There are too many variables for me to even attempt a prediction now. 

Prediction by Saturday Down South - Conner O'Gara
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/ole-miss-football/ole-miss-crystal-ball-2019/

Game-by-game predictions

Week 1: at Memphis (L)
I’m going to catch a lot of heat for this, but this is more about my belief in Memphis. I have the Tigers getting the Group of 5 bid to a New Year’s 6 Bowl because of having offensive weapons like Brady White, Patrick Taylor and Damonte Coxie. The Tigers rank 7th in America in percentage of returning production from a team that averaged more than 520 yards per game last year. I think an inexperienced Ole Miss offense struggles to keep up with that pace on the road.

Week 2: vs. Arkansas (L)
Wait, seriously? An 0-2 start? Last year, Chad Morris’ squad nearly beat Ole Miss and that was with a team that had Jordan Ta’amu and A.J. Brown. Even though the Rebels will likely be favored at home, I expect an improved Arkansas squad to establish some offensive balance with Rakeem Boyd and Trey Knox making big plays. This turns into a shootout and Ole Miss comes out on the wrong end.

Week 3: vs. Southeastern Louisiana (W)
Against an FCS squad that won 4 games as a member of the Southland Conference? Yeah, Scottie Phillips and Jerrion Ealy should go off.

Week 4: vs. California (W)
This is an interesting early-season test for Ole Miss’ offense. Justin Wilcox is one of the country’s better defensive-minded coaches, and he’ll return 78% of the production from a group that ranked No. 22 in scoring last year. But maybe it’s something about a team traveling across the country that has me wondering if Ole Miss will come out with its best offensive start of the young season.

Week 5: at Alabama (L)
It’s hard for me to erase last year’s beatdown in Oxford. I witnessed it and could confirm it was every bit as bad as the scoreboard suggested. In Tuscaloosa, I don’t think Tua Tagovailoa has quite the game that he did last year. But Ole Miss will probably still see a healthy amount of Najee Harris and Trey Sanders to make this one a blowout.

Week 6: vs. Vanderbilt (L)
In a weird turn of events, Vanderbilt’s skill position weapons excite me more than Ole Miss’. Strange year, 2019. Until we see the improvements of the run defense, it’s tough to project that unit shutting down Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who racked up 127 yards in a win against Ole Miss last year. The best bet for this game? Take the over.

Week 7: at Mizzou (L)
Mizzou might be in a position that Ole Miss is all too familiar with — trying to stay motivated while facing a bowl ban. Whether it gets upheld or not, Mizzou still should have enough offensive firepower to take care of business at home against Ole Miss. If Kelly Bryant can pick apart that Ole Miss secondary in the first half, it could be a long day in Columbia.

Week 8: vs. Texas A&M (L)
In order for Ole Miss to beat an SEC team in 2019, I feel like it’s going to have to come against a relatively one-dimensional offense. I don’t think A&M follows that blueprint. Even without Trayveon Williams, I expect the Aggies to be balanced and high-powered offensively. Ole Miss’ only hope is if A&M is banged up after a hard-fought game against Alabama. But I’d still expect Mike Elko’s defense to give the Rebels problems in the run game.

Week 9: Bye

Week 10: at Auburn (L)
Both teams are expected to start a redshirt freshman or a true freshman at quarterback (Corral already has the gig while Auburn is deciding between Joey Gatewood and Bo Nix). Will we be able to tell? I don’t think so. But will I be able to tell that the Tigers are absolutely nasty on the defensive line? Definitely.

Week 11: vs. New Mexico State (W)
After 6 consecutive games against Power 5 teams, Ole Miss’ offense finally feasts on some Group of 5 cooking. Oh, NMSU is actually an FBS Independent? My bad. After 6 consecutive games against Power 5 teams, Ole Miss’ offense finally feasts on some “Independent” cooking. That just sounds weird.

Week 12: vs. LSU (L)
If Ole Miss still had A.J. Brown, DaMarkus Lodge, D.K. Metcalf and Dawson Knox, I’d love to see another matchup against the LSU secondary. But those guys aren’t back and nearly all of that LSU secondary that shut down those guys are back. That’s daunting for the Rebels.

Week 13: Bye

Week 14: at Mississippi State (W)
Yes, an upset. Stunning, right? Well, I realize it doesn’t matter that the road team won 4 consecutive games and I think that MSU is and will be the better team. But sure, let’s call an upset because if a young Ole Miss team that has nothing to lose is playing in this game without any pre-NFL distractions, that road trend could continue. But that’ll only happen if Corral can avoid the post-touchdown fights in the end zone. I think he’ll mature that way and as a player in RichRod’s offense.

2019 projection: 4-8 (1-7, 7th in SEC West)
 

Aug 31 - @ Memphis - L
Sep 7 - Arkansas - W
Sep 14 - SE LA - W
Sep 21 - California - L
Sep 28 - @ Alabama - L
Oct 5 - Vanderbilt - W
Oct 12 - @ Mizzou - L
Oct 19 - Texas A&M - L 
Nov 2 - @ Auburn - L
Nov 9 - NM State - W
Nov 16 - LSU - L 
Nov 28 - @ MSU - L

Predicted Record 4-8 
My expectations are thoroughly tempered.  I will really enjoy it if I'm wrong.

The ones left are:

Sooper_Rebel 5-7
Rebel58 5-7
MeridianOMRebel 4-8
catfishboy 4-8
Rock1Aggie 4-8
Ellisvillereb 4-8
BucRebel 4-8
SDS 4-8
Themob 8-4
LonghaulReb 6-6


 

Last edited by Sooper_Rebel (11/18/2019 4:01 pm)

And the winners are...
MeridianOMRebel 4-8
catfishboy 4-8
Rock1Aggie 4-8
Ellisvillereb 4-8
BucRebel 4-8
SDS 4-8