Ole Miss has a shocking ESPN FPI ranking this week. One that Lane Kiffin might possibly enjoy.
Ole Miss is gearing up for what promises to be a memorable year for Lane Kiffin’s fifth-year Rebels. Most predict them to be among the final teams standing by the end of the regular season. It’s why they’re often regarded as a top-eight preseason squad heading into fall camp.
“This is definitely the best roster,” Kiffin said last week during the SEC Spring Meetings in Florida. “I’m not sure if it will be the best team. There is a lot to figure out about that. Some of our key players were out for the spring, so we’ll have a lot of work to do to bring them all together to form the best team.”
However, not everyone believes the 2024 Ole Miss Rebels will have such a season. ESPN’s analytics are one of them.
ESPN’s Football Power Index is a measure used to predict season outcomes that additionally considers schedule strength (No. 22). Earlier this week, ESPN’s FPI was updated for the first time since the 2023 season, and the Rebels are ranked No. 16.
This is the lowest mark we’ve seen from this bunch this offseason. The Rebels’ most recent rating was No. 11 in USA Today’s top-134, which felt disappointing.
The majority of sportsbooks have assigned the Rebels an over/under win total of 9.5. Some may even argue the number is a tad low for this club, but not ESPN’s number cranker. The FPI predicts Ole Miss will finish 8-4 this season.
According to their estimations and probability, Ole Miss will finish the season behind Clemson, Texas A&M, LSU, Michigan, Florida State, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Penn State, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, and Georgia. This fall, the Rebels will face three of these 15 teams: LSU, Oklahoma, and Georgia.
Keep in mind that this is a program that is fully committed to the 2024 season, led by a preseason Heisman candidate quarterback surrounded by his best weapons to yet. Of course, the mathematics don’t look right for an Ole Miss team that has some of the greatest odds to win the 2024 National Championship.
However, Kiffin will have no trouble using it to push or at least keep his star-studded squad on track. The game isn’t played on a stat sheet, but Kiffin and his program have largely received accolades throughout the preseason and will most certainly continue to do so until (maybe) their first loss.
As previously said, Ole Miss’ experienced head coach believes this is the best team he and his staff have ever put together. They’ve won at least ten games in two of the last three seasons, despite having less skill than this club entering 2024. Despite a more advantageous schedule than last year, Ole Miss will still need to work hard to achieve their goals this season.
“A few years ago, we won 10 regular-season games, and last year we won 11 total games, the most in school history.” I believe the roster is better than that, but there is still a lot of work to be done to improve the squad,” Kiffin said.
