Ole Miss football vs Tulane: Score prediction, scouting report as Lane Kiffin faces ranked test
OXFORD ― Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin said Wednesday that he was happy to see Tulane top Southern California, his former employer, in last season's Cotton Bowl.
Not because he is harboring resentment, but because he knew it would help his Rebels take seriously what he considers to be a very good Green Wave team.
"That should certainly help grab their attention," Kiffin said Wednesday.
Indeed, the No. 20 Rebels (1-0) will get a bigger challenge than what they originally bargained for when they journey to New Orleans' Yulman Stadium on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN2). When they originally agreed to play three nonconference games against No. 22 Tulane (1-0) in 2009, the Green Wave had just gone 2-10 and had won more than five games just once in the eight seasons before that.
Ole Miss football faces Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt
Willie Fritz transformed Tulane from a perennial bottom-feeder into a New Year's Six Bowl champion thanks in large part to his talented quarterback, Michael Pratt.
"Usually if you're gonna have that kind of turnaround, it means you're gonna have a great quarterback, too, which they do," Kiffin said Monday.
Now in his fourth season under center, Pratt went 14-for-15 for 294 yards and four touchdowns in Tulane's opening 37-17 victory over a South Alabama team that won 10 games last season. As a junior, he threw for 3,009 yards and rushed for 478 more, racking up 37 total touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Ole Miss counters Pratt with a defense that started six newcomers against Mercer and is transitioning to a new system under first-year defensive coordinator Pete Golding.
Kiffin was optimistic about the cohesion he saw defensively from the Rebels in Week 1, other than a long touchdown run allowed on the first play. But his praise was conditional.
"I did think for a lot of moving parts coming in and really a completely new defensive structure to play 3-4 with two outside linebackers and with Cedric (Johnson) being one of those, it was totally different from what we had played before, so I thought guys did a really good job," Kiffin said.
Jaxson Dart out to keep Ole Miss football offense rolling
Signs point toward the Rebels needing a big number on the scoreboard to win this game. The man in charge of delivering that will be Jaxson Dart, who was named Ole Miss' starting quarterback on Monday.
Dart was outstanding against Mercer, throwing for 334 yards and four touchdowns in 2½ quarters of action against a totally overmatched FCS foe.
Tulane held South Alabama to 190 yards on 30 pass attempts Saturday, and no doubt will present a sterner test. It also succeeded in limiting the South Alabama running game, holding the Jaguars to 2.3 yards per rush.
According to Ole Miss offensive lineman Quincy McGee, the Rebels hope to run the ball better in Week 2. With Mercer stacking the box against him, Quinshon Judkins — who led the SEC in rushing last season — found only moderate success to begin his sophomore season.
But that dynamic is part of what makes Ole Miss' offensive potential so exciting in 2023. If Dart has indeed progressed to the point where he can make opposing defenses pay for attempting to slow Judkins, the Rebels will be nearly impossible to stop.
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Ole Miss score prediction vs. Tulane
Tulane 41, Ole Miss 38. Had this game come later in the season, this prediction might go the other way. But a matchup on the road against a top quarterback talent like Pratt comes too soon for an Ole Miss defense that is still figuring itself out. No matter who wins this game, expect lots of points.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss score prediction vs Tulane: College football Week 2
