Miller’s Ole Miss vs. Memphis Betting Preview & Odds: What Should We Expect From New-Look Rebels?

Ole Miss vs. Memphis Betting Odds

• Odds: Memphis -4.5
• Over/Under: 65
• Time: 12 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC

All odds above are as of 1 p.m. ET on Friday and via PointsBet.

Ole Miss and Memphis renew their rivalry on Saturday for the first time since 2016. A lot has changed for the Rebels since they got the win that day.

Former head coach Hugh Freeze was fired after a litany of scandals were made public. They landed on probation from the NCAA and ended up with scholarship restrictions and a bowl ban. Ole Miss removed the interim tag from Matt Luke’s title and things haven’t been the same since.

While Ole Miss was dealing with its issues, Memphis was steadily going about its business under Mike Norvell. The Tigers finished 10-3 in 2017 and 8-6 last year, making AAC title game appearances in both seasons.

This season, the Rebels enter the season with two new coordinators. Former Power 5 head coaches Rich Rodriguez and Mike MacIntyre will handle the play calling duties on offense and defense.

Rodriguez brings his spread option, run heavy attack to Oxford and it’ll be a stark contrast to Phil Longo’s pass happy approach they used last season.

They’ll also be breaking in a new quarterback in Matt Corral. He was a highly touted recruit but this will be his first chance to have the job completely to himself. Corral is known for his running ability so he should blend well with Rodriguez’s system.

Ole Miss lost star wide receivers AJ Brown, DaMarkus Lodge, and DK Metcalf as well as three starting offensive linemen from last year’s explosive offense. Corral will be surrounded by an offense that ranks dead last in returning production.

Memphis lost elite running back Darrell Henderson, but returns nearly everyone else, ranking 23rd in offensive returning production.

They’re going to be able to move the ball however they see fit on an awful Ole Miss defense that finished 90th is defensive S&P+ last year. Meanwhile, Memphis’ offense finished in the top-25 of every offensive category last year besides passing efficiency.

The return of quarterback Brady White and receiver Damonte Coxie should remedy that lone problem:

The Tigers’ defense was certainly nothing to write home about in 2018. They finished 87th in overall defense but actually came in a respectable 50th in rushing defense efficiency.

That’ll come in handy against Ole Miss’ new run heavy offense. This defense also ranks eighth in returning production and is primed for their best season in years.

I’m very high on Memphis this year and have them as my top Group of Five team.

I make them an 11-point favorite in this one so I rushed out to grab Memphis -6 earlier in the summer. The line sat there for a while but we’ve seen some Ole Miss money hit the market this week, knocking the line down to five.

It’s worth the wait to see if you can get a four, just don’t miss out on -6 if game day steam hits this line on Saturday morning.

The Pick: Memphis -4.5