SportsLine sets opening lines for Ole Miss at Tulane

The first marquee matchup of Ole Miss’ 2023 season comes in just six days when they take a trip down to New Orleans to face No.24 Tulane (1-0). SportsLine, a betting service powered by CBS Sports, has released its initial lines and spreads for the clash between the Rebels and Green Wave in the Big Easy.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. 

SportsLine odds

Ole Miss spread: -3.5 (-106)

Tulane spread: +3.5 (-115) 

Ole Miss money line: -175 

Tulane money line: +145

Over 61.5 points (-110)

Under 61.5 (-110)    

The Rebels are coming off a Week 1 victory in which they absolutely lit up the scoreboard with 73 points and marched up and down the field for nearly 700 yards (667). 524 of those yards came through the air alone, which was a program record after surpassing their previous record of 517 passing yards against ULM on Oct. 6, 2018.

 Junior quarterback Jaxson Dart led the way with 334 yards, but Oklahoma State senior transfer Spencer Sanders wasn’t too shabby himself. He may not have gotten as many possessions as Dart did, but Sanders did toss for 134 yards on eight completions (14 attempts) along with two touchdown passes. 

But who could blame head coach Lane Kiffin? The offense was clicking with both signal-callers, with Dart in particular as he threw three of his four touchdown passes in just the first three minutes and 15 seconds within the game. 

However, Ole Miss’ fourth-year head coach did not name an official starter for the game against Tulane, hoping the competition keeps both his quarterbacks sharp.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ole Miss has to keep the momentum they have going into the week. Their third down and rush defense was stellar, following the first play of the game which was a blatant wake up call for the defense. Ole Miss’ defense and special teams collectively forced three turnovers. If they bring that against a Michael Pratt-led offense the Rebels will be in fantastic shape to start the season 2-0.

Last season the Green Wave won 12 games, only losing two, en route to a Cotton Bowl title. After not being previously ranked since 1998 in the AP Poll, Tulane finished No.9 in both the AP and Coaches final Poll in 2022.

The last time these two squared off was during the 2021 season at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, in which Ole Miss won 61-21. The Rebels' 61 points scored were the most in the Lane Kiffin-era before their 73-point explosion against Mercer on Saturday.     

Kickoff in New Orleans this coming Saturday is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN2 or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network. Inside the Rebels will be on site to provide coverage, notes, facts, observations and more.