Here’s where Ole Miss ranked in the USA Today coaches preseason poll

The USA Today coaches preseason poll was released Monday with the Ole Miss Rebels sneaking into the No. 24 national rank.

To the shock of no one, Alabama brought in the number one overall ranking with six SEC schools total included in the top 25. Georgia came in at number three, Texas A&M at seven, while Kentucky and Arkansas were at No. 21 and 23 respectively.

Ole Miss is looking to reload after a 10-3 season in 2021 ending with a Sugar Bowl appearance against Baylor. A top ranked transfer class and top 25 recruiting haul has national writers and coaches thinking the Rebels may have the pieces in place to compete yet again in the most challenging division of college football.

It’s important to note Lane Kiffin is not a voter in this coaches poll, however. Here’s a few coaches of note out of the 66 total who voted who may have some strong feelings or at least have some history with Ole Miss:

• Tom Allen, Indiana
• Hugh Freeze, Liberty
• Joe Moorhead, Akron
• Sam Pittman, Arkansas
• Nick Saban, Alabama
• Jon Sumrall, Troy

Now, none of those coaches may have hard feelings toward the Rebels, but if I was Sumrall and my first game was against Ole Miss, I’d be trying my best to have the Rebels ranked in the top 25 for recruits to see how your team stacks up.

This is peak talking season stuff, because when it all boils down, preseason polls don’t matter a ton. It does seem to solidify what teams will get the most coverage and attention early on with non-conference games typically not always the most competitive.

It’s honestly a little shocking to see Ole Miss back in the top 25 with so many question marks on offense and so many new players on its roster. It either means Kiffin has gained the respect of the coaching community to put a quality squad on the field or the team has enough talent to make some noise again this year or both.