Texas A&M Week 10 Opponent Preview: Ole Miss Rebels

Texas A&M will head to Oxford to face a dangerous Ole Miss Rebels offense, led by Heisman front-runner, Matt Corral

Matt Galatzan | Nov 8, 2021

Heading into the back end of their regular season schedule, the Texas A&M Aggies will travel to Oxford to take on quarterback Matt Corral and the Ole Miss Rebels, and their dangerous high flying offense.

Led by second-year head coach Lane Kiffin, the Rebels burst onto the scene this season, surging into the top 15 at multiple points throughout the year.

Ole Miss was able to accomplish that thanks to Kiffin and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby's brilliant offensive scheme, which was one of the most productive in the entire country last season.

Luckily for the Rebels, the majority of that offense returns, including Corral, who has cemented himself as a Heisman front runner.

Stay tuned to AllAggies.com as we continue our preview series of each team on the Aggies schedule in the coming weeks.

Now on to the Rebels.

Ole Miss

2021 Record: 7-2

Head coach: Lane Kiffin

Kiffin is entering his second year as the rebels head coach

Offensive set: Multiple

Defensive set: Multiple

Returning starters on offense: 8

Last season, the Ole Miss offense was one of the best in the country, with the Rebels finishing third in the nation in total offense (555.5 yards per game), 14th in scoring offense (39.2 points per game), seventh in passing offense (344.9 yards per game), and 26th in rushing offense (210.6 yards per game)

This season, it has been more of the same, with the Rebels ranking near the top of nearly every major statistical category in the book. Unfortunately for the Rebels, they have also had a rash of injuries as of late, and are projected to be without multiple starters for the contest.

Projected starters on Offense:

QB: Matt Corral*

RB: Jerrion Ealy OR Henry Parrish OR Snoop Conner

WR1: Braylon Sanders

WR2: Jahcour Pearson

WR3: Dannis Jackson

TE: Casey Kelly

LT: Nick Broeker*

LG: Cedric Warren

C: Orlando Umana

RG: Caleb Warren

RT: Jeremy James*

* Denotes returning starters

Returning starters on Defense: 6

Unlike its offense, the Ole Miss defense was one of the worst in the nation in 2020, finishing near the bottom in the country in most defensive categories.

However, under new defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, the Rebels have made an impressive turnaround. And while they still struggle at times, this Ole Miss defense is one of the best the team has fielded in quite some time.

Projected starters on Defense:

DE: Cedric Johnson

DT: Isaiah Iton

NT: KD Hill

Buck: Sam Williams*

LB: Chance Campbell

LB: Lakia Henry*

Star: Otis Reese*

CB: Jaylon Jones*

CB: Deane Leonard

S: Jake Springer

S: A.J. Finley*

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Published Nov 8, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.