Week 4 Preview: Ole Miss
After a 42-14 win over Southern Carolina State in Week 3, the Georgia Southern Eagles will travel to Oxford, Mississippi to play their toughest opponent of the season, #5 Ole Miss. So far, Ole Miss (3-0) has played Furman, Middle Tennessee State, and Wake Forest. In those three games, they have outscored their opponents 168-9.
As a team with a defense still trying to find its stride, that is not the gauntlet you want to be going into, but it is the next game scheduled. Ole Miss is led by Senior QB Jaxson Dart who is 73/88 for 1,172 yards and 8 touchdowns through three games. In addition to his passing yards, he has 18 carries for 54 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground. For the running backs, Senior RB Henry Parrish, Jr. leads the way so far with 44 carries for 338 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The receiver core at Ole Miss is one of the best in the country as they have three guys with over 200 receiving yards through 3 games:
Tre Harris - 27 catches for 403 yards and 2 touchdowns
Cayden Lee - 13 catches for 225 yards and 1 touchdown
Antwane Willis Jr. - 11 catches for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns
Any of those guys are capable of breaking off a long one for a touchdown on any given play. With a couple injuries in the secondary, the Eagles will have their hands full.
Defensively, the Rebels have given up just nine points through 3 games. LB Chris Paul Jr., from Cordele, GA, leads the way with 19 tackles. Behind him are LB TJ Dottery with 15 tackles and S Louis Moore with 14. Through three games, Ole Miss has 3 interceptions and 3 recovered fumbles. It is going to be extremely important for the Eagles to protect the ball or this game could get out of hand in a hurry.
With SEC play starting next week, Ole Miss is going to do everything they can to blow out Georgia Southern and get their starters out of the game to start preparing for their matchup with Kentucky next weekend. It is up to the Eagles to hang around and make sure that does not happen.
Offensively, I think Georgia Southern is likely the best group Ole Miss has faced this season, however, if the offense cannot sustain drives and the defense is on the field most of the game, it is going to be a very long evening. As of now, Ole Miss is favored by 36 points against Georgia Southern which is a figure that has grown by 6 points since the lines opened on Sunday at 30 points.
Keys to the Game:
1) Win the turnover margin
To win against an opponent of this caliber, the Eagles will need to play a perfect game and force the Rebels into making mistakes
2) Control the clock
It is not our identity under Helton but we have to find a way to limit Ole Miss’ number of possessions to have a chance
Sustain drives, convert third downs, and do not get penalized
3) Establish some sort of run game early on
If Ole Miss realizes that we cannot move the ball on the ground, their linebacker and defensive line groups are going to make it a nightmare for our offensive line and QB JC French all evening long
