Skip to main content
ole-miss logo

Ready for Primetime? Ole Miss is climbing in Top 25 polls and now has its kickoff time for Alabama

Ben Garrettby:Ben Garrett•09/11/23•

SpiritBen

lane-kiffin-ole-miss-beats-kentucky
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin

Ole Miss remained perfect (2-0) through the first two weeks of the 2023-24 season with its first double-digit comeback win over an AP ranked team since 2016.

The Rebels rallied from a 17-7 deficit to take down Tulane, 37-20, in New Orleans. As a result, they climbed three spots (to No. 17) in the AP Top 25. They’re No. 19 in the Coaches Poll.

Next up is Georgia Tech (1-1) Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Yellowjackets are coming off a 48-13 win over University of South Carolina Upstate. They lost to Louisville, 39-14, in their season opener.

“Really proud about how the game ended,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said to open his weekly press conference. “That’s a Top 25 opponent. We all have injuries and things happen. They played without their quarterback, but they’ve still got a lot of good players to win the Cotton Bowl and be a Top 25 team. 

“To end the game on a 30-3 run says a lot about our players. Started slow, obviously. Very proud of how they finished. Defensively, played awesome in the second half. Outscored them, I think, 7-3, and made some significant special teams plays.”

Ole Miss Morning-After: SEC West can be won, but Rebels first have to get their house in order

Ole Miss opens SEC play at Alabama next week. 

Kickoff has officially been set for September 23 at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS, the SEC announced Monday. It will be the 71st all-time meeting between the teams. 

The Crimson Tide on Saturday fell to Texas in the marquee game of the college football weekend. Alabama holds a 57-10-2 lead over Ole Miss in this all-time series.

“Got out of there with a win,” Kiffin added on Tulane. “Now got to get ready to come back home and restart a home (winning) streak. We had one that was pretty long here for a while. One of the longest in the country and screwed that up.

“Good to be back home. Hopefully our crowd will come out and give us a home-field advantage. Our crowd was phenomenal (at Tulane) — to show up for a road game like that and stay to the end of the game in the fourth quarter. Late in the fourth quarter it looked like the whole stands was Ole Miss. That was cool to see. Be nice if our fans would stay like to the end of our home games. 

“It was cool to see. It reminded me of the Egg Bowl two years ago at Mississippi State at the end of the game.”

You may also like