Previewing Ole Miss Football’s 2025 SEC Schedule

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss Rebels are starting their sixth season under head coach Lane Kiffin, who finished the 2024 season with a 10-3 record and eight draft picks.

Among those drafted was quarterback Jaxon Dart, who finished his Ole Miss career as the winningest quarterback in Rebel history, holding the Ole Miss single-season passing yard record in the process.

Now, as the Rebels are returning to Oxford to begin fall camp, the Ole Miss offense will be led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Austin Simmons who will have plenty of weapons thanks to a coaching staff that managed to secure 30 commitments through the transfer portal.

Let’s take a look at Ole Miss’ conference schedule ahead of their season opener against Georgia State, which will take place on August 30 at Vaught-Hemingway.

Week 2: At Kentucky (Last season: 4-8)

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, like Kiffin, also went to work in the portal, securing 26 transfers to pair with the No. 28-ranked recruiting class. 

Seven of the 11 offensive starters for the Wildcats will be new to Lexington, including former Texas A&M and Incarnate Word quarterback Zach Calzada, former Alabama wide receiver Kendrick Law, and former Nebraska running back Dante Dowdell.

Kentucky will have the home field advantage. While the Wildcats may very likely have the offensive firepower to keep up with the Rebels, they have almost the same defense as last year, so their issue will be stopping Ole Miss’ potent offense.

Week 3: Arkansas (Last season: 7-6)

The Rebels are no doubt happy they host the Razorbacks at home this year. After the 63-31 beatdown of the Hogs issued by Jaxson Dart and company last year, no doubt Sam Pittman’s bunch would like to avenge that horrid loss. 

The Rebels will take on another revamped offense with Arkansas in Oxford. With 31 incoming transfers, the Razorbacks will also have seven new offensive starters from the portal.

The potential trouble Ole Miss will want to watch out for resides in quarterback Taylen Green, a very mobile and pressure-resistant quarterback who can throw on the run. With an overhaul on defense, Ole Miss will need to recreate its performance from last year and hope for consistency from Simmons on the offensive side if it wants to add to the win column.

Week 5: LSU (Last season: 9-4)

In 2025, the Rebels will be looking for revenge for last season’s loss to the Tigers, but this time the game takes place in the friendly confines of a packed Vaught-Hemingway that you can bet will be ready.

Although Ole Miss will have 64,000 cheering them on from the stands, this will be the second-toughest game on the schedule, behind a Week 8 game at Georgia.

LSU enters the contest with a Heisman hopeful quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier and one of the best wide receiver rooms in the SEC. Also with the return of a healthy Harold Perkins, their star linebacker set back by injury last year, LSU’s defense might be the best Baton Rouge has seen under Bryan Kelly.

The game in Athens will be tough, but Ole Miss might have to put on their best performance of the season against LSU. Against a top-notch offense and standout defense, the Rebels will need to show up and show out along with the crowd if they want to see a victory in Week 5.

Week 8: At Georgia (Last season: 11-3)

Last season, Ole Miss stunned the college football world when they took down the No. 3-ranked Georgia Bulldogs 28-10 in Oxford. But things are different this time around.

The Bulldogs are in a very questionable quarterback situation with Carson Beck gone. Their defense, like always, is still in a good spot. For yet another year, it seems as though the uncertainty in Athens rests with the offensive side of the ball.

Ole Miss will need to do two things to ensure it wins the game. First, they need to stay smart and consistent on offense. Georgia’s defense is always top tier, and if they get any momentum, the fans will bite and Sanford Stadium will be rockin’.

Secondly, they have to shut down USC wide receiver transfer Zachariah Branch. Branch will be the star receiver in Athens this year. Who knows if Stockton will be able to accurately deliver the ball when needed, but if he can, Branch will be dangerous. He can also create plays and score on special teams, so the Rebels will need to ensure he stays locked down.

If Kiffin and company did it last year, they can do it again, regardless of where they play. 

Week 9: At Oklahoma (Last season: 6-7)

This will be a tough two-week trip for the Rebels, back-to-back away games against two really good teams. Although Brent Venables’ tenure hasn’t been too exciting for Sooner fans, all the right things have been developing in Norman over the offseason.

The Sooners have a solid quarterback-running back duo in Washington State transfer John Mateer and California transfer Jaydn Ott, both entering 2025 with high expectations.

An Oklahoma crowd managed to rock a top-10 Alabama team late last season, and Ole Miss will need to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to them.

This could be a rough game for the Rebels, but it is very winnable. Kiffin needs to ensure that whatever happens against Georgia does not negatively affect this game.

If Week 8 is a loss, then they’ll need to bounce back. If Week 8 is a win, they can’t get overconfident. With the game before, and yet another week on the road, this game could very likely be more of a mental battle than a physical one.

Week 10: South Carolina (Last season: 9-4)

Potentially the biggest addition to the Gamecocks’ roster over the offseason was the arrival of Utah State transfer running back Rahsul Faison. In just two seasons with the Aggies, he managed to acquire more than 1,900 total yards.

Also, with quarterback LaNorris Sellers back in Columbia after a breakout freshman season, South Carolina will be dangerous, especially with speedster wide receiver Nyck Harbor.

Head coach Shane Beamer is putting together a talented team, but it will take a lot of effort if they want to walk out of Oxford with a win in 2025.

Last season, the Rebels visited the Gamecocks and beat them in their own home 27-3. If Ole Miss can efficiently lock down Sellers and Harbor, then fans can expect a similar outcome.

Week 11: Florida (Last season: 8-5)

As every Ole Miss fan recalls, Ole Miss lost to the Gators last year in Gainesville, a defeat that kept the Rebels out of the college football playoffs. This time around, the Gators will be making the trip to Oxford, where star quarterback DJ Lagway will face Austin Simmons and company.

This will be a Gators team with a very young and talented offense, but also a team with a defense made completely of returning players with experience.

The advantage the Rebels have in this game is their defense. If the defense can walk out and shut Lagway and the young receiving corps down, then Ole Miss will be in a great position. However, this is one of those games where the fans will need to be their loudest.

Week 12: At Mississippi State (Last season: 2-10)

Last season, Ole Miss beat Mississippi State in the Vaught, 26-14, and Rebel fans should expect no less when the Egg Bowl arrives in 2025.

After completing his first season in Starkville, head coach Jeff Lebby utilized the transfer portal to make some additions to his team. However, the skies are still looking rather gloomy. With Blake Shapen at the helm for the Bulldogs, a quarterback with a rather underwhelming career up to this point, and a decent receiver room, they will likely turn to the run game.

Lebby landed South Alabama running back Fluff Bothwell out of the transfer portal to pair with graduate senior Davon Booth, but that alone is unlikely to win him and the Bulldogs the game.

They will need to show up defensively again, like they did in Oxford last year when they held the Rebels to just 26 points. However, even with Dart gone, Ole Miss fans shouldn’t expect anything less from Kiffin’s offense this year, for this game at least.

This is the Egg Bowl, where hatred and passion fuel performance, and with the game being played in Starkville, anything is possible. But, this is still one of the more favorable positions that Ole Miss will have during conference play.