There are only two Power Four football teams that Oklahoma has played at least once and never beaten, and one of them will be in Norman on Saturday.
The Ole Miss Rebels (6-3, 4-3) are making their second visit to the Palace on the Prairie in as many seasons and hoping to extend their winning streak against Oklahoma to four games. What is significant about that is four is the total number of times the two teams will have played after Saturday, and Ole Miss is one of very few teams the Sooners have played at least one time and never beaten.
The Rebels are 3-0 against Oklahoma. The two teams had played just once prior to the Sooners joining the SEC in July of 2024. OU and Ole Miss met for the first time in 1999 in an Independence Bowl pairing in Bob Stoops' first season as Oklahoma head coach. That contest ended in dramatic fashion as Mississippi's Les Binkley kicked a game-winning 39-yard field goal as time expired for a 27-25 Ole Miss victory.
Oklahoma enters its Week 11 matchup with No. 19 Ole Miss coming off its most complete performance of the season, a 23-7 road win over No. 25 Florida. The Rebels weren't as fortunate, suffering a 42-7 loss at home to the nation's new No. 1 team, Georgia. It is interesting to note that the Ole Miss loss to Georgia was worse than Oklahoma's 41-13 defeat at Georgia in Week 5.
How to watch Oklahoma vs. Ole Miss
When: 3:15 p.m. CT, Saturday, Nov. 14 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman
Watch: SEC Network (watch using Fubo TV free trial)
Announcers: Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), and Michella Chester (sideline reporter)
What to know about Ole Miss
- Ole Miss dual-threat quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is arguably the best quarterback in the SEC, if not the country. The fifth-year signal-caller is one of just three active quarterbacks with 9,000 career passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards across all levels of college football. This season, he is second in the SEC in both passing yards per game (262.11) and touchdown passes (18). He also has seven rushing touchdowns.
- The Rebels will be without their leading rusher, junior Kewan Lacy, in the Oklahoma game. He has been ruled out with an injury. Makhi Frazier, who has had almost as many carries as Lacy and averages 5.1 yards per rush, and Chambliss will be the prime rushing threats in Lacy's absence.
- Deuce Alexander is Chambliss' primary target in the passing game with 48 catches for 669 yards and five touchdowns. Auburn transfer Horatio Fields, however, has stepped up his game in recent weeks. Nineteen of his 36 receptions on the season have come in the past four games, including a season-high eight last weekend against Georgia.
- Ole Miss ranks fourth in the SEC (40th nationally) in total offense (418.8 yards per game) but 15th in the conference defensively (104th nationally), giving up an average of 394.7 yards per game.
What to know about Oklahoma
- In its first game under interim offensive coordinator Jason Witten last weekend at Florida, the Oklahoma offense, which has struggled all season to sustain drives, had touchdown drives of 84 and 89 yards. The 84-yard drive encompassed 15 plays and took 7:11 off the clock. The 89-yard scoring drive, the Sooners' longest of the season in both yards and time consumed, took 20 plays and 12:45 of running clock time.
- Over the past three games, quarterback John Mateer, who has been the object of intense fan criticism most of the season, has not turned the ball over and has recorded his three best passing performances of the season, averaging 244 yards per game.
- Ole Miss averages 33.8 points a game this season while the Oklahoma defense is allowing opponents just 19.2 per game. Something is going to have to give here on Saturday.
- The Sooners lead the SEC and rank No. 4 nationally in third-down stops. Oklahoma opponents are averaging just 27.7 percent success in converting third downs.
Other storylines
- Oklahoma has followed every win with a loss this season and every loss with a win, beginning with the season-opening win over UTEP.
- Ole Miss began the season with three consecutive wins, including wins over then-No. 24 Louisville and No. 7 LSU, and rose to a No. 4 ranking in the Associated Press poll. Since then, however, the Rebels are just 3-3.
- Oklahoma has won 47 of its last 50 November home games, dating back to 1998. The
Sooners are 4-0 at home in November as a member of the SEC.
- Ole Miss has the sixth-fastest offense in the FBS this season, averaging 22.4 seconds per play.
Prediction
Ole Miss has appeared more vulnerable in recent weeks than it was to begin the season. Meanwhile, the wobbly Oklahoma offense got a boost last week with the elevation of Witten to the offensive coordinator role.
The outcome of Saturday's game will be determined by how well the OU defense can hold down Chambliss and the Ole Miss offense, and similarly, how well the Sooner offense can strike a balance and exploit a gettable Rebel defense.
Oklahoma has not played particularly well at home this season, but the stakes are higher in this contest, and the Sooners are hungry to snap the Ole Miss mastery over the Crimson and Cream.
Final score prediction: Oklahoma 27, Ole Miss 24
Add us as a preferred source on Google