Is Kentucky's next opponent, Ole Miss, for real or a product of playing poor competition?

There are always teams that enter conference play each year in the SEC in which they have yet to play meaningful competition. This year, one of those SEC teams is the Ole Miss Rebels. Yet, each opponent they have faced, they have absolutely dominated. Therefore, we need to ask, are the #6 team in the nation Rebels for real, or are they a product of weak competition?

First, let's look at the games they have played.
Week 1: 76-0 Win over Furman.
Week 2: 52-3 Win over Middle Tennessee.
Week 3: 40-6 Win over Wake Forest.
Week 4: 52-13 Win over Georgia Southern.

Furman is an FCS school and currently has only one win on the season, even against other FCS schools. In terms of quality of competition, it's hard to get too much out of that game.

Middle Tennessee is ranked among the worst teams in the FBS this season with a -19 FPI score, which means that they are 19 points worse than the average team. Wake Forest is also in the bottom half of the FPI rankings with a -4.1. Finally, Georgia Southern, who scored the most points against them, is -5.8 in the FPI.

This means that the Ole Miss Rebels have yet to play a team considered better than average or even at average. Currently, Kentucky ranks among the top half of the FPI with a score of 6.7. Therefore, a case can truly be made that Ole Miss is a product of playing bad opponents, and Kentucky may shock them a little in this game. In fact, when asked about their schedule and if it prepared them for SEC play, Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin said, "I'm a realist. I don't hink our opponents have prepared us for SEC play. My hope is that our practice and our fall camp has prepared us."

On the flip side of that scenario, there is also a big case to be made that Ole Miss is legit. They currently lead the nation in rushing yards allowed, points allowed, offensive yards per game, and passing yards per game. Jaxson Dart, their starting quarterback, is making a name for himself and jumping into the Heisman conversation.

These are impressive stats. Here is the breakdown of all the things they led the country in:
Rushing yards allowed: 34.5
Points allowed: 5.5
Offensive yards: 670.8
Passing yards: 422.8

They have held their opponents to a combined 22 points in four games! I'm sure you are smart enough to figure it out, but for emphasis, that means that when you combine their opponents' scores, it is only 22 points. Even if all the opponents are bad, that's an impressive run for four games worth of work. Now, of course, you could argue that their opponents are all ranked low in FPI because they played Ole Miss, and the Rebels dominated them. A case can certainly be made in that direction too, but until they play some SEC games, it's hard to know.

To add to their good team case, individually speaking, they have some amazing things happening:
QB Jaxon Dart has 1,554 passing yards and 7 touchdowns.
WR Tre Harris has 628 receiving yards.
RB Henry Parrish Jr. has 7 touchdowns.

There is certainly a case to be made that they are a product of playing poor teams, but the way they are dominating these poor teams has led them to be very, very impressive and something that Kentucky is going to have to work tirelessly to slow them down.