The Ole Miss football program finished its 2022 campaign with an overall record of 8-5. It started its season with a 7-0 run, but finished with a 1-4 record in its final five regular season games.

It faced Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl in December, ending the night with a 42-25 loss in NRG Stadium. Quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 361 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions in the home of the Houston Texans. Running back Quinshon Judkins added 91 rushing yards on 23 carries.

Ole Miss will have a few key matchups to watch out for as it works through its 2023 schedule. It will face Alabama on Sept. 23 after starting its season with games against Mercer, Tulane and Georgia Tech. It will take on LSU, who took second place in the SEC West standings in 2022, the week after. It will suit up against the 2023 National Champions in the Georgia Bulldogs in November.

What are some bold predictions for Ole Miss heading into the 2023 season?

4. Jaxson Dart remains the team’s full-time starter

Dart, a former four-star recruit in the USC Trojans’ 2021 recruiting class, transferred to Ole Miss in early 2022. He ended last season with just under 3,000 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns in 13 games played. He threw for as many as 448 yards during a 52-28 win over Vanderbilt in October, adding on three passing touchdowns as Ole Miss earned the victory in FirstBank Stadium.

Mississippi added former LSU quarterback Walker Howard and former Oklahoma State signal-caller Spencer Sanders through the transfer portal in January. Sanders spent four seasons with the Cowboys, taking second place on Oklahoma State’s all-time passing yards list with 9,553 and third with 67 passing touchdowns.

Ole Miss added former UTSA wide receiver Zakhari Franklin, Texas A&M receiver Chris Marshall and Louisiana Tech receiver Tre Harris via the football transfer portal. Franklin ended last season with 1,137 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns.

If Dart can continue to get acclimated with Ole Miss’s offense after spending one year in Oxford, he can be the team’s starter over two talented options over the course of the 2023 season.

3. Quinshon Judkins will take a top-two spot in the nation in total rushing yards

Judkins took seventh place in the nation with 1,567 total rushing yards in 2022. He took spots over now-Dallas Cowboys running back Deuce Vaughn, now-UCLA running back Carson Steele and former Marshall running back Khalan Laborn. Five of the running backs who took places have earned spots in the NFL, including former Detroit Lions running back Mohamed Ibrahim and now-Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown.

If Judkins can exceed the production from his fantastic freshman season, he may have the opportunity to push himself further up the national ranks and land close to the top spot in the NCAA in total rushing yards in 2023.

2. Ole Miss defense takes massive step forward

Mississippi’s defense ended last season with 218 passing yards and 161.8 rushing yards allowed per game, putting it in ninth and eighth place in the SEC, respectively, according to ESPN. Safety AJ Finley, now a member of the Los Angeles Chargers, led the team with two interceptions.

Ole Miss football hired Pete Golding to be its next defensive coordinator in January after he spent five seasons with the Alabama Crimson Tide. They hired Alabama assistant Wes Neighbors III as the team’s safeties coach a few days later. Alabama’s defense allowed 311.3 yards per game in 2022, putting it in second place in the SEC behind Georgia. It added cornerbacks Zamari Walton and Chris Graves in the offseason.

Should it tap into the potential of some of its newer additions and work with a new defensive coordinator in Golding, Ole Miss’s defense could take a massive leap forward in 2023.

1. Ole Miss beats Alabama

Will this year be the year Ole Miss takes down the Crimson Tide?

The Rebels defeated the Alabama in 2015, when now-Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in a 43-37 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Ole Miss came close to defeating Alabama in 2022, but two-straight turnovers on downs on fourth-quarter drives ultimately sealed a 30-24 Crimson Tide win in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has since been selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Quarterbacks Jalen Milroe, Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson will be a few of Alabama’s options under center heading into 2023. Alabama hired a new offensive coordinator in Notre Dame’s Tommy Rees after former coordinator Bill O’Brien was hired onto the New England Patriots staff in January.

If Ole Miss can hold strong against the Crimson Tide in September, they may have a chance at defeating the team that finished in first place in the 2022 SEC West standings.