Tennessee (3-3) at Ole Miss (6-0) Oct. 18, 7:00, ESPN 

Here’s The Deal: Tennessee might be looking at its near future. Under Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss came up with a few tremendous recruiting classes, and now it’s arguably the No. 1 team in college football and has everything set up almost perfectly to crank out a run to the SEC title. The Rebels have to go on the road to face LSU and Arkansas, but if you’re going to deal with two teams from the SEC West on the road, this year, those are the two. Auburn and Mississippi State have to come to Oxford, but first, there’s no overlooking a Tennessee team that’s not quite there yet, but has the upside and the talent to grow into the next SEC superpower. 

The Vols have been entertaining, but they just haven’t been winning losing close calls to Florida and Georgia for an 0-2 SEC start. With Alabama and a road trip to South Carolina up next, it’s likely going to be a rough stretch before hosting Kentucky and Missouri, but if head coach Butch Jones wants to truly kickstart the program and show off the potential of what could happen, a win over the red hot Rebels would do just that. 

Tennessee doesn’t have the offense to put up big numbers on the nation’s 13th-ranked defense, but it has the defense and it has the overall speed and athleticism to hang around. But on the other side, this now becomes the test. It was fun to get jacked up for the Alabama game, and going to Texas A&M was a prove-it moment, but the spotlight is off a little now – can Ole Miss play like its ready to try taking control of the SEC West? 

Why Tennessee Might Win: The secondary is playing tremendously well. Oklahoma and Trevor Knight did some big things on the way to 308-yard day against the Vols in Norman, but overall, Tennessee has come up with nine interceptions on the year and allowed just four touchdown passes. Florida didn’t do much of anything, and Georgia struggled to find anything deep down the field. Way too much has been made about the idea of Good Bo and Bad Bo when it comes to the Ole Miss quarterback, Bo Wallace, but he’s going to have to force a few throws if the running game is getting eaten up, and the Vol secondary will make plays. The Tennessee offense has to take advantage of everything. 

Why Ole Miss Might Win: The Rebel defense has been eating up everything. Texas A&M might have put up 455 yards of total offense, and Alabama cranked out 396, but Ole Miss is rarely breaking. It’ll bend, and it’ll allow teams to dink and dunk a bit, but allowing big passing numbers isn’t an issue considering the secondary has allowed just three touchdown passes on the year – two of them coming last week to A&M – with 12 interceptions including one every game. Considering the Rebels held two of the highest-powered offenses in the country – Bama and A&M – to just 37 points combined, Tennessee is going to have to manufacture points somehow against a team ranking 15th in the nation in turnover margin. 

Who To Watch Out For: When it comes to freshman SEC pass rushers, everyone has been gushing over Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, and rightly so with his NFL upside and next-level body at a young age, but Ole Miss true freshman Marquis Haynes is started to grow into a superstar, too. He doesn’t have to do everything on the loaded Rebel defensive front, but when he’s turned loose, he’s a difference-maker. At 6-3 and 220 pounds, he’s built more like a tight end, but he has a phenomenal burst off the ball coming up with two sacks last week to become the team’s leading statistical pass rusher. He’s getting more and more work in the rotation. 

What’s Going To Happen: It’s not going to be smooth, and it’ll take a half to wake up and overcome a few massive early mistakes, but the Ole Miss Express will keep on rolling. The defense will clean up a few key Bo Wallace messes. 

Prediction: Ole Miss 27 … Tennessee 13 
Line: Ole Miss -13.5 o/u: 46.5 
Must Watch Factor: 5: Birdman – 1: The Voice (now that the blind auditions are over) … 3