Week 9 Staff Predictions: Ole Miss at Oklahoma

NORMAN — Ole Miss heads into an expected rain-soaked showdown in the flat lands against Oklahoma, and the Rebels are in desperate need of a bounce back victory in what could be a season-defining game for Lane Kiffin’s Rebels in the midst of outside drama.

Both the Sooners and Rebels will be fighting to stay alive in the race to Atlanta — and there’s a good chance the winner punches a postseason ticket. Lane Kiffin is 1-0 against Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables after last season’s matchup in Oxford, and Ole Miss leads the all-time series 2-0.

Oklahoma enters with a potential Heisman contender at quarterback and the nation’s top-ranked defense. Ole Miss counters with its usual high-powered offense, though the Rebels’ defense failed to get a stop through four quarters last week. The final score in this one is anyone’s guess, but the outcome could prove pivotal when December arrives.

With that being said, here is The Rebel Walk staff giving their best shots at predicting another big-time road game for the Rebels in Norman:

Adam Brown

Score prediction: Ole Miss 24, Oklahoma 17

X-Factor players: Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy

Trinidad Chambliss has a good day running the ball along with Kewan Lacy, and they each run for about 100 yards.

Bold prediction: Look for it to be a more low-scoring game due to the rain that is predicted for Saturday. Oklahoma’s defense allows 213.0 yards per game on the season with 108 yards passing. The Sooners are giving up 9.4 points per game this season.

Billy Kuhl

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 27, Oklahoma 17

X-Factor player: Kewan Lacy

Kewan Lacy is someone that I feel the Rebels didn’t lean on enough last week, as they gave him only 12 carries. Entering a tough environment to execute the running game can be crucial, especially if they’re sitting on a late lead. 

Bold Prediction: Ole Miss stuns the best defense in the country 

I believe this Ole Miss offense is elite and will show that, even when facing Oklahoma’s defense which is ranked No. 1 in total defense.

Daylan Flowers

Score prediction: Ole Miss 24, Oklahoma 21

X-Factor player: Suntarine Perkins

Perkins needs a huge game. Still searching for his first sack of the season, his presence will be needed in a rainy game. The Ole Miss defense dropped the ball against Georgia; a big problem was a three-man rush with Perkins dropping back in coverage.

Perkins nearly broke the single season sack record last season, albeit with a more explosive front line, but the gameplay for Perkins must be full on attack. Allowing OU quarterback John Mateer to sit back and throw all day will bury this Ole Miss defense alive. Perkins’ speed and explosiveness off the line of scrimmage will be important if Ole Miss wants any chance to get off the field on third downs

Bold prediction: The Ole Miss offensive line doesn’t allow a single sack against Oklahoma

Yes, Oklahoma is the No. 1 defense in the country, but it’s called a “bold prediction.” The Ole Miss offensive line allowed zero sacks of their quarterback last week, and they have been on a hot run since the Arkansas game. The chemistry is there, and the line is healthy, but now it will need to be better than ever if Ole Miss wants to walk out of Norman with a win.

David Walker

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 24, Oklahoma 21

During his Ole Miss head coaching career, Lane Kiffin is 11-11 overall in SEC road games and 2-6 as underdogs. In these six losses, the Rebs haven’t beaten a single spread. The Rebels’ two wins as visiting dogs came in 2020 at Kentucky and in 2021 at Mississippi State. It’s been a while. In Oklahoma, the Sooners are favored by 5.5 points. 

Oklahoma is neither a Kentucky nor a Mississippi State. They play great defense and, as a result, have gone “Under” in all seven games this season — and in nine of their last 10 dating back to last year.

QB John Mateer isn’t the hot Heisman prospect that he was earlier this season, mostly due to a broken bone in his throwing hand. However, his ability to move the football and keep drives alive is not in question. 

Ole Miss playing back-to-back road games is nothing new. It’s part of the job. I once played five straight. The Ole Miss players should in no way be affected by playing a couple at this stage of the season. 

Last year, the Rebels lost three of the four games that were one-score games in the fourth quarter. This year, they’ve reversed that thus far. It’s been the difference between 2024 and 2025.

This matchup against an OU program with a longstanding winning tradition will be yet another test of Lane Kiffin’s acumen for preparation, inspiration, and his ability to close the deal in a hostile environment — a challenge he has yet to master to any degree of efficiency. He’s due. 

X-Factor Player: Trinidad Chambliss

The SEC is a quarterback league and Trinidad’s performance at Georgia was simply awe-inspiring. Five touches and five touchdowns is a tough feat to accomplish in team scrimmages, much less in Sanford Stadium. He’s answered all the questions and quelled any reservations about his ability to perform at the highest level. 

The short, quick-release passing game is trending in football and Trinidad excels at it. This sets up the fades and corner routes targeting an excellent receiving corps. Incorporating his running threat, possibly the best Lane’s ever had, will be critical. 

Bold Prediction: Ole Miss out-gains Oklahoma, will be in the game in the fourth quarter, and a late field goal determines the winner. This one, ultimately, is on Lane.

Evie Van Pelt

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 31, Oklahoma 28

Call me crazy, but I think Pete Golding’s defense rebounds against the Sooners after a sub-par performance against Georgia last weekend. 

The Oklahoma defense, the No. 1 defense statistically in the nation, has allowed just 2.3 yards per carry this season, the second-best mark in college football. Kewan Lacy and the Rebels’ ground game, on the other hand, are averaging 4.5 yards per rush, so something will have to give there. And in an even starker contrast, Ole Miss is averaging 304.1 passing yards per game, while the Sooners’ secondary is only giving up 132.5 per game. 

X-Factor Player: Trinidad Chambliss

With a defense as stout as OU’s, Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss will need to handle the noise in Norman — and whatever defensive guru Brent Venables throws at him — and bounce back from a 4th quarter in Athens that saw the Rebels get shut out, 17-0, in the period.

Bold Prediction: Look for Trinidad to obliterate the 132 yards per game the Sooners give up and throw for double that.

Jacob Quaglino

Score prediction: Ole Miss 30, Oklahoma 27

X-Factor Player: The entire defense

Well, if this was not clear before, it’s abundantly clear now that how the rest of the season plays out will be largely determined by whether the defense can improve upon its catastrophic performance in Athens. If it cannot, there is plenty of reason to doubt that this will be the long-awaited breakthrough that Rebel fans have been longing for, for so many years.

If it can, however, then this team is a legitimate national championship contender (let’s not forget, folks: last week in Athens, the Rebel defense failed to produce a single scoreless offensive possession for the Kirby Smart’s offense. If they gotten even one stop, it’s highly likely that the Rebels would still be undefeated). Pretty much everything on the defensive side of the ball is going to have show improvement: the rushing and passing defense alike. It will be interesting to see what changes Pete Golding made following one of the worst defensive showings during Kiffin’s tenure in Oxford. 

Bold Prediction: Ole Miss puts up more points against Oklahoma than any other team so far

Oklahoma’s defense has been its crowning jewel so far this season, but it has not yet faced an offense led by breakout star QB Trinidad Chambliss. Let’s not forget, last week in Athens, despite the disastrous defensive showing, Chambliss and company put up 35 points against a Georgia team that had only allowed an average of 13 points per game at home. This will be the toughest offense the Sooners have faced so far, and it would be in their best interests not to take it for granted. 

Kam Wicker

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 34, Oklahoma 38

X-Factor Player: The Ole Miss offensive line

Since Chambliss has stepped into the starting role, the Ole Miss offensive line has not received the same criticism they faced throughout the offseason and start of the year. Although he didn’t play much in the first two games of the season, Chambliss is the least sacked quarterback in the SEC — only being taken down five times thus far.

While the push up front for the rushing attack in Athens was not there, Chambliss was still difficult to bring down. Yes, a lot of that is his ability to evade the pocket, but the big boys in the trenches continue to improve. For Ole Miss to win this one, crimson jerseys will need to be pushed backward when Lacy takes the handoffs.

Bold Prediction: Ole Miss trails at halftime for this first time this year

This won’t be the typical, rowdy Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium crowd with an 11 a.m. kickoff, but expect the Sooner fans to show up and show out. Playoff implications will be on the line, and I have a feeling this game will start rocky for the Ole Miss offense.

In order to be the contender they hope to be, the Rebels will need to prove they have some grit. I expect the Sooners to jump out to a lead and take that into the halftime locker room; and adjustments will need to be made on both sides. However, Ole Miss has yet to prove they can come from behind against a high-profile opponent (outside of being down one score to LSU) — therefore I predict another tough loss for the red and blue.

Zach Moreth

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 17, Oklahoma 21

Ole Miss is coming off a heartbreaking loss against Georgia  and will look to refocus on the road in Norman. On the flip side, my question is will the team be able to focus with the Lane Kiffin noise??

X-Factor Player: Kewan Lacy

I believe the Sooners’ defensive line is going to be an absolute problem for the rushing attack of Ole Miss. If the Rebels are going to win this game, Kewan Lacy is going to be the X-factor and needs to rush for 75 or more yards. 

Bold Prediction: Trinidad Chambliss rushes for over 1.5 touchdowns 

Up next:

The week 9 matchup between Ole Miss and Oklahoma kicks off Saturday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. CT on ABC. Stay tuned in with The Rebel Walk for all your game coverage.