Quarterback concerns aside, many would agree Ole Miss has enough talent to not only compete in the SEC this season, but win it.

The Rebels return all five starters along the offensive line, the bulk of one of the nation’s most elite defenses led by multi-year All-American Robert Nkemdiche and possess a wide receiver many think will be the first player at his position taken off the board in next year’s NFL draft.

So what’s holding Hugh Freeze’s team back from being a national frontrunner?

The schedule, mainly. Ole Miss must endure five games away from Oxford (with a combined opponents’ winning percentage of a league-high .723 based on last season’s results) featuring two Top 10 teams and two other upset-minded SEC rivals.

Best case scenario SEC series

OLE MISS REBELS

2014 record: 9-4, 5-3
2015 best case: 10-2, 6-2
Closer look: Outside of a colossal Week 3 matchup at Alabama, the first half of the season is relatively manageable for the Rebels who should be favored in six of their first seven contests. A trip to Gainesville on Oct. 3 could be tricky against the Gators, but there’s no reason why Ole Miss shouldn’t be 6-1 and ranked inside the Top 15 heading into a pivotal home game with Texas A&M after a win at Memphis in Week 7. The Aggies kick off the toughest season-ending stretch for any team in the country, the first of possibly five consecutive games against ranked teams to finish out the schedule. Ole Miss gets its bye week before welcoming LSU on Nov. 21, but the Rebels will likely feel the effects of three straight against the Aggies, Auburn and Arkansas before the break.
Silver lining: Not to toot my own horn, but I picked the Rebels’ game-by-game slate to near perfection last August and saw the win over Alabama coming from a mile away. I think there’s another special season in the mix, but a win over the Crimson Tide this time around in Tuscaloosa will be considerably difficult, due largely to the fact it will mark Chad Kelly’s (or Ryan Buchanan’s) first career road start. If Ole Miss can win 2-of-3 during the aforementioned late-October stretch against Western Division rivals before closing the season out with wins over LSU and Mississippi State, another New Year’s Six berth will be in order for Freeze and Co. Would 10 wins and a second-place finish in college football’s toughest division quench the fanbase’s appetite? I’d like to think so.