No. 18 Ole Miss hosts a slumping Oklahoma team that has already changed offensive coordinators
Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables walks off the field after his team's 34-3 loss to Texas in an NCAA college football game in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Credit: AP/Jeffrey McWhorter
Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3 SEC) at No. 18 Mississippi (5-2, 1-2), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Mississippi by 20 1/2.
Series record: Ole Miss leads 1-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
The Rebels are trying to keep alive their faded playoff hopes. The Sooners are just trying to salvage a once-promising season. Ole Miss has a pair of three-point losses in its last three games, at Kentucky and No. 8 LSU. Oklahoma has dropped three of four games and is coming off blowout losses to No. 7 Texas (34-3) and South Carolina (35-9). It was bad enough that coach Brent Venables fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell on Sunday and is switching starting quarterbacks for the second time.
KEY MATCHUP
Oklahoma's already sputtering offense against a stingy Ole Miss defense. The Rebels lead the nation in run defense, giving up just 66.6 yards per game on the ground. They're second nationally in scoring defense (10.6 ppg). Oklahoma ranks last in the SEC and 128th nationally in total offense (288.1 ypg) and 13th and 107th in scoring offense (22.1 ppg). Co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley will take over as the primary play caller.
Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) gains short yards on a keeper as Texas defensive lineman Vernon Broughton, left, and Michael Taaffe (16) make the stop in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Credit: AP/Tony Gutierrez
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Oklahoma: QB Jackson Arnold is back as the starter after Michael Hawkins Jr.'s turnover problems. Arnold was benched after starting the first four games and has 763 yards with eight touchdowns against three interceptions.
Mississippi: WR Tre Harris is the FBS's leading receiver with 987 yards and is on the verge of becoming the sixth player in program history with a 1,000-yard receiving season. Harris has 59 catches and six touchdowns.
FACTS & FIGURES
LSU cornerback Ashton Stamps (1) breaks up a pass intended for Mississippi wide receiver Tre Harris (9) during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Credit: AP/Matthew Hinton
The teams' only previous meeting came in the 1999 Independence Bowl, the final college football game of the 20th century. Ole Miss won 27-25 on Les Binkley's last-play field goal. The Rebels were coming off a pair of three-point losses in that one, too. ... The Sooners have won 34 of their last 43 true road games dating to 2014. ... The Sooners have outscored opponents 56-6 off turnovers in their four wins, a number that has flipped to a 41-0 disadvantage in the three losses. ... Ole Miss is 10-1 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since the start of the 2023 season.
