Ole Miss Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Texas Tech
Here’s everything you need to know for Saturday’s Advocare Kickoff in Houston, Texas, featuring Texas Tech and the Ole Miss football.
If you’re looking for a game with a lot of offense and almost zero defense, Ole Miss taking on Texas Tech is the game for you.
Texas Tech starter off last season strong defensively by allowing only ten points to FCS opponent Eastern Washington before quickly reverting to their high-scoring, relaxed defense that most are accustomed to from the Red Raiders. They did, however, start off 4-1 before going on a four-game losing streak. Their season ultimately ended with a loss to Quinton Flowers led South Florida Bulls in the Birmingham Bowl.
Ole Miss had an interesting 2017 season. The Rebels began the season by having Head Coach Hugh Freeze resign after it was announced that he was guilty of multiple NCAA violations. Its 6-6 campaign saw Ole Miss finish as a top-20 offense despite losing starting quarterback Shea Patterson. The season ended with a win over No. 16 Mississippi State after the Bulldogs lost quarterback Nick Fitzgerald to a grizzly ankle injury.
With the opening week of college football finally among us, let’s look into what should be a great matchup between two juggernaut offenses.
Date: Saturday, Sept. 1
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Houston, Texas
Venue: NRG Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Players to Watch
Ole Miss
- WR’s, AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, DeMarkus Lodge
- QB, Jordan Ta’Amu
- LT, Greg Little
- LB’s, Detric Bing-Dukes and Willie Hibbler
Texas Tech
- QB’s, McLane Carter and Jett Duffey
- WR, TJ Vasher
- DE, Eli Howard
- DT, Broderick Washington
- WLB, Dakota Allen
Keys to Victory
The recurring theme for this preview will be defense. Ole Miss has the luxury of returning starting quarterback Jordan Ta’amu and possibly the best assortment of receivers in all of college football. The one concern for the Rebels is the lack of experience on the defensive side of the ball with only four starters returning.
To win this game, Ole Miss needs to find a way to make stops against an offense that has averaged 527.1 yards per game since Kliff Kingsbury took over.
In order for the Red Raiders to win they need to do two things. First off, they need to find a way to stop Ole Miss from scoring. Jordan Ta’amu is expected to have a huge season after a strong showing at the end of the year and his skill players are second to none.
If Kingsbury wants to start the year off right, he needs to let David Gibbs control a defense that has improved since he took over in 2015. Secondly, he needs to find his quarterback and stick with him throughout the whole game instead of flip-flopping. Consistency is key in a shootout and if they can’t stop the Rebels, they will need to find a way to outscore them.
Betting Odds
Courtesy of Oddshark
Point Spread: Texas Tech -2.5
Over/Under: 67
Ole Miss: Game-by-game predictions for 2018. dark. Next
Prediction
This game will likely see over 700 total yards of offense and 70-plus points in one of the most entertaining games of the weekend. Texas Tech returns nine starters on a defense that jumped 30 spots in scoring defense last season and has a better chance of stopping Ole Miss than Ole Miss does of stopping Texas Tech.
Final Score: Texas Tech 41, Ole Miss 35