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Ole Miss, now the No. 20 team in the country, will face Austin Peay of the Ohio Valley Conference on Saturday, but it’s not the first time the Governors are jumping up a division to try for an upset.
Austin Peay (1-0) has faced eight Football Bowl Subdivision opponents in the last five seasons including SEC members Georgia and Kentucky. So, yeah, the bad news for Governors fans is the program is 0-8 in these games.
In fact, most of the games were blowouts with an average score of 40.1 - 13.4. The closest game in these FCS/FBS matches was a 2017 loss to Cincinnati 26-14 in Luke Fickell’s first season coaching the Bearcats to a 4-8 record.
Here’s the last five seasons of games for your viewing pleasure.
2020
- 55-0 loss to Pitt
- 55-20 loss to Cincinnati
2018
- 45-0 loss to Georgia
2017
- 26-14 loss to Cincinnati
- 31-10 loss to Miami (OH)
- 73-33 loss to UCF
2016
- 57-17 loss to Troy
- 49-13 loss to Kentucky
Yikes.
On the flip side, Ole Miss (1-0) will be playing on some short rest after playing Monday in a dominant 43-24 win over Louisville. It’s likely this is some smart scheduling to have an FCS opponent on a short week rather than putting it elsewhere in the season.
Rebel fans should expect a blowout, honestly, in this home opener. We’re not predicting it will happen by any means though because rat emoji skull and crossbones emoji. Four days rest between games coupled with general overconfidence in these games can cause a slow start potentially.
But seriously, hang half a hundred points, let some back-ups play, and get the W. It’s what an SEC school should be able to do in a game like this.