2018 Ole Miss football preview

While many are talking about the Hawaiian quarterback in Tuscaloosa, very few are mentioning the other islander who plays his football in Oxford, Miss.

Jordan Ta’amu broke out last year after Shea Patterson (now at Michigan after a contentious transfer) went down with an injury. In six games, Ta’amu threw for 1,682 yards and 11 touchdowns with just four interceptions.

Ta’amu looks to light up the SEC again, and luckily for him he gets to throw to the SEC’s leading receiver from last year in A.J. Brown.

After being named full-time head coach after one year as the interim replacement for Hugh Freeze, Matt Luke has plenty to deal with including a bowl ban doled out by the NCAA and scholarship reductions. But Luke says motivation for the team has not waned in the face of the adversity.

“You know what, everybody has asked me, hey, what’s your motivation with the bowl ban? The thing I’ve been most impressed with this team is how they’ve got up every morning at 6 a.m., they’ve gone to work. They’re competing and playing for each other,” the coach said in July at SEC Media Days.

Luke believes he can concentrate on building his program now that sanctions are known and nothing is looming anymore.

“I think we’ve moved out from underneath that cloud and we’ve continued to
battle,” he said. “That’s why the end of last season was so Important, to really build that momentum, to still be able to sign a top 25 recruiting class and go into the
spring with a good taste in your mouth.”

2018 schedule
Sept. 1 – vs. Texas Tech
Sept. 8 – Southern Illinois
Sept. 15 – Alabama
Sept. 22 – Kent State
Sept. 29 – at LSU
Oct. 6 – Louisiana-Monroe
Oct. 13 – at Arkansas
Oct. 20 – Auburn
Nov. 3 – South Carolina
Nov. 10 – at Texas A&M
Nov. 17 – at Vanderbilt
Nov. 22 – Mississippi State

2017 record: 6-6 (3-5 conf./ 6th in SEC West)
All-Time SEC championships: 6
All-time bowl appearances: 37 (24-13)

2017 results
Sept. 2 – South Alabama – W 47-27
Sept. 9 – UT-Martin – W 45-23
Sept. 16 – at California – L 27-16
Sept. 30 – at Alabama – L 66-3
Oct. 7 – at Auburn – L 44-23
Oct. 14 – Vanderbilt – W 57-35
Oct. 21 – LSU – L 52-20
Oct. 28 – Arkansas – L 38-37
Nov. 4 – at Kentucky – W 37-34
Nov. 11 – La.-Lafayette – W 50-22
Nov. 18 – Texas A&M – L 31-24
Nov. 23 – at Mississippi State – W 31-28

Returning statistical leaders

Rushing – Att – Yards – Avg – TD
D’Vaughn Pennamon – 53 – 217 – 4.1 – 2
Passing – Comp-Att – Int – TD – Yards
Jordan Ta’amu – 115-173 – 4 – 11 – 1682
Receiving – Rec – Yards – Avg – TD
A.J. Brown – 75 – 1252 – 16.7 – 11
Tackles – Total – Int – Sacks – TFL
Josiah Coatney – 65 – 0 – 3.5 – 8

Starters returning: 13
Offense: 8
Defense: 7
Specialty: 0

Starters lost: 9
Offense: 3
Defense 4:
Specialty: 2

Returning offensive starters: A.J. Brown (WR, Jr.), DaMarkus Lodge (WR, Sr.), D.K. Metcalf (WR, So.) Dawson Knox (TE, Jr.), Javon Patterson (OL, Sr.), Greg Little (OL, Jr.), Alex Givens (OL, Jr.), Sean Rawlings (OL, Sr.)
Returning defensive starters: Benito Jones (DT, Jr.), Josiah Coatney (DT, Jr.), Myles Hartsfield (DB, Jr.), Ken Webster (DB, Sr.), Zedrick Woods (DB Sr.), Jaylon Jones (DB, Jr.) Detric Bing-Dukes (LB, Sr.)