Led by RB Quinshon Judkins, No. 22 Ole Miss tries to forget season-ending skid

Lane Kiffin wants his Mississippi teams “ to be hard to beat,” and knows the Rebels were anything but when a promising season was derailed by a string of losses.

He can list the litany of issues that struck Ole Miss during a four-game skid to end last season. Turnovers. Lack of forced turnovers. Red zone struggles. Defensive lapses.

Now, Kiffin has a new defensive coordinator and perhaps a new starting quarterback to help try to reverse the spiral that turned a top 10 team into a disappointment. The Rebels open the season ranked No. 22.

“When you’re a really good team — you’re coaching well, you’re playing well — you’re hard to beat,” said Kiffin, whose flirtation with the Auburn job was perhaps not coincidentally a hot topic during that rough stretch. “You may lose some games, but you’ve got to play really well to beat us. I do not feel like that was the case at the end of the season.”

The Rebels wound up 8-5 after rising at one point to a No. 7 ranking. Kiffin and Co. return star tailback Quinshon Judkins after a record-setting freshman season. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is also back but facing a challenge from four-year Oklahoma State starter Spencer Sanders and LSU transfer Walker Howard.

Kiffin also got a bounty from a transfer of a different sort when he hired defensive coordinator Pete Golding away from Alabama and Nick Saban, Kiffin’s old boss. The Ole Miss coach wound up with a new contract.

QB COMPETITION

Ideally, Kiffin would love to have the Dart-Sanders-Howard competition resolved before the season starts. Dart vs. Luke Altmyer extended into last fall.

This one could be heated between two imports (Dart arrived last year from USC) with starting experience who also have proven capable of doing the job.

“I always think it’s better to have your guy, but you don’t want to risk choosing the wrong one," Kiffin said. “There are times where we have gone into a season not knowing. People make the wrong decisions all the time."

JUDKINS' ENCORE

Whoever wins the quarterback job will have the luxury of handing off to one of college football's top tailbacks. Judkins is back after running for school records of 1,576 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was named newcomer of the year in the SEC by The Associated Press.

TRANSFER IMPACT

Kiffin, the self-proclaimed “portal king,” has done it again. Sanders was the biggest name transfer but there should be immediate help on both sides of the ball, including new passing targets. Zakhari Franklin was a four-year starter at UTSA who caught 15 touchdown passes last season and Tre Harris was a first-team All-Conference USA pick at Louisiana Tech.

Tight end Caden Prieskorn led Memphis in receiving last season.

There were a number of defensive pickups as well. Linebacker Monty Montgomery had 15 sacks in four seasons at Louisville. Defensive lineman Stephon Wynn Jr. arrived from Nebraska after starting his career at Alabama and Isaac Ukwu starred at James Madison.

GOLDING ARRIVES

Kiffin landed a big-name defensive coordinator when he hired Golding away from Alabama. Golding had led Crimson Tide defenses since 2018.

The Rebels need a defensive boost after ranking 75th in total yards allowed per game last season and 57th in scoring defense. He'll have some returning talent to work with, including defensive end Cedric Johnson, linebacker Khari Coleman and defensive back Deantre Prince.

SCHEDULE

Two of the biggest games come back to back: Sept. 23 at No. 4 Alabama and a week later against No. 5 LSU. But the Rebels also have a nonconference game at No. 24 Tulane (Sept. 9) before that. One of two SEC East opponents happens to be No. 1 Georgia in Athens on Nov. 11. Ole Miss closes Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23) at Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.

___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll