Week one of college football is prone for fans to overreact at either end of the spectrum when it comes to its team's performance.
Kentucky (1-0) fans likely saw its 24-16 win over Toledo as a gritty win that was not overly impressive and a team that needs work to compete in SEC play. Ole Miss (1-0) fans may not be able to glean much from a 63-7 win over hapless Georgia State, but you can easily slip into "Kiffin fixing to break every scoreboard" mode by watching Dae'Quan Wright and Tre Wallace highlights.
FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel leans more toward the Kiffin scoreboard demolition side as it opened odds in favor of the Rebels -10.5 at Kentucky on Saturday. The FanDuel Sportsbook also puts the Rebels -365 on the moneyline with an over/under in the game at 50.5.
Considering last week and the impending road trip, 50.5 may seem like a low number for these two SEC squads, but I think Mark Stoops is going to try and grind the tempo of this game to a snail's pace at any costs. Maybe that means passing the ball even less than week one (QB Zach Calzada - 10/23, 85 yards, 1 INT).
The -10.5 spread should be considered pretty risky at this point with so little film on either team. There is also the old adage that teams improve the most from week one to week two once they are finally playing someone. Could that mean the Wildcats rushing attack and offensive line gains more control of the line of scrimmage? Does Stoops' defense find ways to disguise coverages enough to make QB Austin Simmons make similar throwing errors in week two?
It's not a late kickoff at least, and there is the revenge factor from last season where Ole Miss' playoff hopes were essentially dashed by the Wildcats in Oxford. Rebels by two touchdowns doesn't seem like a crazy prediction, but I'm not sure I'd put my boat payment on it.