The Cats hit the road for the first time this season.
The Kentucky Wildcats hit the road for the first time this season as they travel down to Oxford for a date with the Ole Miss Rebels.
After knocking off the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday, Mark Stoop’s squad has now moved to 2-2 on the season as they look to continue making the complete turnaround from the egg they laid against South Carolina in Week 2. This week against Ole Miss will be another opportunity to do just that.
It won’t be easy, though. Lane Kiffin’s team comes into the battle ranked as a top-ten team in the country and has been as high as No. 5 in the early weeks of AP Polls. Coming into the matchup, the Rebels are 4-0 and are coming off another blow-out performance against Georgia Southern, winning 52-13.
Keeping that in mind, that will point us to likely the biggest matchup in this game, Jaxson Dart vs. Kentucky’s defense. We saw what Kentucky was able to do to slow down Carson Beck and the Georgia offense, but this Ole Miss offense is a completely different beast.
At the moment, Ole Miss is currently averaging 61 points per game while stacking up an absurd average of 670 yards per game. With most of those coming through the air, Dart is already setting himself up for a potential invitation to the Heisman ceremony with the numbers he has been posting. After throwing for 1,554 yards and 12 touchdowns through the first four weeks, Brad White’s defense will have to prepare to slow him down.
For the BBN, there is some hope coming into this matchup. To start the season, Ole Miss has squared off with Furman, Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest, and the aforementioned Georgia Southern. Despite facing one Power 5 opponent in Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons have struggled so far this season, sitting at 1-2, and have not looked great.
If the Cats can replicate some of the offensive successes we saw against Ohio and can continue to dominate on the defensive side of the ball, they will have a shot. Obviously, that is a big “if” at the moment after the first two conference performances by the offense, but the chance could be there for the Cats this week to earn that first signature win.
At the moment, the Cats are currently a 16.5-point underdog to the Rebels. That sounds about right, based on how these two teams have looked so far this season.
Let the game week begin!
How to watch Kentucky vs. Ole Miss
Date & Time: Saturday, Sep. 28 at Noon ET
Location: Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, MS
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: UK Sports Network with Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro
Odds: Ole Miss -16.5 via FanDuel, while ESPN FPI only gives the Cats a 9.5% chance of victory.
Early Predictions: DRatings has the Rebels winning 33-21, while TeamRankings has it at 35-17 in favor of the home team.