Troy Opens Season at No. 21 Ole Miss

The Troy Trojans face No. 21 Ole Miss Saturday, playing their first game under new coach Jon Sumrall, who’s a former Ole Miss assistant.

Sumrall is trying to get his tenure off to a strong start. He had recently been promoted to co-defensive coordinator at Kentucky before landing the Troy job.

The Trojans have won three straight openers but have dropped four of their last five against FBS opponents. Troy has four returning starters on the offensive line with a combined 105 starts. Troy linebacker Carlton Martial leads active players with a career average of 9.40 tackles per game. His 442 career tackles ranks 18 shy of the Sun Belt record of 460.

The Trojans are 3-23 against current Southeastern Conference members.

Ole Miss and head coach Lane Kiffin are trying to build on last season with a lot of help from newcomers. The 21st-ranked Rebels are coming off their first 10-win regular season but must replace quarterback Matt Corral and a number of other key players.

Kiffin turned to the transfer portal for immediate help, including from tailback Zach Evans and quarterback contender Jaxson Dart.

A key matchup is Troy’s offense versus the Rebels’ defense. With all the new pieces, it’s possible that Ole Miss will take a while to get going offensively. But a defense that was much improved last season faces a Trojans offense that averaged just 22.8 points and 338.4 yards a game in 2021. The Rebels’ also turned to the portal for some instant defensive starters.

Ole Miss’s 51-21 win over Troy in 2013 in the teams’ only other meeting was later vacated under NCAA sanctions.

The game is Saturday at 3PM on the SEC Network.

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