Ole Miss @ Kentucky preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 5, 2011 ) Mississippi 13, Kentucky 30

By reaching six wins the fourth-earliest in school history with an exciting 29-26 win against Tennessee last week, fifth-year coach Mark Stoops has Kentucky bowl-eligible for a second straight season after a five-year drought. The Wildcats seek a fourth win in five games Saturday when they visit struggling Ole Miss.

Kentucky went 2-10 in Stoops’ first year in 2013 and followed that with a pair of 5-7 campaigns before finishing 7-6 last season, culminating a 33-18 loss to Georgia Tech in the TaxSlayer Bowl. Quarterback Stephen Johnson scrambled 11 yards for a touchdown with 33 seconds left to seal the victory over the Volunteers last week and finished with a career-high 84 yards rushing - the most by a Wildcats quarterback since 2011. "We all remember how difficult it is and we all remember that it wasn't that long ago when we were scrapping to get six wins. So, I don't think you should ever just take (playing in bowl games) for granted,” Stoops told reporters this week. “I think that's when a lot of issues start popping up across the board in your program." Ole Miss has dropped five of its last six games but may have found a quarterback in junior Jordan Ta’amu, who completed 20-of-30 passes for 368 yards with no TDs and one interception in last week’s 38-37 loss to Arkansas.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network. LINE: Kentucky -3.5.

ABOUT OLE MISS (3-5, 1-4 SEC): In his first start, Ta’amu also ran for 76 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas, including a 49-yard scamper, but the Rebels couldn’t hold a 31-7 second-quarter lead. While the junior college transfer threw for the most yards ever by an Ole Miss quarterback making his first start and posted the fifth-most total yards (444) in a single game, Jordan Wilkins ran for a season-high 118 yards and a TD on 16 carries and D.K. Metcalfe caught four passes for 107 yards. Linebacker DeMarquis Gates had 15 tackles against the Razorbacks - his fourth game this season with double-digit tackles and the fourth time he's led Ole Miss in total tackles this season.

ABOUT KENTUCKY (6-3, 3-2): Johnson is completing 59.6 percent of his passes for 1,401 yards with nine touchdowns versus only four interceptions and has added 386 yards rushing before sacks and three touchdowns. Benny Snell recovered from an opening-carry fumble last week and rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Safety Mike Edwards, who leads the team with 63 tackles, three interceptions and five pass breakups, heads a defense that yields 400 yards per game but has prevented touchdowns on 12-of-26 red zone trips.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Ole Miss leads the all-time series 27-14-1 but Kentucky won the last contest 30-13 in 2011.

2. Snell, who is the first Kentucky player with 180 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in an SEC game since 2005, has run for 721 yards and nine touchdowns this season while averaging 4.5 yards per carry.

3. Ole Miss K Gary Wunderlich has made a field goal in 18 straight games - the longest active streak in the NCAA and an all-time school best.

PREDICTION: Kentucky 31, Ole Miss 24