Coming into the 2016 season, there were plenty of reasons to view Ole Miss’ lofty projections with a skeptical eye. The secondary was young, the linebackers a major question mark and the offensive line unproven. Even the most critical of analysts, however, didn’t predict the Rebels would head into the regular season finale battling for bowl eligibility.
That’s where Hugh Freeze’s 5-6 bunch sits now, needing to pull out a win in a historically unpredictable rivalry game against Mississippi State to save its postseason. Sure, Bill Connelly’s S&P+ numbers give Ole Miss a 78 percent chance of winning and the latest spread has the Rebs by 7.