WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• This is the 46th meeting between the Rebels and Wildcats … The Rebels lead the series 29-14-1 after vacated wins.
• Saturday is the 97th Homecoming game at Ole Miss since 1924 … The Rebels are 73-16.2 (.813) on Homecoming.
• Ole Miss is 2-2 all-time against Kentucky on Homecoming, with wins coming in 1947 (14-7) and 2022 (22-19).
• Saturday also marks the third Stripe the Vaught game … Ole Miss is 2-0 in Stripe Out games.
• Head coach Lane Kiffin stands at 99 career victories entering Saturday … He is 38-15 in his fifth season at Ole Miss.
• Ole Miss is 24-2 at home since 2021, which includes each of its last 10 since the 2022 Egg Bowl … The Rebels are 302-115-8 all-time on the field at Vaught-Hemingway (before vacated wins).
• In that home winning streak, Ole Miss is outscoring opponents by 32.9 points, averaging 575.1 yards and an average capacity crowd of 64,608 at Vaught-Hemingway.
• The Rebels are 33-10 overall since 2021 and rank third among all SEC schools in wins in that span.
• Ole Miss leads the FBS in 10 different statistical categories across both offense and defense.
• Ole Miss has scored a school record 220 points through its first four games.
• It took 195:48 of game time for Ole Miss to allow a touchdown, the longest stretch to open a season since 1959.
• Ole Miss leads the FBS in rushing defense at 34.5 yards per game, with only 8.3 allowed in the first half.
• QB Jaxson Dart leads the nation in five statistical categories and is PFF’s current top-rated QB at a 93.7 grade … Dart is one of four active FBS QBs with 9,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards.
• WR Tre Harris leads the SEC in four categories, is one of 11 FBS receivers with multiple 200yd games since 2020.
• LB Chris Paul Jr. is the top-rated linebacker per PFF in defensive grade (91.4).
OLE MISS HEAD COACH LANE KIFFIN
Lane Kiffin is in his fifth season at Ole Miss and has led the Rebels to four consecutive bowl berths, including two New Year’s Six appearances, under his guidance since 2020. In 11 years at the NCAA level, Kiffin has posted an all-time record of 99-49, including a 38-15 mark at Ole Miss. Kiffin led the 2023 Rebels to the best season in Ole Miss history in terms of wins, notching an 11-2 overall record capped by a 38-25 Peach Bowl victory over Penn State. The Rebels finished No. 9 in both final versions of the AP and Coaches polls, the highest finish overall since 2015 (No. 9 Coaches) and their highest in the final AP poll since 1969 (No. 8). In 2022, Kiffin led the Rebels to the Texas Bowl, thanks to another dynamite offense that ranked No. 3 nationally in rushing offense (256.6) and No. 8 in total offense (496.4) in 2022. Kiffin guided the Rebels to a 10-3 record in 2021, the first 10-win regular season in school history. The Rebels finished the season ranked No. 11 in both the AP and AFCA Coaches Poll, its highest final ranking since 2016. Ole Miss ranked top-20 in the FBS in nine different offensive categories in his first season in 2020. In December 2016, Kiffin took over an FAU program that had won a total of nine combined games over the previous three seasons. Kiffin proceeded to take the Owls to new heights over the last three years, including two conference titles and two 10-win seasons. In his head coaching stops at USC, Tennessee and FAU, Kiffin has shown a propensity in helping turn programs around. Kiffin graduated from Fresno State in 1998 after playing quarterback for three seasons (1994-96) for the Bulldogs. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at Fresno State under Pat Hill in 1997 and 1998.
KENTUCKY HEAD COACH MARK STOOPS
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is currently coaching in his 12th season of college football, all of which have been at the helm of the Wildcat football program. With a career record of 65-67, Stoops has helped to turn around Kentucky football to earning eight consecutive bowl game appearances. Brother of legendary Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, Mark’s Stoops holds school record for wins (65), home wins (46), SEC wins (30) and wins over ranked opponents (11). Stoops and his staff have been making noise on the recruiting trail. Kentucky’s 12 classes under Stoops have ranked in the top 50 by all four major recruiting services, including the 2022 class which was ranked as high as No. 10 by Rivals. Stoops came to Kentucky from Florida State, where he was defensive coordinator from 2010-12. Stoops was defensive coordinator and DBs coach at Arizona from 2004-09, working for his brother, Mike, who was head coach of the Wildcats. Stoops was raised in Youngstown, Ohio. As did brothers Bob and Mike, Mark played in the secondary at the University of Iowa for Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry.
WILDCAT SCOUTING REPORT
Kentucky heads into Oxford with a 2-2 record on the season and are 0-2 in SEC play. UK opened conference play with a Week 2 31-6 loss to South Carolina before taking No. 1 Georgia to the brink in a 13-12 defeat. The game vs. the Rebels will be Kentucky’s first game this season away from Kroger Field. Georgia transfer, Brock Vandagriff, serves as the primary signal caller for the Wildcats. Vandagriff is completing 58 percent of his passes and has three TDs on the season. Speedster Barion Brown leads the Wildcats with two receiving touchdowns. Kentucky is anchored by a strong defense that ranks No. 6 in FBS in total defense (217.0 ypg), No. 10 in rushing defense (74.8 ypg) and No. 15 in scoring defense (12.5 ppg). Senior linebacker D’Eryk Jackson leads UK with 19 total tackles and three pass breakups on the season. Team captain Zion Childress has a team-high five tackles for loss from his defensive back spot. Alex Raynor has been a weapon for Kentucky’s special teams. The Kennesaw, Georgia, native is a perfect 9-for-9 with two field goals from 50 yards or more.
OLE MISS-KENTUCKY SERIES HISTORY
• Ole Miss and Kentucky will be meeting for the 46th time in a series that dates back to 1944.
• The Rebels lead the all-time series vs. the Wildcats 29-14-1.
• The original series record is 30-14-1, but Ole Miss vacated a win in 2010 due to NCAA ruling.
• Ole Miss holds an 8-2 edge in games played in Oxford, Mississippi (9-2 before vacated wins).
• The home team has won the five of the last seven contests in the series.
• This will be the fourth time Lane Kiffin has faced Kentucky, entering Saturday 3-0 across his time at Tennessee (1-0) and Ole Miss (2-0) … Kiffin’s wins in Lexington in 2009 (30-24) and 2020 (42-41) were both in overtime.
STRIPE THE VAUGHT
Saturday marks the third consecutive Stripe the Vaught game Ole Miss has hosted at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels are 2-0 in Stripe Out games, defeating the 7th-ranked Wildcats in 2022 (22-19), while besting Arkansas in the follow-up in 2023 (27-20). Ole Miss fans are encouraged to wear either red or powder blue, depending on their section. Fans can visit StripeTheVaught.com to learn more and see the color for their specific section.
HOMECOMING AT OLE MISS
• This is the 97th Homecoming game at Ole Miss since 1924.
• The Rebels are 73-16-2 (.813) in Homecoming games (after vacated wins).
• Ole Miss is 2-2 all-time against Kentucky, with Rebel wins coming in 1947 (14-7) and 2022 (22-19), and the Wildcats claiming victory in 1949 (47-0) and 1978 (24-17).
• Ole Miss has won 24 of their last 27 Homecoming matchups on the field.
• The last Homecoming loss was a 27-7 defeat to Louisiana Tech in 2011.
REBS IN THE POLLS
• Ole Miss currently ranks No. 5 in the Coaches poll and No. 6 the Associated Press poll for Week Five.
• No. 5 is the highest ranking for the Rebels since rising to No. 3 in the 2015 season.
• No. 6 was the highest preseason ranking for Ole Miss since 1970, when the Rebels started off at No. 5.
• This year marked the first preseason top-10 appearance for the Rebels since 2009, when Ole Miss opened at No. 8.
• Dating back to 2021, Ole Miss has been ranked in the top-25 in 49 of the last 53 poll releases … That includes a streak of 29 across 2021 and 2022, the longest streak since being ranked for 41 straight weeks from 2014-16.
• The SEC boasts nine teams in the top 25, including five within the top-10 and four in the top-5.
HOME SWEET HOME
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has been a safe haven for the Rebels historically, owning a 302-115-8 (.720) record all-time in Oxford before vacated wins (280-112-8), and that’s been no different in the Lane Kiffin era. Ole Miss is 24-2 in its last 26 home games, and since the beginning of Kiffin’s tenure in 2020, the Rebels have gone 24-5 overall at Vaught-Hemingway — which includes a 14-game home winning streak that spanned Nov. 14, 2020 to Oct. 15, 2022. That streak was among the longest home winning streaks nationally when it was snapped by No. 9 Alabama in 2022. It was also the longest winning streak in Oxford since winning 21 straight games from Nov. 1, 1952 to Nov. 7, 1959. Including a tie to LSU in 1960, the Rebels went unbeaten for 34 games over the course of 12 years (1952-64). Under Kiffin, the Rebels have recorded the first two seven-win homes seasons in program history in 2021 and 2023.0
LOCK THE ENDZONE
The Rebel defense has been stout, currently standing alongside Georgia as the lone FBS programs to not yet yield multiple touchdowns. The Rebels are tied with Texas for the best scoring defense in the FBS at 5.5 points allowed per game and rank tied for third in total points allowed at 22 behind Georgia (18) and Ohio State (20). Ole Miss allowed its first touchdown of the season at the 14:12 mark of the second quarter to Georgia Southern on a halfback pass, ending its touchdown-less streak at 195:48 of game time — the longest such streak by a Rebel defense since 1959, when Ole Miss shut out eight of its 11 opponents and only gave up 21 points all season long.
TOUGH SLEDDING
No opponent has been able to break 50 yards rushing against Ole Miss, which leads all FBS schools at a paltry 34.5 rushing yards allowed per game. In the first half alone, opposing offenses have struggled mightily, combining for just 33 rushing yards and 0.6 yards per carry. On the season, the Rebels have only yielded 138 yards on the ground, stuffing Furman (26), Middle Tennessee (28), Wake Forest (46) and Georgia Southern (38). In available records, no Ole Miss defense has held four consecutive opponents to fewer than 50 yards rushing in the same season since at least 1969, when reliable game-by-game team stats become available. The three straight sub-50 yard performances to start were the first such streak since 1993, and the two sub-30 efforts by the Rebel defense were the first since the 1999 season.
HIGH-FLYING OFFENSE
In the Kiffin era, the Rebel offense ranks as the most prolific in the nation, leading the FBS in yards per game since the beginning of the 2020 season at 511.2 yards per game. In terms of total yards, Ole Miss ranks third in the FBS at 27,096 yards within the Kiffin era. In that same four-year stretch, Ole Miss ranks fifth among all FBS schools in rushing yards per game at 218.0, as well as 10th in passing yards per game at 293.3 — which makes the Rebels the lone FBS team to rank within the top-10 in both categories.
RACKING UP THE YARDS
Kiffin’s dynamic Ole Miss offenses have single-handedly dismantled the Rebel record books, recording three of the top-five and four of the top-10 offensive seasons in school history since 2020. With those big single-season numbers come monster single-game numbers as well. Kiffin owns 26 games during his Ole Miss tenure with at least 600 yards of total offense, as opposed to just 16 times total from the beginning of the Ole Miss football program in 1893 until Kiffin’s arrival in 2020. At the 700-yard plateau, Kiffin’s Rebels own five of the seven total 700-yard games in Ole Miss history, as well as six of the top-eight performances all-time.
HISTORIC NUMBERS
Senior QB Jaxson Dart is off to a start not seen by an SEC signal caller since the dawn of the new millennium. Dart is the national leader in numerous passing and total offense categories, but his FBS-leading 1,554 yards passing through four games stand as the most by an SEC quarterback since 1998, when Kentucky’s Tim Couch — eventual No. 1 pick of the 1999 NFL Draft — put up 1,577 yards in his first four contests. Dart’s four consecutive 300-yard outings to open the 2024 season make him one of just two SEC quarterbacks to do so in the last 20 yards alongside Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett in 2010. Dating back to his 379-yard performance against Penn State in the Peach Bowl, Dart’s five consecutive 370-yard games ranks as the longest streak in the SEC in the last 20 years.
LEAD THE WAY
Senior QB Jaxson Dart stands among the more decorated signal-callers nationwide in 2024. Dart is one of just four QBs nationally to own 9,000 career passing yards and 1,000 yards rushing, and just recently became one of just five active in FBS football with 10,000 career yards of offense. Dart owns a career line of 671-of-1,028 (65.3 percent) for 9,245 yards, 64 touchdowns and a career rushing line of 1,136 yards and 14 scores on 292 carries. In a Rebel uniform since 2022, Dart has gone 554-of-839 for 7,892 yards and 55 touchdowns through the air, while racking up 1,093 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing on 270 attempts.
MAIN TARGET
Arguably no receiver has had as big an impact this season as Ole Miss senior wideout and preseason All-American Tre Harris, who ranks within the top categories of the FBS on numerous receiving lists. Harris ranks second nationally in receiving yards (628) and receiving yards per game (157.0), third in receptions per game (9.5), sixth in all-purpose yards (157.0) and 10th in receiving touchdowns (4) — and he leads the SEC in all those categories except receiving touchdowns, in which he currently ranks third. Against Georgia Southern, Harris exploded for 225 yards and two scores on 11 catches, tied for the fifth-best single-game performance in Ole Miss history. Harris is the lone receiver in the FBS with multiple 175-yard games this season, and on the FBS active career lists Harris ranks tied for second in receiving touchdowns (26), fourth in receiving yards (3,130), sixth in receiving yards per game (66.6), seventh in yards per catch (15.8) and eighth in receptions (198). This year, 40 percent of Jaxson Dart’s completions have gone to Harris.
GIVE JJ THE ROCK!
Ole Miss senior DT, Wuerffel Trophy semifinalist and Chucky Mullins Award winner JJ Pegues isn’t just a great defender or a caring member of the Oxford community: he’s also the not-so-secret offensive weapon for the Rebels. In his career, Pegues has scored three touchdowns since coming home to Lafayette County: a one-yard receiving touchdown in the 2022 Egg Bowl, and two rushing scores so far this season against Furman and Georgia Southern. Offensive prowess is no stranger to Pegues, though, who was a top-10 prospect nationally coming out of Oxford High School as a tight end before switching to defensive tackle while at Auburn. Pegues’ appearances on offense are nothing new for Rebel fans, but what is new this season is his status as the winner of the Chucky Mullins Award, an award handed out annually to a defensive player in honor of the late, great Chucky Mullins. At just two touchdowns for 12 points this season alone, Pegues is already the all-time leading points scorer by Chucky Mullins Award winners, and he is the first winner to score those points on offense. On the season, Pegues owns 11 tackles, 5.0 TFL for 14 yards, one half-sack, three QB hurries and the first fumble recovery of his career.
