Ole Miss Rebels 2009 College Football Predictions - 2010 BCS Odds: After a breakout year under first year coach Houston Nutt in 2008 where the Ole Miss Rebels football team went 9-4 including a win over eventual BCS champ Florida and a Cotton Bowl victory over BIG 12 contender Texas Tech, the team is projected to reach loftier heights on the grid-iron in 2009. Ole Miss is ranked in the top-10 in both major pre-season polls, 8th (AP) and 9th (USA-Today-Coaches). This is the highest pre-season ranking for Ole Miss since 1970 when it entered that season at No. 5.

On the Sportsbook.com 2010 BCS Championship betting board, Ole Miss is listed as a contender to win the BCS Championship at 15-to-1 odds.

"We are appreciative of the Associated Press preseason ranking, but we need to keep our blinders on and keep working," said Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt. "We were not on the radar this time last year and then had a good season. This is a new year, and it's all about continuing to work hard everyday."

When it comes to the preseason rankings, there are a lot of similarities between the 1970 and 2009 teams.  Both enjoyed strong finishes the year before as quarterback Archie Manning led the 1969 Rebels to an 8-3 record, including a victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, while Nutt's 2008 squad went 9-4, including a win over Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl.

The Rebels are the third of five SEC teams in the poll, including No. 1 Florida, No. 5 Alabama, No. 11 LSU and No. 13 Georgia. Tennessee, Auburn, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Arkansas are all receiving votes.

Ole Miss, which has already shattered its season ticket record with nearly 49,000 sold, opens the 2009 campaign Sept. 6 at Memphis and hosts Southeastern Louisiana Sept. 19 in the home-opener.

While much attention is heaped on returning quarterback Jevan Snead and the potential the offense has under him, a possible weakness is an offensive line that will be without 2009 NFL draftees and All-Americans Michael Orr and Peria Jerry.

"We're gonna need some freshmen come in and supply depth for us." said Nutt. "Bradley Sowell right now is a left tackle. Very athletic at 6'7", 6'8", 315. Really got better the end of the spring. He's got to have a good camp. Hopefully Bobby Massie will be there. We got some guys that have got to really step up.  

The strength of this 2009 team, according to Nutt, is the defensive line.

"I'm really excited about our defensive line," said Nutt. "Those guys have worked hard. Marcus Tillman, Emmanuel Stephens, Greg Hardy, Lackett. The good thing with that group, they played. Justin Smith has played as a freshman last year. We have some depth there. They just got to keep coming, keep working. But those are the names that you'll hear."

Ole Miss College Football Prediction: With the talent and momentum they have, Ole Miss has the potential to win the SEC. The SEC is tough so winning all its games is highly unlikely. We predict Ole Miss will finish the regular season at 9-3.