Ole Miss score prediction vs. Texas A&M: College football Week 10

OXFORD — Standing between Ole Miss football and a huge clash with Georgia next week is a Texas A&M program that Lane Kiffin called the most talented 5-3 team of all time.

Kiffin, who is 2-0 against the Aggies as the coach of the Rebels (7-1, 4-1 SEC), has spent the buildup to the contest Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN) praising just about every aspect of the Texas A&M program besides its coach, Jimbo Fisher. Kiffin and Fisher have traded several jabs over the last two years, with Fisher calling Kiffin a clown and Kiffin proceeding to wonder on live television whether Fisher had a Joker Halloween costume for him after the Rebels won in College Station last year.

"I think they got a great program and do a phenomenal job, obviously, of raising money and getting great players," Kiffin said Wednesday. "So I don't have any issues with (Texas A&M)."

Here's what to know when the Rebels and Aggies take the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Ole Miss football and Texas A&M boast elite pass rushes

Texas A&M enters Week 10 with 4.12 sacks per game to lead college football. The Rebels, thanks in no small part to coordinator Pete Golding, have leveled up their own pass rush, ranking fourth nationally with 3.75 sacks per game.

Edgerrin Cooper leads the Aggies with 6.5 sacks. Shemar Turner has five, with Fadil Diggs and Walter Nolen owning four apiece. Ole Miss' sack production is more spread out. Jared Ivey paces the pack with 5.5, with six other Rebels contributing at least 2.5 sacks.

In the Aggies' losses to Miami and Tennessee, they combined to get to the quarterback five times. However, they produced one of their best efforts in their loss to Alabama, sacking Jalen Milroe six times.

Jaxson Dart's mobility could be the Rebels' counter to that pass-rushing aggression. The Ole Miss quarterback has proven his ability to escape difficult situations in his own backfield. That's not a trait shared by Max Johnson, who stepped in for the injured Conner Weigman under center for the Aggies.

Ole Miss' home field advantage vs. Aggies' road woes

Texas A&M has not won on the road since October 2021, when it beat a six-win Mizzou team in Columbia.

The Vaught has been a fortress for the Rebels, who have lost twice at home since the beginning of the 2021 season. The Aggies visited Oxford that season, and the Rebels scored the first 15 points in a 29-19 victory.

Special teams could loom large

Texas A&M has the second-best average drive start position in college football.

The Aggies have been one of the 25 best special teams units in college football, according to efficiency-based FEI ratings. They returned second-team All-SEC punter Nik Constantinou and have an elite returner in Ainias Smith.

The Rebels have quietly improved on special teams in their first season under coordinator Jake Schoonover, moving up 71 spots to No. 33 in the FEI ratings. Much of that value comes from the return game, where Jordan Watkins is a danger, and kicker Caden Davis, a Texas A&M transfer who is 13-for-16, including a 56-yarder at Tulane.

Ole Miss score prediction vs. Texas A&M

Ole Miss 24, Texas A&M 20. Both defensive fronts are capable of exerting the kind of dominance that could keep this game low-scoring. Trolling or not, Kiffin is right about the Aggies' talent, but it hasn't translated to success yet, and there's no reason to think it will start now. Ole Miss has the better quarterback in this game, too.