Ole Miss vs. Georgia State: Preview of Rebels’ Season Opener, Plus How to Watch and Listen

OXFORD, Miss. — No. 21 Ole Miss opens the 131st season of Rebel football with a matchup against the Georgia State Panthers Saturday, August 30 at 6:45 p.m. CT at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the first matchup between the two programs ever.

How to Watch and List: Ole Miss vs. Georgia State

Date: Saturday, August 30
Time: 6:45 p.m. CT
Location: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: ESPN App
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com/watch

A look at the matchup

Ole Miss enters the game against Georgia State as a -34.5 (-110) favorite. Lane Kiffin will look to get first-year starter Austin Simmons as comfortable as possible ahead of the first conference game that comes next weekend on the road against the Mark Stoops-led Kentucky Wildcats who beat Ole Miss at home last season.

Ole Miss kicks off its season with another night game at the Vaught, and Lane Kiffin has set the expectations he has for fans for the opening game.

“Obviously a lot of new players with this team, so it’ll be exciting to come out and play in front of a home crowd that, you know, we really urge to to be electric like it has been here at times. And, you know, some of these early games have been early kickoffs. So it was good to get a later kickoff for our fans. And so we’re excited with that. Really urge them to stay show up early and stay and create a great home environment like we’ve had it a lot of times here. So, I know the players are excited to play someone else. This is a really good, really well-coached team that has really good players, a number of returning and a number of transfers from really big places that have come in. Coach has done a really good job building this team. And, I mean, look no further than, you know, with only a few months to prepare, he went and beat Vanderbilt last year, you know, that says a lot about their staff and Hue Jackson is offensive coordinator, so these guys are going to have really good schematic stuff and really good players. And so, we need to perform really well. And that’s why I’m saying to the fans too, we all need to perform well. So let’s have an exciting Saturday night.” — Lane Kiffin

A Look at Georgia State

Georgia State enters the game in year two under head coach Dell McGee and first year offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and defensive coordinator Travis Pearson.

Jackson, the former Cleveland Browns head coach, was elevated to the offensive coordinator position in January after serving as the recruiting operations coordinator for the Panthers in 2024. Defensive coordinator Travis Pearson comes into his first season after spending three seasons at Troy as the cornerbacks coach.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Panthers return quarterback Christian Veillux who put up career highs in passing yards (2,047) and touchdowns (13).

They also return their leading receiver Ted Hurst who had an outstanding 2024 season. Hurst totaled 961 receiving yards on 56 catches while also bringing in a team-best nine touchdowns.

Georgia State went on a full overhaul during the offseason transfer portal, acquiring 34 new players from the portal. Struggling on the offensive line and defensively last season, McGee set goals for his team entering the offseason.

Mississippi native and Georgia transfer Branson Robinson headlines the running back transfers, after putting up 330 yards and three touchdowns in 2022, Robinson suffered a season ending injury after three games in 2023, and never fully returned to his full fitting in 2024 with the Bulldogs.

“Yeah. They have a really good room. They got a couple of kids that have played here, Branson and some others. And so, big physical runners and we’re gonna have to tackle really well.”

Alongside Robinson, former Ole Miss running back Rashad Amos also transferred to Georgia State in the spring.

The Ole Miss offense will face off against a defense headlined by four-star UCF transfer Zavier Carter.

Rebels to watch

The Ole Miss receiving corps will be the headline feature for Rebel fans, as Cayden Lee, Oklahoma State transfer De’Zhaun Stribling, Penn State transfer Harrison Wallace and Wake Forest transfer Deuce Alexander lead the line for the talented group.

And defensively, according to Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding, there “won’t be much drop off” from last season’s defensive line to this year’s, a statement which should excite all Rebel fans.

Preseason All-American Suntarine Perkins and senior Zxavian Harris lead the front line for the Ole Miss defense this season. Both had productive fall camps and look to continue the expectation for defense set by last year’s historic team.