Ole Miss, What to Know

Texas and #25 Ole Miss meet for the second time in as many years in Austin this weekend. The Rebels look to avenge the 66-31 beat down then #12 Texas dealt them in Oxford last season.

This go-round, Ole Miss might have their best shot at a Texas team against the ropes after last week’s 40-21 loss to BYU.

Now, everything you need to know about the University of Mississippi Rebels: [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

Ole Miss comes to Austin looking to start 3-0 for the time since the 1989 season. With a thrilling 39-35 comeback win at SEC opponent Vanderbilt and a comfortable home win against Southeast Missouri the Rebels look ready for their shot at the Horns.

The Rebels don’t necessarily have a best player, but they possess many crucial ones. The team has a seasoned bunch, returning 10 starters on offense and 9 on defense.

Junior QB Bo Wallace remains the most important. As Bo goes, so will Ole Miss. He comes into the game 39-62 passing with 2 pass TDs.

He’ll throw to a very talented group of wide receivers. Freshmen Laquon Treadwell has started off hot while fellow freshmen TE Evan Engram leads the team with 131 receiving yards and a score.

The Rebels have produced immediate dividends from the stellar 2013 recruiting class, which landed them in the national spotlight for signing one of the best, if not the best, classes in the country.

Also look at how the offensive and defensive lines hold up. The surging Rebels and reeling Longhorns should create an intriguing matchup. BYU pushed Texas around and ran for miles, Bo Wallace has mobility, but he’s not the runner BYU had in QB Taysom Hill.

Although, Wallace does offer a more balanced attack than Hill. His three interceptions and lack of protection in last year’s meeting led to a largely inconsistent night. The performance of the Rebel’s offensive line will play a key in this match-up.

As the old saying goes among Ole Miss fans, “We might not win every game, but we’ve never lost a party.” Ole Miss has gained fame for The Grove and the massive/extravagant tailgate parties, which fill it.

Rumor has it, the tailgating for last season’s game in Oxford compared to the craziest ever. Look for Texas fans to go all out this Saturday in a meeting of increasingly familiar fan bases.




In 2011, Ole Miss reported 52% of their freshmen hailed from out of state. The top 10% rule in Texas public high schools along with the Hope scholarship program in Georgia pushed many students from those states to Ole Miss.

Many Texas fans will tell you they know an alum or a current student at Ole Miss. The middle section of the Venn diagram between these two schools grows every year.

The Princeton Review recently named Ole Miss the most beautiful campus, while in 2011 Newsweek/Daily Beast ranked the Rebel student body #1 in attractiveness.

The lone Ole Miss victory against Texas came in a 39-7 win at the 1958 Sugar Bowl. This week’s match-up could see a healthy Rebel team turn back the clock against a Texas team trying to put last week’s BYU loss in the rearview mirror.

The game should play out with plenty of excitement, even if it doesn’t, the tailgate atmosphere should make for a spectacle to behold.

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