Ole Miss begins their 2023 campaign with a visit from Mercer. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a Mercer-Ole Miss prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Mercer Bears finished last year with a 7-4 record and going 5-3 in the FCS SoCon. Mercer had some dominant performances. They won by 17 or more points in every win. The losses were as expected as well. They lost to Auburn, as well as top 15 schools Chattanooga, Furman, and Samford. Mercer comes in ranked 19th in FCS this year and has a great group of players leading them. Five different players made the first team all-SoCon team, while another five made the second team. They return nine of 11 starters on both offense and defense this year and should be solid.

Ole Miss finished 8-5 last year in their third season under Lane Kiffin. After starting 7-0 hopes were high for the squad, but losses to LSU, Alabama, Arkansas and the Egg Bowl ruined their season. They would lose their bowl game as well, by a score of 42-25. Jaxson Dart returns to an offense that was solid last year, but it may not be his job. Spencer Sanders transfers in from Oklahoma State and is challenging for the job. They also have one of the top running backs in the nation Quinshon Judkins. The defense is also expected to take a step up this year, and Ole Miss is hoping to take a step up with the,

Here are the college football odds, courtesy of BetRivers. 

College Football Odds: Mercer-Ole Miss Odds

Mercer: +30.5 (-113)

Ole Miss: -30.5 (-108)

Over: 47 (-109)

Under: 47 (-112)

How to Watch Mercer vs. Ole Miss

TV: Sec Network +

Stream: ESPN +

Time: 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT

*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Mercer Will Cover The Spread

Mercer already has a game under their belt which will help show what to expect from the squad. It will be Carter Peevy to lead the way for Mercef. Last week he threw for 115 yards on 12-17 passing with a touchdown. There were a lot of questions as to who would be the quarterback for Mercer this year, with their top quarterback from last year graduating, but Mercer went with Peevy. Peevy did get a good amount of time back in 2020, throwing for 1,318 yards and eight touchdowns that year. He brings in a lot of experience in the system and will be looking to make plays in this game.

They also have two wide receivers who ranked in the top ten in the FCS. Ty James last week had a solid game. He caught four balls for 57 yards and a score. Last year he went for 1,105 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year. Meanwhile, Devron Harper caught four balls for 23 yards last time out. He had just under 1,000 yards last year while hauling in ten touchdowns and rushing for another four. The duo will cause trouble for a lot of opponents, including Ole Miss.

At running back it is a two-headed attack. Micah Bell will get the bulk of the carrier. He ran for 73 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown last week. Al Wooter has 13 carries for 50 yards as well. The offensive line did have trouble in the last game. There were plenty of times that the running back was met in the backfield, so they will be looking to improve on that in this game.

On defense, they have solid players as well. Isaac Dowling is a top-level linebacker who moves across the field well. He may not be the best pass rusher, but he still can hunt down ball carriers. Solomon Zubairu will also be needed to get into the backfield. He has the tools to create pressure on the quarterback, but if he is eaten up by blocks, others will need to take his place. Lance Wise is the best player on the defense at safety, but he can be beaten over the top if he is not careful.

Why Ole Miss Will Cover The Spread

There is a quarterback competition to lead the high-flying offense of Ole Miss. Jaxson Dart comes in as the incumbent. He threw for 2,974 yards last year and 20 touchdowns. he does have a problem with accuary though. He completed 62.4 percent of his passes last year but also threw 11 interceptions. Still, he can move the ball with his legs. HJe had 614 yards on the ground last year and a touchdown in the bowl game loss to Texas Tech.

Spencer Sanders is the other option at quarterback and he. is a good one.  In his career at Oklahoma State, he passed for 9.553 yards while throwing 40 touchdowns. He also has mobility. Last year he ran for 391 yards and eight scores. In his time at Oklahoma State, he ran for almost 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns. Still, there is concern about the turnover here. He threw 40 interceptions in his career at Oklahoma State.

While the quarterback situation seems to be solid, the defense needs to improve. Khair Coleman comes in on the outside and he is a solid linebacker. He is not a big tackle producer, but can move side to side every week and will cause issues in the backfield. They also bring in transfer Monty Montgomery from Louisville. He was beaten on pass dons, but some of that can be attributed to not having the secondary behind him to help out. He will be better this year with this secondary. The secondary had just eight interactions last year. If they can improve that a little, they could compete in the SEC. The first step for that is making a few big plays against Mercer.

Final Mercer-Ole Miss Prediction & Pick

Ole Miss has a solid offense and should have a much-improved defense. If they are improved, it will be hard for Mercer to score. while Mercer is a quality FCS opponent, they are no match for an SEC team. They do not have the secondary to compete with any quarterback that Ole Miss puts out, and will not be able to stop the passing game. Even more, the offense does not have enough to score enough points to cover. Take Ole Miss in this one.

Final Mercer-Ole Miss Prediction & Pick: Ole Miss -30.5 (-108)