SEC Week 2 power rankings - 9: Ole Miss
Austin Simmons had a rough go to start this one off, but he settled in as the game went on. The Rebs looked like they could be defensively dominated in this game early on, just like last year, but Kiffin— who has to have had this game on his docket ever since they unexpectedly lost last year— got his offense in gear.
The Rebels did a much better job than the Wildcats on capitalizing on their promising drives, averaging over 4 points when they made it across the 40, where UK averaged under 3. The defense looked okay, but this could be a result that ages poorly if the Wildcat offense spirals.
It wasn’t a great day for star running back Kewan Lacy, which is of slight concern, but this is an extremely physical front for UK. It doesn’t bode well for Ole Miss’s game against Georgia later in the year, for example, but I could have said the same thing last year.
All in all, Lane Kiffin has passed his first test in 2025, even if it was a bit of an easy one. In any case, it wasn’t one he passed last year, so it’s an improvement on that front.
Ole Miss will have a couple of power conference-level games in the upcoming few weeks, as they host Arkansas, Tulane, and LSU in the next three games. We’ll continue to get a picture of just how good this Rebels squad is by that point.