Neighbors aren’t necessarily good friends.
Families aren’t necessarily close.
Nearby colleges aren’t necessarily rivals.
It’s a little sad, perhaps, but true: the Memphis Tigers vs. Ole Miss Rebels football series does not constitute a rivalry.
Never mind what your old copies of NCAA Football for PlayStation told you, never mind this year’s top-25 matchup, and never mind the constant battle for an upper hand in Mid-South recruiting. It would take Tiger High 38 consecutive years of victories over Ole Miss to even the overall series (48-10-2 leading up to 2015’s game), and then we could talk.
That said, games don’t have to be historical rivalries in order to be challenging and important.
This year’s Memphis team is undefeated, ranked, and motivated. Finally blossoming into a legit mid-major threat under fourth-year coach Justin Fuente, these Tigers have their eyes on bigger prizes than usual. No game on their schedule would underscore their arrival quite like a win over their SEC neighbors, the top-15 Ole Miss Rebels. The Tigers will take on the Rebels as a top-25 team for the first time in their history, and they’re looking to prove that they can go toe-to-toe with the country’s best.
And why shouldn’t they?
They’ve got the 4th-ranked scoring offense in the entire country (besting the Rebs’ 5th-overall offense by a point per game), a quarterback completing over 70% of his passes, and a couple of high-profile mid-week wins over solid USF and Cincinnati squads. And they get Ole Miss at home.
As for the Rebels, they’re banged-up, a game back in the SEC West standings, serving the tail ends of NCAA suspensions, and potentially looking ahead to a big home game vs. Texas A&M next week. I can’t speak for the mindset of the team, but as an in-tune member of the fanbase, I won’t pretend that everything this team’s done has instilled me with confidence that Ole Miss will positively wipe the field with Memphis.
Even though the Rebs are favored in this matchup, this game should offer a good deal of insight into the team’s mindset and ability heading into the season’s crucial second half. Stopping Fuente’s high-flying offense without star defenders Tony Conner and CJ Johnson will provide clues as to the Rebs’ ability to halt Kevin Sumlin’s Texas A&M attack. Chad Kelly and his much-maligned offensive line will have the opportunity to show that their performance on the road vs. Florida was a fluke, and get back to the #swag they displayed in taking down Alabama in Tuscaloosa (though – praise be – this will be Laremy Tunsil’s last game on the sideline!). Perhaps most importantly, though, we will see if Ole Miss can regain the confidence required to contend for conference and national championships as the hunted instead of the hunters.
And that’s precisely what makes this game so dangerous – the mentality that “Ole Miss should win, right?” This year, it won’t cut it to say that “oh, it’s just Memphis,” or that “Texas A&M will be the real challenge.”
Rivalry game or not, these Rebels can’t afford to be caught napping against Memphis this year. Another loss, and the playoff becomes practically unattainable. With a decisive win, however, Ole Miss can announce that they’re going to “show up and show out” for every game they’ve got left in this pivotal season. 
