Ole Miss Rebels football schedule starts with some "warmup" games before things get real in the back half.

The Rebels open with home dates against Troy, Central Arkansas and Tulsa with a road game against Georgia Tech sprinkled in the middle. Ole Miss will likely be favored in all four of these games if everything goes according to plan, but once those four games are gone, things start to get challenging for the Rebels on paper.

Here is the Ole Miss schedule for the 2022 season.

Sept. 3 -- vs. Troy

Sept. 10 -- vs. Central Arkansas

Sept. 17 -- at Georgia Tech

Sept. 24 -- vs. Tulsa 

Oct. 1 -- vs. Kentucky*

Oct. 8 -- at Vanderbilt*

Oct. 15 -- vs. Auburn*

Oct. 22 -- at LSU*

Oct. 29 -- at Texas A&M*

Nov. 12 -- vs. Alabama*

Nov. 19 -- at Arkansas*

Nov. 24 -- vs. Mississippi State*

* denotes Southeastern Conference game

Of these games, it's evident that things heat up for the Rebels once they hit conference play, but what are some of the most important games to circle on the schedule? The Grove Report dives into that below.

Oct. 1 vs. Kentucky

Not only is this the Rebels' first conference test of the season, it comes against a Kentucky team that many believe could be a dark horse in the SEC East.

As Ole Miss enters the 2022 season, it has yet to settle on a starting quarterback between Luke Altmyer and Jaxson Dart. If this quarterback controversy extends into the season, the Rebels will likely have an answer before Oct. 1 against the Wildcats, but we will learn a lot about Ole Miss' ceiling with this game to open October.

Oct. 15 vs. Auburn

The jury is still out on Bryan Harsin's job security entering this fall on The Plains, but the Rebels have struggled against Auburn in recent years.

The Tigers have won six straight contests over Ole Miss, and the Rebels have only captured four wins in the series since 2003. Harsin's squad was also one of Ole Miss' two losses during the regular season in 2021. If Auburn happens to be down this fall, the Rebels will need to take advantage of that at home to gain another conference win.

Oct. 29 at Texas A&M

There has been drama between the triangle of Lane Kiffin, Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban this offseason regarding NIL legislation, and College Station is a tough place to play. The Aggies will have already faced the Crimson Tide by the time the Rebels come to town, but the eyes of both fan bases (and possibly the country) will be on this meeting in late October.

If you remember, this meeting attracted ESPN's College GameDay to Oxford last season, a game that Ole Miss won and potentially marked its symbolic return to college football prominence in the national consciousness. Where last year's meeting had drama, this one could as well, even if much of that drama has come from head coach comments off the field.

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