It is finally game week for Ole Miss as the Rebels prep for their opener against Louisville in Atlanta next Monday night.

Ole Miss culminated camp with a scrimmage on Sunday night and came out of the 3-week long stretch of practices fairly healthy across the board, save a few minor injuries at receiver and on the offensive line. Those positions just so happen to be the two that the Rebels had hoped to formulate some depth at during camp and were undoubtedly the biggest question marks on offense heading into the preseason.

Let’s examine 4 questions Ole Miss faces heading into its first game.

1. What impact did injuries have on o-line?

Entering camp, this seemed to be pretty set. The Rebels returned 4 starters from a 2020 unit that helped them lead the SEC in rushing. With Utah transfer Orlando Umana coming into the program and presumably manning the starting center duties, Ben Brown was able to move back to his native guard position and Ole Miss appeared to be set.

But Umana has missed a good chunk of camp with an undisclosed injury and one of the candidates to replace him, Bryce Ramsey, has also dealt with an injury.

If Umana is unable to play against the Cardinals, the most likely scenario is that Caleb Warren moves from guard to center and the Rebels figure out a temporary and suitable replacement at Warren’s guard slot.

But with Kiffin keeping injuries close to the vest, it’s largely a guess as to who will start. We won’t know for sure until they run out on Monday night.

2. How do the Rebels handle QB Malik Cunningham?

Ole Miss is tired of hearing how bad it has played defense. The players say they are ready to change that narrative. Monday night is a great place to start. Louisville’s offense is led by the dual-threat quarterback Cunningham, who was more turnover prone in 2020 but was a top-3 quarterback in the ACC in 2019.

In 2019, Cunningham threw 22 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions with a 62.6% completion rate. He ran for 4 more. In 2020, he tossed 20 TDs and threw for more yards but turnovers plagued him to the tune of 12 picks and 3 lost fumbles as Scott Satterfield’s offense as a whole took a step back as a result.

Can Ole Miss contain Cunningham and coax him into a turnover or two? Or will he look like he did in 2019 and torch the Rebels. There’s a strong argument to be made that the latter is the Cardinals’ only feasible path toward winning this game — Cuningham does it almost single-handedly.

This defense has a chance to make an early statement on Labor Day night and how they handle a dangerous quarterback will determine what exactly that statement says.

3. How do the guys playing new positions fare?

As strange as it may sound, Ole Miss has a couple of potentially impactful players at new positions. Receiver-turned-corner Miles Battle turned heads during camp and will almost certainly see some meaningful snaps in this game. Keidron Smith moved from corner to safety and has embraced the increased responsibility that comes with it, particularly with regard to the increased responsibility in run defense. And, of course, John Rhys Plumlee is now a slot receiver. How much of an impact does Plumlee make? He had 5 important catches for 75 yards in the Rebels’ bowl win over Indiana. Can he make an impact immediately in the slot? Ole Miss will be a better offense if he can.

4. Does Plumlee have a package at quarterback?

Speaking of Plumlee, Kiffin has been adamant about Plumlee being a full time receiver and that his days of practicing with the quarterbacks are over. But, in a media opportunity last week, Plumlee said he’s been going back-and-forth from the receiver to quarterback rooms to watch film.

He said during camp he would go to the quarterback room in the morning, receivers room midday and back to the quarterback room in the afternoon. Some of that is likely Plumlee wanting to learn the nuances of the receiver position from both vantage points, but of course, some of it has to be the coaching staff’s hesitancy to rely on Kinkead Dent or Luke Altmyer should Matt Corral miss any significant time.

Plumlee likely has some sort of package at quarterback and it’s likely a run-first look. What does that look like and how do Jeff Lebby and Kiffin utilize him in the offensive backfield? I imagine they will do so more efficiently than they did last season.