Wake Forest’s football program has beaten Mississippi both times they’ve played and coach Dave Clawson is 4-0 against SEC teams in his tenure with the Deacons.

So, how on earth are the Deacons 20-plus-point underdogs this weekend against Ole Miss?

Well, Vegas doesn’t care much for history. It also might have something to do with Ole Miss being the No. 5 team in the country, having won games 76-0 and 52-3 this year.

To get to know more about the Rebels, we’ve enlisted the help of Neal McCready, publisher of RebelGrove on the Rivals network.

Here is our five-part Q&A:

1. I like to start these with a simple vibe check. Given Ole Miss is 2-0 and has outscored two overmatched opponents 128-3, do things feel as good as they look on paper for this program?

Answer: Yes, but “feel” is the right word. This is a very talented, experienced, deep and confident Ole Miss team that has just blown through its first two opponents, but the Rebels started to get a little bored versus Middle Tennessee. It’s time to play somebody.

This is a team that is going to soon travel to South Carolina and LSU on successive Saturdays. It’s going to face Oklahoma, Arkansas and Georgia on consecutive weekends. It still must travel to The Swamp to face Florida, likely with tons of Kiffin-to-the-Gators rumors swirling. In other words, this team is going to be tested, and it’s time for them to be thrown into the fire a bit.

But to answer your question, yes, expectations are sky-high right now, and nothing that has happened in the first two weeks of the season has dampened those.

2. There’s a lot to like about Jaxson Dart’s first two games — is he being asked to do more this year? Or is this just continued development into one of the premier QBs in the country?

Answer: No, I don’t think he’s being asked to do more. This is his third season as the Rebels’ starter after starting half of a season at Southern Cal as a true freshman. He’s experienced, extremely confident and is the face and voice of the program, in many respects.

In 2022, Dart had some ball-security and decision-making issues. Last season, as the year went on, he overcame those hurdles and began to play at a very high level. Right now, he’s on top of his game. He’s very prepared and in complete command of the offense. He’s distributing the football, getting the offense into the right play at the line of scrimmage and executing his throws.

Personally, I think he’s throwing better right now because he’s finally healthy. He was injured in a win over Arkansas last season and was never physically the same. He’s running less so far this season but that will likely change soon. And I think that’s going to be the challenge. Dart is so competitive that sometimes that competitiveness can work against him.

3. Henry Parrish Jr. showed a lot of potential at Miami but never seemed to put things together. How repeatable do you think his performance last week — 165 yards, four touchdowns — is at Wake Forest (and going forward)?

Answer: Ole Miss is trying to replace the production it got from Quinshon Judkins over the past two seasons. So far, Parrish has been the one to get that job done. Ole Miss fans are clamoring for Ulysses Bentley IV, who was excellent as a change of pace back last season, but so far he hasn’t played much of a role. Parrish is a better every-down running back in almost every respect. He’s very good in pass protection, which is critically important for Ole Miss’ offense, and he’s a solid receiver out of the backfield.

Is last week repeatable? My guess is no. Middle Tennessee is horrid. I can’t imagine Ole Miss will play another team that weak up front — Georgia Southern, included — the rest of the way. The emphasis last week was on getting the running game going. Period. Moving forward, I suspect it will be on maintaining balance.

That said, I was very high on Parrish his first tour at Ole Miss, and I think his ceiling is higher than many give it credit for. As much as I’m wrong, I wouldn’t mind getting the long-play credit for being right.

4. It seems silly to ask what the strength of Ole Miss’ defense is, given it’s allowed three points and 54 rushing yards *total*. So, is there any area of the defense that’s been untested? Or any area you thought would be a concern that hasn’t been, at least to this point?

Answer: Ah, a two-things-can-be-true-at-once question. I love that. This is an elite defense, especially up front. JJ Pegues and Walter Nolen are nasty against the run. Jared Ivey can do everything. Princely Umanmielen is a beast in pass-rush. The Rebels’ three linebackers — Pooh Paul, TJ Dottery and Khari Coleman — have been adept in all phases. The secondary is solid.

But have the Rebels been tested? No. They have not. Furman wasn’t talented enough to challenge Ole Miss. Neither was Middle Tennessee. Those two teams, if they played the other 15 SEC teams on the road, wouldn’t come close to winning a single game even if they were allowed to combine forces. Wake Forest will represent their first test of any sort.

That said, I think this is potentially an elite defense. When you can be as dominant as Ole Miss can be up front, the sky is the limit, so to speak.

5. A top-5 team with starpower, I think we know what Ole Miss’ ceiling is this year. So, I’ll pivot: What’s the floor to consider this season a success? Maybe CFP berth and early exit?

Answer: The floor for this team remains a fairly deep one. Look, when you’re aiming for the CFP and a national title — and the Rebels, to their credit, haven’t shied from that at all — incentive can be lost with a couple of losses. The floor is an upset loss at South Carolina, followed by a loss at LSU heading into a tumultuous open date. The floor is a loss to Georgia that eliminates Ole Miss from the CFP race and removes the edge great teams play with.

Do I think that’s imminent? I don’t. I think this team is quite likely 9-0 or 8-1 when Georgia arrives on Nov. 9. I’ve long predicted 10-2 and a CFP berth for this team, and I’m still holding to that at this point.

But yes, there’s a scenario where it falls apart. Only an unabashed homer wouldn’t acknowledge that. There’s a scenario where this team is caught flat-footed and looking ahead at Arkansas or flat in general at Florida in late November. Are those scenarios likely? No. Possible? Absolutely. College football is crazy. Northern Illinois says hello. Ole Miss isn’t immune to the craziness that defines the sport.

To technically answer your question, though, the floor to consider the season a success is a CFP appearance and a first-round loss. It would be impossible to call that failure. Anything less than that, fairly or not, would absolutely be classified as failure.