ESPN identifies best, worst case scenarios for Ole Miss in 2023

Ole Miss saw their best and worst-case scenarios both come to life last season. After starting 8-1 and reaching as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll, the Rebels free-fell by losing their final four games.

Now, as they look to be more consistent this fall, what do those two scenarios look like this year in Oxford?

ESPN’s Harry Lyles Jr. addressed that question in a recent article that looked at each team in the Top-25. He believes Ole Miss really could make some noise in the SEC West in 2023 if they can provide a good answer at quarterback, maintain their great rush attack, and have their new defensive coordinator take a few extra points off the board from their opponents.

“An improvement at quarterback — whether that’s with Jaxson Dart or one of two transfers in Spencer Sanders or Walker Howard — would go a long way, assuming Quinshon Judkins remains one of the best players in the conference and, most importantly, Pete Golding solves the defensive woes that plagued them at the end of 2022,” wrote Lyles Jr.. “If those things happen? Maybe they surprise people and win the SEC West, or at least finish near the top.”

With that said, the wheels could also fall off of Lane Kiffin’s squad similar to how they did last year. Considering their schedule as well, Lyles Jr. sees a situation where the Rebels might already be headed toward the back of their division by the end of October.

“They visit Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and rival Mississippi State while also making a Sept. 9 trip to New Orleans to play Tulane in their nonconference slate. If improvements aren’t made defensively and Arkansas, Auburn, and Texas A&M all improve? It feels like, despite any offensive prowess it has, Ole Miss could finish in the middle of the pack again in the SEC West, if not worse.”

Ole Miss is another one of those teams that have the right pieces in place to make something happen. The question remains, though, if they’re going to be able to put that puzzle together in time to compete on their schedule before another fallout potentially takes place.

Kiffin not focusing on wins and losses to define success

During his time at Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin has found plenty of on-field success. Since the start of the Johnny Vaught era, only three coaches have had higher winning percentages in school history. Despite that, Kiffin says he’s not focusing on wins and losses to define success.

Kiffin explained that he doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about how to define a successful season but thinks that there are too many variables to judge on wins.

“You know, I don’t spend a lot of time on that,” Kiffin said. “That’s so far down the road. And, you know, people want to say win this many games or, whatever, finish this place in the conference. That’s like — there’s too many variables.”

“You want to coach very well and play very well,” Kiffin added. “And. sometimes, that means this many wins. And, sometimes, the ball hits the upright and doesn’t go in. Or a ref misses a call. So I know, at the end of the day, it’s about wins and losses. Okay, but, from a coaching standpoint? It’s about coaching really well, getting our guys to play really well, and bein hard to beat.”

“To me, when you’re a really good team? You coach really well, you’re playing really well, you’re hard to beat,” said Kiffin. “You may lose some games but you’ve got to play really well to beat us.”