The No. 9 Ole Miss football team appears to be heading into Saturday’s matchup against No. 13 LSU without one of its primary ball carriers, raising the question: Will this be the week head coach Lane Kiffin finally turns to Ulysses Bentley IV as a viable option in the running game?
In the latest player availability report, Rebel running back Matt Jones is listed as doubtful to take the field in Death Valley, possibly forcing Kiffin to give Bentley secondary snaps behind starter Henry Parrish, Jr.
Going into the 2024-25 campaign, Ole Miss fans as well as college football experts had high hopes for the speedy running back and preseason All-SEC selection. Bentley was anticipated to join Parrish, who had decided to return to Oxford after a brief stint at Miami, in filling the void left by Quinshon Judkins.
That thought was rooted in logic as Bentley finished the Rebels’ historic 2023 season with 540 yards, four touchdowns, and an average of 5.7 yards per carry, leading the masses to believe something bigger was on the horizon. That has yet to come to fruition as Kiffin, in a surprising move, turned to Jones, a junior from Jackson, as the No. 2 back.
Through six games, Jones has amassed 222 yards and three touchdowns on 43 carries. Bentley, on the other hand, has only been fed the rock 16 times and has gained a total of 62 yards.
While Kiffin has maintained that Bentley is neither hurt nor being punished and that Jones has simply been better in practice, skepticism has arisen over the validity of those claims as spectators have seen both backs in action.
Nonetheless, the Ole Miss frontman essentially confirmed that Jones will not be suiting up on Saturday and that another ball carrier — specifically Bentley — will be given a chance to shine.
“Someone else will get carries. Hopefully, it will be Bentley and hopefully, he will do really well,” Kiffin said on RebTalk Thursday night. “Some people think I don’t want him to do well or something. I don’t care who does well. I just want to win games. This is his chance, his opportunity, and I think he will do really well.”
The matchup against LSU bears enormous gravity in Ole Miss’ pursuit to make a debut appearance in the College Football Playoff. A win would likely move the Rebels up in the rankings and quite possibly temporarily remove the blemish of a home loss to unranked Kentucky while a defeat would severely handicap any playoff hopes.
Last year, Ole Miss took down an LSU squad led by eventual Heisman-winning signal caller Jayden Daniels 55-49 in dramatic fashion. The Rebels’ victory partially came as a result of a stellar outing from none other than Bentley, who posted 90 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Ole Miss lost Quinshon Judkins… but still has Ulysses Bentley IV
They’ll compete for a National Championship. Book it. pic.twitter.com/SG1hT105ka
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) May 17, 2024
As the Rebels gear up to play in one of college football’s most iconic venues at night — a place and time in which the home team rarely loses, Kiffin will need his offensive playmakers to step up and for Pete Golding’s dominant defense to stay the course.
While standout quarterback Jaxson Dart and his talented band of wide receivers will be given ample chances to silence the hostile LSU crowd, Bentley will have a golden opportunity to make noise in a game that matters greatly to Ole Miss faithful.
“Don’t get it twisted. In a few weeks, things could turn around and he could be a star and a guy who really takes over a game,” Dart said about Bentley after Ole Miss took down Georgia Southern on September 21. “Any time he’s in a game, he’s a special player. I think there are going to be opportunities this year where where he’s going to come into the game and excel.”
Dart’s prophecy could bear fruit this weekend. Saturday’s Magnolia Bowl between Ole Miss and LSU will kick off at 6:30 p.m. central. The game will be broadcast on ABC and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
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