SEC Football: Predicting the 2023 SEC standings and final rankings
By Kevin Miller
2023 SEC Football Standings No. 7 (and 4th in the SEC West):
Ole Miss Rebels
Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels took college football by storm in the early goings of the 2022 season. The hot start slowed considerably, however, as the Rebs started the year 7-0 and then 8-1 before finishing the year 8-5.
The Ole Miss defense was one of the biggest reasons for the swoon as, after giving up just 10 points a game in four out-of-conference games to start the year, they surrendered over 32 points per game in the season’s final 9 games (including giving up over 40 three times). New defensive coordinator Pete Golding will be tasked with fixing that mess in 2023.
Running back Quinshon Judkins could be the top back in the conference, and likely starting quarterback Jaxson Dart is a good runner, as well, so Ole Miss should not have much of an issue on the ground. If Dart can distribute the ball well in the passing game, the Rebels could put a classic Lane Kiffin offensive juggernaut on the field.
Dart and the offense added a nice weapon in their fight for offensive supremacy as Ole Miss added one of the top Group of 5 receivers in the country through the transfer portal in Zakhair Franklin.
There will be a quarterback controversy rumbling beneath the surface if Dart and/or the offense are not operating at a big-time level. Oklahoma State starter Spencer Sanders transferred to Oxford, and he left the Cowboys with the idea of starting.
An interesting schedule includes tough road games at Tulane, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and rival Mississippi State. 9-3 appears to be the ceiling in 2023 because of the tough road tests and the overall quality of play in the SEC West, but if the Rebels drop a swing game or two, they will see themselves hovering around bowl eligibility instead of taking another step forward record-wise.
PREDICTION
Overall: 7-5; SEC Football: 3-5
Mercer (W), @Tulane (W), Georgia Tech (W), @Alabama (L), LSU (L), Arkansas (W), @Auburn (L), Vanderbilt (W), Texas A&M (L), @Georgia (L), Louisiana-Monroe (W), @Mississippi State (W)