2013 Ole Miss Rebels Football Preview

The Good: Ole Miss was a surprise story last year in Hugh Freeze's rookie campaign in Oxford. Granted, 7-6 is not usually what you would call a success, but for Ole Miss, given their struggles in recent years, Freeze made the most of what he had to work with. Now they will have to build on this success, and with a recruiting class that many consider the best in school history featuring the nation's #1 OL (Laremy Tunsil), the nation's #1 WR (Laquon Treadwell) and let's not forget the nation's overall #1 prospect (Robert Nkemdiche), the Rebs may be turning the corner. 15 starters return as well, and that is always a good thing.

The Bad: 17 interceptions by quarterback Bo Wallace is not going to get them to the next level. On the other side of the passing game, the defense ranked 11th in the SEC, while the turnover margin was 9th. Those numbers have to improve if the team is going to make the jump to contender status.

The Ugly: The starters look great, but depth is an issue. And in the SEC, you had better have some talent behind the first teamers or eventually you will run out of gas.

Starters Returning: 8 – Offense / 7 - Defense.

Schedule: Intriguing for the Rebels as the first month sees a gauntlet of sorts as they open the year at dangerous Vanderbilt, then trips to Austin and Tuscaloosa finish out the month. After an October 5th game at Auburn, the team does not leave the state of Mississippi the rest of the season. Unfortunately after Auburn comes back-to-back contests with Texas A&M and LSU, but from there the rest of the games are very winnable.

Jan 5, 2013; Birmingham, AL, USA: Mississippi Rebels coach Hugh Freeze reacts to a call during the first half of the BBVA Compass Bowl against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Legion Field. Photo courtesy by Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports.

Outlook: Ole Miss is a team on the rise as Hugh Freeze has them heading in the right direction. However, they are not there yet as Alabama and Texas A&M have too many horses for the Rebels to contend with this year. However, if the star recruits that have been brought to Oxford begin to show their promise, this could be a very scary team in years to come.

Prediction: 4th SEC West.

Here's our Top 3 Returning SEC QB/WR Duos.

Read more at 2013 SEC Football Preview and Predictions.

Individual 2013 SEC Football Team Previews and Predictions (Listed in Order of Predicted Finish):

Read Scott Sergent's outstanding new book:

More Ole Miss Football Pages:

2012 Ole Miss Rebels Football Preview
2011 Ole Miss Rebels Football Preview
2010 Ole Miss Rebels Football
2009 Ole Miss Rebels Football
2008 Ole Miss Rebels Football
2007 Ole Miss Football
Ole Miss Rebels Football History
Johnny Vaught Biography (former Ole Miss Coach
Ed Orgeron Biography (former Ole Miss coach)
Houston Nutt Biography (current Ole Miss coach)
Frank Kinard Biography (Ole Miss lineman)

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