Ole Miss vs. Memphis football 2019: Preview and predictions

2019, the year of Lord Tony the Landshark, brings a ton of questions. This Ole Miss football team has a ton of question marks on both sides of the ball that new coordinators Rich Rodriguez and Mike MacIntyre think they have answers for. Last year’s 5-7 campaign is in the rearview and there’s no more defensive lapses that could start tidal waves and no more charade of “chasing space” that dissipated more and more as the year went on.

New year, new me, right?

Matt Luke has a team that, by all reports coming out of Oxford Town, is confident and hungry to prove people wrong. Granted, most of the players from a 5-7 team are back, but the staff seems to think that there is a renewed confidence in the Manning Center that is ready to be unveiled on Saturday.

In this new series, the entire Red Cup Regime will give their predictions for each game this year coupled with a reasoning to how they got to that outcome. So let’s get going and, as they say in the business, PUT THE DAMN BALL DOWN.

Gray Hardison-Red Cup Rebellion

Red Cup Panel Predictions

Bob Lynch — Memphis 35 Ole Miss 20

Memphis scores late to make it look worse than it was. The Ole Miss run game struggles behind an inexperienced offensive line but the offense manages to crank out a few big plays to keep the score close.

One Man To Beat — Ole Miss 23 Memphis 21

Tigers miss a game-winning field goal and the Landshark defense is resurrected.

whiskeywednesday — Memphis 31 Ole Miss 28

Crazy game, we appear to dominate in spots, but make a lot of dumb mistakes.

TwoYardsandaCloudofEnricky — Ole Miss 28 Memphis 24

Both teams strike early, but then fall into mistake-laden ruts. Fourth quarter is wild, with multiple scores from both teams. We win with a late stop.

Ben Woodhouse — Ole Miss 38 Memphis 30

Rebs win it and seal it with a late pick-six from Keidron Smith.

Gray Hardison — Memphis 29 Ole Miss 26

Turns out, not having an experienced offensive line is bad! Ole Miss struggles with consistency and makes too many mistakes on offense. On a positive note, the defense can now go lengthy stretches without giving up an explosive play.

Zach Berry — Ole Miss 38 Memphis 20

Rich Rodriguez gets Scottie Phillips and the run game going behind a surprisingly versatile offensive line and Mike MacIntyre has a plan on defense, turning Brady White over twice and holding Patrick Taylor under 100 yards rushing. Also, Jerrion Ealy has a coming-out party, going over 100 all-purpose yards. Drink BON & VIV.

Juco All-American — Memphis 35 Ole Miss 24

The defense still can’t really stop Memphis’ attack since the Rebels have to load the box to stop the run. The Ole Miss offense struggles behind a porous offensive line, but the skill players keep the game interesting.

Michael Borkey — Ole Miss 38 Memphis 35

Even with a thin offensive line, Ole Miss will be able to move the football on the ground against a bad Memphis defense. Defensively, Ole Miss looks better as the game progresses but it will be a shootout early.

Christoph Ludwig — Memphis 38 Ole Miss 30

The talent still isn’t there for the Rebs’ defense and the Tigers score a touchdown late in the game to seal it.

Nicholas Carr — Memphis 35 Ole Miss 31

Rich Rod’s offense takes some time to gel and this one starts ugly. The game is close late, but the offensive line struggles and the Rebs can’t find the end zone on their last possession.

How to watch:

Where: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tenn.
When: 11 a.m. CST
TV: ABC
Online streaming: WatchESPN