The Ole Miss Rebels are sitting at 3-0 for the second straight year after thrashing UL-Lafayette two-weeks ago, and have had some time to prepare for the improved Memphis Tigers.
This will be the 60th meeting between the two schools, and both schools are relatively different than the last time they met. That meeting was in 2009 in Oxford and the result was a 45-14 Rebel victory. Ole Miss holds the series record 47-10-2. You can find the full game notes package from Ole Miss Athletics here.
The tales are a bit different since 2009. Both schools have different staffs, and Memphis is off to one of it’s better starts in the past few years. While the Tigers are looking for a big upset, Ole Miss is looking to move ahead to 4-0 with Alabama looming next week.
Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace has the best completion percentage in the nation at 75.5 % which is very good considering where he was the last two seasons. He has great targets to choose from in Junior Cody Core, Sophomore Laquon Treadwell and Senior Vince Sanders. He also has Sophomores Evan Engram and Quincy Adeboyejo to target at times during the game.
The Rebels are led by the running back duo of I’Tavius Mathers and Jaylen Walton, with Walton usually getting the first reps of games. Ole Miss has yet to find a running game really and will try again in this week against Memphis.
On the defensive side of the ball Ole Miss has shown they have arguably the best defensive line in the Southeastern Conference let by Sophomore Robert Nkemdiche and Senior CJ Johnson. Both of which will need to stay healthy for the Rebels defensive success to continue down the tough stretch coming up.
Memphis has been able to score points on their opponents this season scoring over 35 points in all three games. Ole Miss’ opponents this season are only scoring 10.3 points per game. That’s another indicator that Ole Miss has the strongest defense in the SEC. We’ll see how Memphis’ offense fairs against SEC toughness today.
Kick-off is set for 6:30 CT on FSN, and it will be a regional broadcast. For local radio affiliates and complete game information visit OleMissSports.com for the Rebels, and for Memphis you can visit GoTigersGo.com.
Ole Miss will honor legendary Rebel Chucky Mullins throughout the weekend, most notably wearing “38” decals on their helmet instead of their normal Ole Miss logo. For the full list of events around the “It’s Time” weekend, Click Here.
Rebel fans, tune in each week to Hotty Toddy Hotline. The all Ole Miss program is broadcast from the historic Oxford Square where hosts Connor Hennessey and Browning Stubbs recap each game, look ahead to future games and give neverending coverage of all Rebel Sports. This week’s edition of Hotty Toddy Hotline from CRM Sports can be found here.
Connor Hennessey is a writer and radio host in Oxford, Miss. He can be reached by email at cmhennes@go.olemiss.edu or @ConnorHennes on Twitter. Visit OleMissSports.com for up-to-date information pertaining to the Ole Miss Rebels.
