Let me preface this by saying that Ole Miss should have a good team, but "good" teams have a tough time in the SEC West. I have several concerns: some holes on the depth chart, Freeze throttling the offense down again, and the schedule.
First and foremost, QB is a question mark. Wallace was far from a model of consistency, but he was battle tested. He had played in hostile environments and in huge games. Kelly and Buchanan are both talented guys, but experience is invaluable. Depending on first year starters at Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, Auburn, and Starkville isn't typically a recipe for success.
Having said that, the QB will have a stable of WRs at his disposal. I think Ole Miss' group is one of the best 3 in the country. However, and this brings me to my next concern, even if the QB is great and the WRs are what I think they are, I worry that Freeze will refuse to go tempo as he did last year because he didn't want to gas the Ole Miss D. Ironically, Ole Miss' success against Bama probably cost them the LSU game. Ole Miss matched Bama's physicality, and Freeze didn't use the tempo game very much. At LSU, he got in to a physical, grind it out game with a team that was much more suited to play that way. I completely understand not wanting to expose your D with quick 3 and outs, but if there was ever an Ole Miss D that could've handled a few more possessions a game it was last year's. This year's D should be equally as salty. In fact, I think they will be better. It won't matter though if Freeze allows other teams to dictate the style of play.
Last, the schedule is tough. The West is rugged again, and Ole Miss doesn't get a break until Week 10. I'm concerned about the physical toll of 10 weeks of football. Freeze has done an incredible job. He should've won Coach of the Year after bowling in his first year after inheriting Nutt's dumpster fire, but Ole Miss still doesn't have Bama, Auburn, and maybe even LSU's depth at certain positions. The OL has to be better this year. There's some potential there, but there are only about 7 guys that are ready to play SEC football today. LB is scary thin. One injury there, and Freeze will likely be looking to former walk ons and true freshmen.
Again, they're capable of winning every game on the schedule, but that would take an incredible amount of luck and good health. I'm guessing 9-3.
