Like him or not, Lane Kiffin has developed into a sharp college coach. His Mississippi offense looks explosive again this year with Matt Corral coming back as arguably the top quarterback in the SEC. Nine starters return on defense.

The Rebels should open with wins over Louisville, Austin Peay and Tulane to get to 3-0 before the Oct. 2 game at Alabama. The Ole Miss-Alabama game was tied at 42 in the fourth quarter last year, and that was proof the Rebels can hang with any team in the conference.

The rest of the schedule breaks well for Ole Miss, which gets Arkansas, LSU, Liberty, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt at home in addition to Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State on the road. It’s reasonable to project nine wins for the Rebels, but 8-4 appears to be a good bet, so give me Over 7.5 (-120) at BetMGM.

Here are three other Overs I like in 2021.

It should not come as a surprise if the Wolf Pack win the Mountain West. Ten starters return on each side of the ball, and Carson Strong is the best quarterback in the conference. Strong completed 70 percent of his passes with 27 touchdowns and four interceptions last season, when Nevada finished 7-2. Strong is working with three elite playmakers — running back Toa Taua and wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Elijah Cooks — so he’s set to put up big numbers.

Strong might not be Josh Allen, who starred in this league at Wyoming, but he’s an NFL prospect. The schedule is tough, especially the road portion against California, Kansas State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State. But the Wolf Pack are capable of winning a few road games and should go 6-0 at home. The wolves will be howling in Reno because this team is loaded.

This is a buy-low price on Jeff Brohm, who heads into his fifth year knowing the honeymoon is over. Since the Boilermakers’ blowout victory over No. 2 Ohio State in 2018, Brohm’s record is 8-16. His last two teams were plagued by injuries. Feeling the heat, Brohm made important changes to his defensive coaching staff. Purdue returns nine starters on each side of the ball, with defensive end George Karlaftis and wide receiver David Bell ranking among the Big Ten’s best players.

Brohm is an aggressive offensive coach, and sophomore QB Jack Plummer has the experience and talent to trigger a high-scoring attack. The Boilermakers are expected to be favored in four of the first five games — vs. Oregon State, UConn, Illinois and Minnesota — so this play should be a push at worst, and 6-6 is realistic.

Kyle Whittingham is the most reliable coach in the Pac-12, and his team reflects his blue-collar image. The Utes return all their starters on the offensive line and boast a deep, experienced defensive line. Ten starters return on defense.

The team’s most important starter could be a newcomer, Baylor graduate transfer quarterback Charlie Brewer, who can lift the offense to the next level after poor quarterback play doomed the Utes early last season. Utah could be favored in 11 games, with the only obvious underdog spot Oct. 9 at USC. The Utes catch a scheduling break by getting home games against Arizona State, Oregon and UCLA. Whittingham is a bet-on coach, and he has the league’s top offensive and defensive lines, so Utah has the potential to win nine or 10 games if Brewer delivers as expected.