Things are looking good for Ole Miss.

The Rebels set a school record with 10 regular-seasons wins last season and went to the Sugar Bowl.

Lane Kiffin is entering his 3rd season as head coach, and the program should be maturing.

But …

There’s no guarantee this team can match the success of last season’s.

Ole Miss lost a bunch of key players, and Kiffin’s staff has undergone some significant changes.

The newcomers on the staff and on the field do seem to be capable replacements, so the dream scenario is that most of the changes work out. But if a few don’t, that could be disastrous.

Here are 5 dream/disaster scenarios for the Rebels. First the dream scenarios:

1. The running game dominates

The offensive line is the most experienced group on the offense, and even though the running backs are in transition, they have plenty of talent.

Ole Miss has to replace Jerrion Ealy, Snoop Conner and Henry Parrish Jr., but it has TCU transfer Zach Evans, SMU transfer Ulysses Bentley IV and 2 other talented backs in heralded freshman Quinshon Judkins and Kentrel Bullock.

If the Rebels can rush the ball consistently well right out of the gate, the transition to a new quarterback will be much, much easier.

2. Michael Trigg plays like an All-SEC tight end

Ole Miss wants to involve the tight end in the passing game more, and it believes that Trigg, a transfer from USC, has the size and skill to excel.

Though Trigg’s season stats as a Trojan freshman last year read like 1 good game — 7 catches, 109 yards and 1 touchdown — he lasted just 6 games before an ankle injury sidelined him.

The Rebels have talented skill players scattered throughout the offense, so they don’t have to have a great season from Trigg.

But it would be a big help if they got one.

3. They roll through September

The adjustment to the new staff — a new co-offensive coordinator, a new co-defensive coordinator and the new special teams coordinator — as well as the acclimation of a bunch of transfers into key roles requires a transition period.

The schedule should help with that.

Presumably, the Rebels will be favored in each of their 4 games in September — vs. Troy, vs. Central Arkansas, at Georgia Tech and vs. Tulsa — and they have a good opportunity to work out all the kinks and build continuity and confidence before beginning SEC play at home against Kentucky on Oct. 1.

Ole Miss doesn’t hit the teeth of its SEC schedule until it visits Texas A&M on Oct. 29 ahead of an open date and a visit from Alabama.

So the schedule lays out in a manner that’s conducive to a team that figures to be much more comfortable from midseason on.

It’s up to the Rebels to build the momentum.

4. The defensive line is deep and dominant

Ole Miss was really good on the defensive line last season, and it has a chance to be really good again.

The Rebels are trying to build uncommon depth during preseason camp. If they succeed, the unit could be special, with a rotation of 10-plus players.

There’s no guarantee that they’ll have that many players they can count on. But if they do, it will make everyone else’s job easier.

5. A deep secondary creates turnovers

The defensive backs are a lot like the defensive linemen. The starters are good, and there are plenty of promising candidates to find useful roles.

Ole Miss thrived on taking the ball away last season as it tied for 2nd in the SEC in turnovers produced.

If the line and secondary can play in sync, turnovers could continue to come with frequency and boost a potentially very good defense.

Now for the disaster scenarios:

1. The punting struggles

The punting might be just fine, but there is some uncertainty. And if the punting becomes undependable, that will create field position issues.

The Rebels entered preseason camp expecting strong-legged Australian Fraser Masin to be a dependable punter. He might be, but he didn’t participate in the early days of camp, presumably because of an injury.

That led Kiffin to welcome former Nevada punter Charlie Pollock through the transfer portal after camp was underway.

Ole Miss didn’t expect punter to be a position facing so much uncertainty in mid-August.

2. The red zone offense doesn’t improve

For all the yards the Rebels gained and all the points they scored, the offense wasn’t great in the red zone last season.

It entered the red zone 69 times but came away with just 41 touchdowns.

That’s not great, especially for a team that moved the ball so consistently well.

If this team can’t take better advantage of its red zone opportunities, it will have a problem.

3. The linebackers are a weak link

As mentioned, the defensive line looks good, and so does the secondary.

But the group in the middle of the defense is a question mark. The Rebels return just 2 linebackers that played for them last season. Kiffin used the transfer portal to try to solidify the unit.

The linebackers are the group on the defense that inspires the least amount of confidence, but they can still be adequate.

That just can’t be a weak link.

4. A go-to wide receiver doesn’t emerge

Ole Miss has to replace Dontario Drummond and Braylon Sanders from its 2021 receiving corps.

The Rebels have plenty of candidates to be effective players — Jonathan Mingo, Mississippi State transfer Malik Heath, Louisville transfer Jordan Watkins, UCF transfer Jaylon Robinson and former Missouri receiver Jalen Knox.

The receivers will be good, and the group will be deep. But if someone doesn’t emerge as a dependable go-to guy who can be counted on to get open and make plays on 3rd down and in the red zone, the passing game will have a harder time matching last season’s production.

5. Neither quarterback seizes the reins

The biggest preseason storyline is finding a successor to Matt Corral. Will it be Luke Altmyer, who’s entering his 3rd season in Kiffin’s offense? Or transfer Jaxson Dart, who played more as a freshman at USC last season than Altmyer did as Corral’s understudy?

Whichever player wins the job doesn’t have to be as productive as Corral was, but that would be nice.

The starter does need to be consistent and accurate, make good decisions and earn his teammates’ respect as a leader.

It doesn’t matter which player is the starter. But it does matter that he clearly earns the job and not seems to win by default, and that he shows he deserves it and grows weekly.

If neither player excels in winning the job, or worse yet the competition continues into the season because of inconsistency, the growth of the team will be stunted.