Ole Miss Football: Rebels must fight for relevancy in SEC West in 2018
Schedule analysis and prediction
| G | Date | School | H/A | Opponent |
| 1 | 9/1/2018 | Ole Miss | N | Texas Tech |
| 2 | 9/8/2018 | Ole Miss | Southern Illinois | |
| 3 | 9/15/2018 | Ole Miss | Alabama | |
| 4 | 9/22/2018 | Ole Miss | Kent State | |
| 5 | 9/29/2018 | Ole Miss | @ | LSU |
| 6 | 10/6/2018 | Ole Miss | Louisiana-Monroe | |
| 7 | 10/13/2018 | Ole Miss | @ | Arkansas |
| 8 | 10/20/2018 | Ole Miss | Auburn | |
| 9 | 10/27/2018 | BYE | ||
| 10 | 11/3/2018 | Ole Miss | South Carolina | |
| 11 | 11/10/2018 | Ole Miss | @ | Texas A&M |
| 12 | 11/17/2018 | Ole Miss | @ | Vanderbilt |
| 13 | 11/22/2018 | Ole Miss | Mississippi State |
Ole Miss has to travel to start the season in what turns into a de facto road game. Texas Tech faces the Rebels in Houston, TX, at the home of the Houston Texans. While Ole Miss might have the more talented squad entering the contest, Texas Tech is still a quality opponent to have to start off a regular season against.
Ta’amu and company need to be ready to face the high-powered offense of Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury, and what should be a surprisingly good defense for then Red Raiders. The rest of the non-conference slate is pretty manageable with the Kent State Golden Flashes and Southern Illinois Salukis both coming to Oxford. Louisiana-Monroe also faces Ole Miss in Oxford this year.
If Ole Miss pulls off an upset or two this fall, especially at the beginning of SEC play, it could be a nice run for them. Upsetting Auburn or Alabama might be a reach, but knocking off Arkansas or LSU is certainly possible. Ole Miss fans would love getting revenge on either program this year.
Next: Jordan Ta’amu could be the best statistical QB in SEC
Another piece of good news for the Rebels was a nice cross-conference schedule draw. The South Carolina Gamecocks and Vanderbilt are the two SEC East teams Ole Miss is set to face. The regular season closes out like usual with the Egg Bowl against hated in-state rival Mississippi State.