With the college football season less than three weeks away, teams all over the country are strapping up and taking the field hoping to have a great season.

In the Southeastern Conference, the Alabamas, Floridas, LSUs, Georgias — and Ole Miss as of late — look to continue to assert themselves as frontrunners for not only the SEC title but the National Championship as well.

This year, though it pains me as an MSU alumni and fan to say so, it could be much of the same song for the Rebels. A big reason for that is senior quarterback Chad Kelly.
He has fit perfectly in the system at Ole Miss on the way to completing 65 percent of his passes for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. That performance has vaulted Kelly into the 2016 Heisman Trophy conversation.

He is listed on early Heisman watchlists of sportsonearth.com, and newsday.com and bleacherreport.com gives the senior 16-1 odds of bringing the hardware back to Oxford.
However, before Kelly gets to hoist the trophy or even put forth another season that is worthy of an invite to the Heisman ceremony, a few things have to happen around him.

Ole Miss must win at least 10 games
The past five quarterbacks to win the Heisman are Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariotta.

All five of those signal callers led their teams to a 10-plus win season and Kelly will have to do the same to garner serious consideration. In the brutal SEC West that may be easier said than done, but key victories and solid performances against the likes of Alabama, LSU, Georgia and non-conference foe Florida State and the Heisman Trust will essentially have Kelly’s name etched into the trophy before the middle of November.

Offensive line must show up
No quarterback can succeed without a solid offensive line in front of him. That is especially true in the SEC where the majority of the games are won in the trenches.

The Rebels lost an elite player after All-SEC left tackle Laremy Tunsil was drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Now, they have to find a suitable replacement to protect Kelly’s blind side.

Senior Jeremy Liggins has been tabbed as the starter in that position, but redshirt freshman Alex Givens drew rave reviews from the coaching staff during spring camp. Incoming five-star freshman Greg Little is also expected to see playing time at the position.

The talent is definitely there for the Rebels, but Liggins, Givens and Little will have to show up and give Kelly plenty of protection from the aggressive pursuit he is sure to receive from the league’s best pass rushers.

Wide receivers  must produce
Some players are nearly impossible to replace. Last season, Kelly was fortunate enough to have a player like that in Laquon Treadwell.

Now that Treadwell and Cody Core, another reliable target for Kelly in 2016, have moved on to the NFL,  a new target has to emerge. Ole Miss still has All-American candidate Evan Engram and senior receivers Quincy Adeboyejo and redshirt junior Damore’ea Stringfellow to lean on, but the real intrigue is in the younger components of the unit.

If redshirt freshman Van Jefferson and true freshmen A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf can step in and contribute early, the Rebels could have a potent offensive attack that could keep Kelly’s Heisman hype going into December.

Anthony McDougle is the sports editor of The Daily Leader. He can be contacted at anthony.mcdougle@dailyleader.com.