Kentucky football: Prediction for every game on Wildcats 2022 schedule
By Eric Thorne
Cool hand Stoops matches wits with quick draw Lane Kiffen – who wins out?
Venue: Vaught Hemingway Stadium
City: Oxford, MS
Overall Matchup Record: Ole Miss leads 28-14-1
Last meeting: Ole Miss 42-41 (2020) in Lexington
Just call this the cool hand Stoops verse the riverboat gambling gunslinger Lane Kiffen.
These teams have met eight times since 2000 with the Rebels holding a 6-2 advantage but when the two teams from opposite sides of the SEC meet they come down to wild finishes.
Last season the Rebels went 7-0 at home.
Kentucky and Ole Miss have played the past two times in Lexington with the Rebels winning both in a nailbiter 42-41 and 37-34 in 2017. The Cats won the previous back in 2011 30-13 in Joker Phillips’ final games.
By the time Kentucky comes to Oxford the Kiffin’s rebels will have faced Troy, Central Arkansas, Georgia Tech, and Tulsa.
In all honestly, I think Kentucky may lose this one but it also may not affect their shot at an SEC title either. If they still beat the rest of the East or even lose to Georgia it’s not mathematically impossible.
One key factor for Kentucky’s offense is whether will it be the return of Rodriguez or does he have this final game to sit depending on all the speculation. Whichever team faces C-Rod first look out he will be anxious to step on the field it will either be the Rebels or the South Carolina next week in Lexington.
The Rebels are choosing a quarterback successor to Matt Corral between sophomores Luke Altmayer and Jaxson Dart. With that early schedule, both will get a lot of audition time.
Whoever is in place by Week 5 won’t matter Kiffen’s high-powered offense will be cranking. The punters don’t get much work in this offense. Kentucky’s defense will need to be healthy and show up for this one and play penalty-free football.
Odds makers will probably favor the host Rebels slightly and Ole Miss will surprise some teams this year, but let’s hope Kentucky isn’t one of them and Cool Hand Stoops gets the last shot keeping the Wildcats a perfect 5-0 on the year.