Daytime Fireworks: Can Ole Miss go 8-4? ESPN thinks so.
On this edition of “Daytime Fireworks”, the Associated Press’ David Brandt makes his triumphant return for Week 1 of college football. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach logged his predictions for the Power 5, including Ole Miss, and we are here to run through them and agree or disagree.
The senior writer for ESPN thinks Ole Miss will finish fourth in the SEC West and 8-4 overall. Can Lane Kiffin and Jaxson Dart make magic with a plethora of weapons on offense? What will a Pete Golding defense at Ole Miss look like in year one? What new faces will step up to make a difference?
Ole Miss brought in the No. 11-ranked transfer portal class and the offense and defense is loaded with talent and experience across the board. Tre Harris and Zakhari Franklin will try to replace Jonathan Mingo and Malik Heath. Caden Prieskorn will try to give Kiffin the weapon at tight end Ole Miss has missed the last two seasons. And Golding has a loaded secondary full of all-conference players.
David and I talk through the final record prediction and what we think about the rest of the conference. Is LSU good enough to win the division again and get back to Atlanta? Is Alabama in trouble at the quarterback position? What will happen when things don’t go well for Texas A&M’s offense? Can Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino coexist?
Then we look at the east. How top heavy is it? Will Georgia three-peat? What does a Carson Beck offense look like? And then what about below the Bulldogs? Is Tennessee for real? Liam Coen returns so what does that mean for NC State transfer Devin Leary? Can Shane Beamer and Spencer Rattler shake things up? How good can Vanderbilt be?
After, we run a rapid reaction through the rest of the Power 5 conferences. Who is winning the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12? Clemson or Florida State, who gets it done in the ACC? Can Michigan repeat? Is Texas finally back? Washington or USC?
All of this and more on another episode of “Daytime Fireworks” as we take a look at Ole Miss in 2023 and beyond.
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